Why learning how to sew is like learning how to speak English
My husband bought me a sewing machine for Christmas three years ago. I was daunted by that gift. How would I ever manage to set it up and use it in a proper way? Instead of giving me joy, the present brought me stress and anxiety. I thought of giving it away to someone but something held me back. It took me almost one and a half years to unbox the package and actually take a look at the machine. I am glad I took that decision because I am now fiercely passionate about sewing and patternmaking and I keep asking myself why I didn’t take up this hobby earlier.
© Learn English With Africa
I hated Needlecraft or Needlework in primary school and never even finished a project. Not only the stern teachers intimidated me, but the projects themselves scared me. You had to be meticulous all the time and no mistakes were tolerated. Besides, there was no room for creativity because everyone had to make the same skirt or dress, using the same material and pattern. Moreover, it took forever to finish making the garments because there were hand-sewn. What a relief it was when I reached secondary school! There, I could choose the subjects I wanted. I quickly ditched the tiresome Needlework and took a more exciting subject-French.
Oh, how I adored French classes! They were truly magical and I couldn’t understand why some people loathed them. These people only spoke when they absolutely had to and homework was a pain in the neck. They did not draw any pleasure from learning and were elated when they could finally drop the subject.
A few years later when I became an English teacher, I met similar students: the passionate ones and those who couldn’t hide their disgust when it was time to leave the English classroom. It was pleasant to see the happy faces of students who couldn’t have enough of vocabulary, grammar, stories, films and music. It was heartbreaking to watch the boredom on the faces of students who flinched when it was time to open their mouths to say something in class. It took me a long time to draw parallels between my initial experience with sewing and these students’ ordeal.
Lately I have found so many similarities between learning how to sew and learning how to speak English. As a matter of fact, most learners go through the same motivational, intellectual and emotional stages in order to reach their goals.
1. Motivation for Learning How to Sew or Learning How to Speak English
The reasons why people enrol in sewing or English language courses can be personal, interpersonal, academic, professional, financial or artistic.
Learning how to sew or how to speak English can be part of a New Year’s Resolutions list in quest of improving oneself. Someone can introduce you to sewing or to learning a foreign language by giving you a present: a sewing machine or a voucher. At school, Needlework or English can be part of the curriculum. Those who excel in these subjects can then decide to pursue further studies in fashion design, patternmaking, journalism, tailoring or creative writing.
Improving your finances can also be a great incentive. You can decide to learn how to sew your own clothes to save money. Learning English can also help you get a promotion at work, hence increasing your salary. You can equally indulge in a sewing or English language course because you want to be able to create something: clothes or stories.
Actually, it is rare for someone to decide, out of the blues, to take on the challenge of learning how to sew or learning how to speak English. The motivation often comes from someone or something. Besides, the road to mastery can be long and winding so much that you need a lot of consistency and determination in order to achieve your goals.
2. Three Intellectual Stages of Learning: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced
Sewing starts with a stitch and speaking starts with a word. You are just at the beginning of the process. From stitches and words, you are able to make straight lines and sentences. Later, you can weave threads into simple projects and you can craft beautiful paragraphs out of simple words.
At the pre-intermediate level, you are able to have a basic conversation with someone. If you are into sewing, you can repair or refashion old clothes. At the intermediate level, your confidence is growing in English. You can take on harder tasks such practising with real native speakers without the help of a dictionary or Google Translate. You can write simple short stories and can read newspapers and watch films in their original language, with or without subtitles.
When sewing, you can make table runners, tote bags, gift bags, zipper pouches, gathered or half circle skirts. You can start to understand the true meaning of words such as dressmaker’s dummy or tailor’s ham.
Note that you do not reach the advanced level through miracles. No tutorial or ‘superteacher’ will automatically turn you into seasoned sewers or experts in the English language. You need commitment, discipline and grit in order to make huge strides in your learning. It is only through practice that we become perfect. The more we do something, the more mistakes we make. The more we learn from our mistakes, the better we become.
Once the advanced level is reached, boy, you can do so many things with your hands and brain. In English you can write essays and short stories. You can listen to difficult podcasts with different types of English accents. You can read books written by ancient authors without having a heart attack. In sewing, you can make your own patterns which you will turn into perfectly-fitting garments such as dresses, jackets and trousers. You will know how to drape mannequins.
