THE '80s

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Speaking in Synthesizers: Finding a Language in '80s Pop Culture


Some of my favorite films, songs, and TV series date back to the '80s.


Sometimes, I think that I belong more to Generation X than I do to millennials because I enjoy its music, trends, films, and pop culture. Despite the fact that I became an adolescent during the '90s, I get a melancholic feeling every time I listen to, see, or read anything evoking the '80s.


I grew up in Mexico where I was exposed to the English language in limited ways. Nevertheless, being born into a bilingual home, together with the influence of the '80s and '90s technological and musical revolution, acted as a powerful ignition for my language development.


Indeed, English didn't just knock on the door, it burst right in. It was during the decade of big hair and bright colors that the English language started to permeate my everyday life with its MTV, series, films, video games, and synthesized songs on the radio. I began to incorporate English words into my vocabulary while I listened, read, or played. I intuitively used expressions such as: Game over, cool, walkman, thriller, dude, punk, pop, teenager, breakdancing, channel, remix, ice, surf, skate, sick, etc.


Even though I didn’t have the most suitable teachers during my childhood and adolescence, English class was my escape hatch. It might have been because it served as my primary gateway to the international world, which I looked up to. Most of the time it would set my mind into traveling mode, stirring up many emotions. Singing along to songs played in class wasn't just homework; it was a journey, stirring up a whole world of wanderlust and dreams.


I spent countless afternoons glued to the TV, soaking in the sights and sounds of my favorite series or with the radio playing revamped tunes in the background. Little did I know that all those hours were building the foundation for my ability to read and write in English. It's wild to think that my casual after-school obsessions became the unexpected catalyst for my English language skills.




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