I Am Not Gifted and Talented
At school it’s very common to realise at some point that you are better at some subjects and worse at others. Reasons can be different. Some people say: ‘Oh, I don’t get on with the teacher’. Others can dislike the subject itself: ‘It’s boring and I am never going to use that in my life’. Finally, sadly, some people start thinking it’s because they are not talented enough to do this subject.
As a teacher of a foreign language, I hear the last statement quite often. When a child doesn’t succeed in French, but they seem to like the subject and the teacher, the only sensible conclusion they seem to reach is: ‘I am not talented enough to do this!’. I hasten to tell you that actually, you are! It might be hard right now, you may be confused, but let me explain.
There are some of us whose memory, hearing or analytical skills are better developed and more innate than others. It is widely believed that such people who were genetically gifted with the Learning Languages Aptitude possess the ability to effortlessly learn languages. At the same time, it does not mean that they will gain better eventual outcomes in learning languages than those ‘not gifted’ ones. Despite the existence of this phenomenon, we cannot assume that there are some individuals out there who are not capable of learning foreign languages.
The same concept can be applied to every single subject at school and not only there. It doesn’t matter what you were born like, but who you want to be. The focus needs to be placed on your effort and motivation. As proof, we can give numerous examples of successful people who were at first labelled as ‘not good enough’ or ‘didn’t fit into the box’ and then made some tremendous breakthroughs in the field of their choice: Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, Lionel Messi, Madonna, Oprah Winfrey (the list is practically endless). Each one of these people had to fail before they achieved a great success that massively affected their lives and, simultaneously, our lives too. They never gave up on their dream and doing what they were/are passionate about.
Of course, we almost never succeed the first time we try something (the same goes for the second attempt). You will probably have to try hundreds or even thousands of times before you see the results you desire. In most instances, it’s not about how quickly you can achieve, but about continuing to build and improve upon the skills you’re acquiring.
Thus, nota bene: your desire to improve yourself is your best and primary gift to becoming successful.
Miss Sasha, French Teacher
