Learning a new language is a mix of curiosity, frustration, and small victories. But there’s also the realization that fluency isn’t just vocabulary and grammar, but identity, nuance, and self-expression.

English on Broadway captures this beautifully in its story of Iranian students preparing for the TOEFL exam. It’s about ambition, belonging, and the quiet loss that comes with translation.

Having now spent years abroad, I know this feeling well. German is my native language, but English—after years in London, San Francisco and now New York—has become second nature. Still, there are moments when I feel a slight distance between thought and expression, when I wonder if my full complexity translates. 

And now, learning Spanish, I’m starting all over again—fumbling, simplifying, feeling small.

But maybe that’s the point. There’s something humbling—and liberating—about starting from scratch. New ways of thinking, new connections, a new version of yourself taking shape…