To use the analogy of getting fitted for a new suit, language and culture learning is like being taken by a tailor into a fitting room . You emerge as the same person, but with some alterations that fit you better for life and service in that society. It is a you-changing experience. You are the same person of course, but a new side of your personality emerges, one that more closely fits the culture. You may actually enjoy your Russian or Chinese or Spanish or Hausa you .
Language learning implies participation .
Language ability is not just for a task. Whether or not they enter into our world and participate with us. Language learning entails building relationships. Language learning implies emotional involvement . It is not just a cognitive pursuit.