You will accomplish complicated projects in short periods of time thanks to your knowledge. You will be able to work with different types of fabrics, sewing machines, reference books, tailoring tools and sewing terminology. This is the most exciting stage because you think there is nothing in your way. The sky is the only limit.
However, before reaching this euphoric state you will have experienced other pleasant and unpleasant emotions.
3. Four emotional stages of learners: fear, surprise, frustration and elation
It is not unusual to be afraid when we are starting a new endeavour. The first steps are usually the ones that are difficult to make, whether we are learning how to sew or learning how to speak English. Once we overcome this hurdle, things become much easier. My instinct was fear when I received my first sewing machine. The possibility of failing or simply not being good enough at this kept me from trying. I preferred to think that the gift did not exist at all and that I was better off doing something else rather than waste my mental energy doing something that would cause me emotional distress.
When I finally got round to set up the machine and sew my first straight line, I was surprised by how easy it was. It was even fun! I asked myself why I had waited so long to tame the beast. I now wanted to sew as many items as I could. If you are a sewer like me, I am sure you know this feeling.
Many students also face the same type of challenges when they are dealing with English language lessons. They might be afraid of failure, so they prefer to remain silent in class. It is only when they discover that they can actually be good at this that they start participating more and more in class activities.
Frustration comes when we are trying to master the most demanding aspects of sewing or English language instruction. It is easy to repair a garment but it is difficult to construct one from scratch. It is child’s play to talk about your daily routine but it certainly is painful to explain the difference between “I will have done this” and “ I had been doing this.”
It takes a lot of perseverance, determination, discipline and patience to go through this stage as one might become quickly discouraged. This is not the time to back down or give up. We should do whatever it takes to help us break this wall: learn vocabulary lists, watch quality tutorials, read as many books as we can, practise, practise and practise. The more we do it, the better we become.
Once we have overcome this stage, learning becomes much more enjoyable. When a child is learning how to walk, he falls so many times before he can conquer his fear and find freedom. How excited he is when he can actually run across the living-room on his own without someone having to carry him!
We often feel the same type of exhilaration when we can finally construct our own basic bodice that can actually fit! How about writing an essay that gets an excellent grade and is published in the school newspaper? What about making a stylish, original and affordable dress for one’s own birthday or being able to make trendy clothes for our children when and where we want? It is absolutely wonderful! What about being able to understand a political debate on television or analyse an article about the economy in the Financial Times? These are huge strides!
Sewing and speaking English seem to be worlds apart but they really aren’t. It takes the same perseverance, acceptance and hard work to reach a point where we are satisfied with the knowledge we are acquiring. Just as there is no quick way to riches, there is no quick way to professional sewing or fluency.
Learning a skill is a journey and we should know that we are undertaking a long, tiresome and demanding one right from the start. However, the rewards are truly enormous if we are willing to do our best and give our all.
First, we need to know why we have taken this road. Secondly, we need to be properly equipped for the journey: materially, intellectually and emotionally. We should also accept the fact that we might never know everything we have to know about the subject we are dealing with, but that’s alright.
Learning is a lifelong experience and it never stops. Sewing techniques keep evolving and new words spring up every day because of the reality of our ever-changing world. It’s just as well we have to learn whenever we can. How boring life would be if our knowledge remained the same!
Further Exploration: (Learning How to Speak English)
Read:
- New Year’s Resolutions 2019 (With Quotes), Learn English With Africa, 2019
- New Year’s Resolutions 2017, Learn English With Africa, 2017
- How to Learn English With Long-Lasting Results, Learn English With Africa, 2016
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- Kim Dave, a talented Fashion Designer and Content Creator
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About the Author
Thandi Ngwira Gatignol is the founder of Learn English With Africa. She was born on June 11th, 1981 in Blantyre, Malawi. When she was 19, she left her country of birth for France. She currently lives with her two daughters and husband in Poland.
Thandi holds a Bachelor’s degree in English studies obtained at the Université Paris X Nanterre in France and a Certificate in Journalism from Malawi. She has taught English as a French Ministry of Education certified teacher both in France and in Poland. She speaks six languages fluently, including French, Polish and Italian. She is now learning Kiswahili, German and Spanish. Salt No More is her debut novel and you can find her other books here on the website or on Amazon.
Course Title: Why Learning How to Sew is Like Learning How to Speak English (Informative Article), Level B1-B2)© Learn English With Africa, January 2019
