Language barrier in the architectural practice

First of all, I want to say thanks to all the students who contacted me and encouraged me to keep writing, knowing that there are people reading this blog means the world to me .

I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to work in three countries as an architect and I want to share how I have been dealing with the language barrier.

If you follow this blog, you know I moved from Ireland to France for good and I started my life from zero in this country.

Language barrier is a scary thing when you go abroad for the first time, specially if you have to work and survive.

I remember when I recently moved to Ireland I did not know how to vanish the language fear until I got my first job. I was under pressure, it was real life and there was money involved so I had to do things as best as I could. I have to admit that English is a language I grew up with, however, I had never worked in that language, had a professional life, or experienced different strong accents before my Irish adventure.

To be honest it was easy to start feeling comfortable with all my colleagues because we shared one thing -love for architecture - and If you are an architect you know that we have this sensibility that allows us to look towards the same direction.

There was understanding despite the language, there was unity and, even though some days were more complicated than others, we could work together and develop beautiful projects. Nevertheless, there was still a tiny gap in my English skills, so I started to attend to architecture events and then the ARB examination happened. To be able to sit the examination I had to take an exam called IELTS several times cause my essay skills were not sharp enough to get the mark I needed. Then I made it and ended up writing like a poet (I’m joking I still make grammar mistakes, but I do not feel bad about it) .

Three years later I had the opportunity to work in a bigger company in Dublin, I was already prepared for that and I was confident enough to work and to deal with people.

Then I moved to France and I realized that the language barrier was different, believe me, it works differently in every country you step. I’m positive that it is linked to the culture.

I knew French language but nobody seemed to understand me and in Paris people are always rushed so they cannot sit and wait for you to be able to throw a sentence.

Compared to Ireland, I had to be more fluent and accurate in French grammar to be able to work as an architect. It took me almost two years and a DELF B2 to get the level of language I have now. But guess what? art sensibility and understanding happened again.

I have been working as freelancer architect in a French practice for the last nine months and I haven’t had any problem with the language so far.

Understanding flows better when you are with people who share your passions.