Meet David De’ Ath, co-founder, editor, and writer at Wonderful World English. With his extensive background as an English teacher, David provides valuable insights and practical tips on ESL for students and teachers alike.
Learning a new language can be challenging for anyone who takes on the task, and English is considered one of the hardest languages to learn!
Shakira (born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll) is a world-famous artist from Columbia, and her native language is Spanish.
She is best known for her incredible voice and mesmerizing dance moves.
Her hips don’t lie, and her talents don’t end there; she is fluent in seven languages!
Shakira can speak seven languages, including English! Learning English helped boost her musical career, and she mostly developed in the language when she was transitioning her music from Spanish around the year 2000. She accomplished this by immersing herself in the English language.
Shakira is an inspiration to millions and today, we will delve into the awesome story of how she learned English and its impact on her career.
Now, let’s find out how Shakira became so good at speaking English!
How Did Shakira Learn English?
Shakira was born on February 2, 1977, in the Colombian city of Barranquilla.
Her father is Lebanese, and her mother is Colombian, so growing up in a multicultural household helped expose Shakira to diverse influences from a young age.
This upbringing played a vital role in shaping Shakira’s life and perspectives.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest influences on Shakira’s English and what helped her on her language-learning journey:
1. Shakira’s Interest in English
During the early stages of her musical career, Shakira showed an interest in learning English.
She understood that learning English would expand her artistic horizons and help her connect with a much wider audience worldwide.
This realization was the main fuel for her determination to learn English and grow as an artist.
When Shakira was recording “Laundry Service, ” her first album, she could not speak English.
It was her manager Emilio Estefan who hired her an English tutor.
Shakira was very nervous about pulling off a successful album at the time, and her fellow singer, Gloria Estefan, spoke about this in an interview.
When Shakira began to work with us she did not know English so I had to translate the songs from the album for her and convince her that she could do a triumphant job.
Latintimes.com
As we can see, Shakira received help from English speakers when she started her English learning journey.
If you’ve ever wondered how to help someone learn English, you should check out the awesome guide below!
Related Article: How to Help Someone Learn English – Teacher’s Tips
2. Learning English
Shakira committed herself to learning English with dedication and passion.
She sought various means to help improve her language skills.
In an interview with VH1, Shakira said she wanted to know how English grammar works.
To me it was very important to understand the nature of the language and how it works in literature I had to read Walt Whitman’s ‘Leaves of Grass‘ in English just to understand the language a little more. It was too important to me to write my own material like I always did.
Shakira
By immersing herself in the language, Shakira began to understand how to communicate in English effectively.
This helped her start writing songs in English instead of translating her existing songs from Spanish.
If you’re looking for a list of the best songs to sing in English, check out the guide below!
Related Article: Best English Songs to Sing – Complete Guide
3. Challenges and Strategies
Shakira admits that learning English was scary at first.
She even said that the first time she gave a concert in English, she had to be calmed down by her friend Gloria in the dressing room before they started.
Learning any new language comes with its fair share of challenges, and Shakira encountered obstacles along her English language learning path.
However, she worked hard and overcame these obstacles through sheer determination.
Shakira prioritized practice, engaged in conversations and immersed herself in English-speaking cultures to improve her speaking ability.
4. Immersion and Cultural Influence
As mentioned above, Shakira put a lot of effort into immersing herself in English.
By absorbing poetry, understanding translations of her songs from Spanish, and conversing with English speakers, Shakira was well on her way to speaking English.
And despite many people believing Shakira only learned English to boost her musical career, she says she learned English to build connections with more people.
Shakira said that she learned English not because it would help her scale the US and UK music charts, but because it gives her the freedom to communicate with people she meets during her world tours.
Hindustantimes.com
Shakira wanted to connect with people from all walks of life, and learning English gave her more opportunities.
She embraced the cultures associated with the English language, allowing her to connect with a broader audience than if she had not taken the time to learn English.
5. Collaborations
Shakira has worked with many English-speaking artists, including Cher and Celine Dion!
Working and immersing herself around English-speaking artists helped elevate her career and English-speaking ability.
She also grew considerably in confidence, which is beneficial when learning a new language.
6. Impact on Shakira’s Career
Ultimately, Shakira’s determination to learn English profoundly impacted her musical career.
It opened many doors to collaborations with artists in the English-speaking world and expanded her fan base globally!
Her ability to perform in English also showcased her talent and cemented her as a genuine global superstar in the eyes of many.
Shakira reached new heights of success in learning English, which would have been much more challenging if she had never taken the time to learn English.
7. Linguistic Talent
As mentioned earlier, Shakira has lots of linguistic talent, as she can speak seven languages!
These languages are Spanish (her native language), English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, and Catalan!
She has also sung in some of these languages too!
This remarkable multilingualism has garnered admiration and respect from fans everywhere!
Do you know which language is more difficult, English or Spanish?
Find out in the link below!
Related Article: Is English Harder to Learn than Spanish? – Teacher’s Answer
Check out the video below to see Shakira speaking six different languages!
8. Shakira’s Influence on Language Learning
Shakira is not only a very talented artist, but she is also a big advocate for multilingualism (learning other languages).
She has used her platform to promote the importance of learning and appreciating different languages and cultures.
Through her music, Shakira has encouraged many people to leave their comfort zone and embark on a language-learning journey.
Her determination, passion, and success in mastering multiple languages are powerful examples of what can be achieved with dedication and perseverance.
Shakira is a role model for aspiring language learners everywhere, and as people continue to take inspiration from her, this will add to the richness of global diversity.
Conclusion
Shakira is a very talented musician who can also speak seven languages!
She grew her musical career by learning English and becoming a global icon.
Learning the language fluently took dedication, hard work, and immersing herself in the English culture.
She continues to inspire people worldwide to embark on a language journey of their own.
Shakira’s journey is a testament to the rewards of embracing new languages and their limitless possibilities.
We hope you gained value from this article.
Have a wonderful day!
Image Attribution: All images licensed via canva.com
