The 'English Me'

Do you know that feeling when you know you would handle the situation much better in Czech? You would have so much to say and so many jokes to throw in, yet you're stuck in English. You have no words to describe things, no fluency to maintain momentum and none of the energy you would have had. Ugh! It's so frustrating, isn't it? Suddenly, you realise that you're stiff in English, even though that's just not you.

Have you ever heard the saying: 'To have another language is to possess a second soul'? That's exactly what's happening – your second soul is suffering and you're experiencing an identity crisis. When we learn a different language, we build an identity. To become fluent, we must intentionally develop our English personas.

That's why we feel different.

Every language has its own 'vibe'. German is strict, Italian is musical, French is elegant, Czech is direct and English is often perceived as extroverted or agreeable.

According to research, 65% of multilingual people feel like a different person when they switch languages.

But why? Neuroscience shows that our native language is tied to the amygdala (the centre of fear in our brains) because we learn it during our most emotional years. A second language is often processed more in the prefrontal cortex (the logical centre), which is why people often feel more rational, cool-headed or bold in English. They are literally one step removed from the raw emotional weight of their native language.

If you only learn grammar and vocabulary, you become a translator. If you develop an identity, you become a speaker. The second personality you are developing needs its own space, jokes, habits and reactions that are independent of your native language patterns.

To me, being a different person in English is a superpower, not a loss of self or an annoyance. If we look at studying English from this perspective — training a new 'me' — doesn't it feel a bit different?