Tips from the Language Learning Trenches

This is a guest article by Calvin Hanson, a missionary in Mexico.  If you’d like to be a guest writer click this link.

As my wife and I began to walk toward our long-term call to Spanish speaking countries, we soon realized this meant we were about to embark on a journey bigger than we know: language learning. Currently, we are in Guadalajara, Mexico taking an 8 week Spanish school. This topic is fresh in our minds and hearts, I thought I’d share some tips with you. These will apply best to you if you are fully immersed (or going to be) into a culture.

1. Slow down and enjoy the journey.

Language is big part of life. Think about it in terms of when you were a baby and growing
up. It took years to grasp the language. Unless you really have a gift (which some people do, and I’m a little jealous of), it will take years for it to become somewhat natural.

2. Celebrate the small victories.

If you learned 20 new words in a week, grab yourself a coke! Its 20 words that will help you communicate. Every Friday after our weekly exam, Camille and I find some way to treat ourselves whether its tacos and horchata or a cute ring from the market.

3. Be humble and brave.

This is probably my biggest lesson learned. My pride and frustration rises up in class after the 17th correction of my mispronunciation of “alrededor”. Learning is a soft word for failing until you succeed. The temptation after a while of speaking is to stop out of fear of being wrong or saying the wrong thing. Open your mouth and let the beautiful mess come out! As native speakers correct you, take it humbly and learn−even if its 17 times!

4. Make it Fun.

We’ve learned that our fuel for language learning comes from hanging out and befriending people. They don’t correct you every time that you mispronounce “todo” (bless our teacher’s soul). Other fun things include: Pick up some slang, eat with locals, play a local sport, watch a favorite movie in your new language with English subtitles or read an article or topic that you are interested in.

6. Splurge once a week by speaking english or your native tongue.

It’s a gift to communicate in your mother tongue and nothing makes that more clear than not speaking in it for a while. Skype your family or speak to some others that speak your language and watch as you are refreshed as you freely express yourself. Camille and I have been in this language school for a month and it’s amazing how God teaches us rich spiritual lessons through the process and uses us with our limited vocabulary to speak truth and hope into people’s lives! It is possible to learn a language and I encourage you all to join in! Why bother learning another language? Learning another language isn’t just an academic exercise. It’s actually a key to unlock the heart of the people and culture. In missions, discipleship can be difficult when we can’t speak the heart language of the people. Plus, its really fun to communicate with another culture in their language!

I’ve talked to many long-term missionaries and they talk about something being unlocked when communication is in the mother-tongue. Even the apostle Paul knew at least two languages (Acts 21:40, Acts 21:37-39) and strived to become like the people to win them to Christ (1 Corinthians
9:20-23).

¡Que te vaya bien!