Language Learning Expectations vs. Reality

Our first trimester classmates chat before class

While I was in our pre field training, I wrote a reflection paper on language learning and my plans to implement certain techniques. How does the reality of language school measure up with my idealistic goals?

July 2011, Pre field training at MTI:  I’ve always longed to learn a second language and hope that my passionate desire will propel me through hours of memorization, complicated grammar lessons, and lots of classroom training.  In PILAT I have learned that although dedication is essential, language is a human capability, and I should approach it as an obtainable experience, not an endless math drill. 

November 2011, Costa Rica: After 3.5 months here, I still have a strong sense of purpose propelling me through the memorization and grammar lessons.  I love my teachers and classes.  I believe it is possible to achieve a level of fluency in Spanish, not just one of basic survival.  Thank you, Lord, for perseverance!

July 2011: Like a child, I need to let my curiosity and need drive my language acquisition.  I’ll be “slow to speak and quick to listen.”  I’ll observe and listen at the same time, experiencing the entire context of conversations by jumping in with both feet.   I’ll struggle to communicate with others when trying to get on the right train, checking to make sure I’m getting off the bus at the right street, or finding out when the farmer’s market opens.  I will need to live as a curious, humble, and, at times, helpless child as I discover a new place on the planet, phrase by phrase.

November 2011:  My curiosity is still moving me to ask questions and initiate conversation.  When I need to ask permission for Sabrina to miss a ballet class, or when I want a teacher to repeat an explanation in class, and when I want the taxi driver to get us home, the Spanish emerges by necessity.  I also listen carefully to needed information.  Phrase by phrase, the language is becoming a part of my thinking and speaking. And people understand what I’m trying to communicate!  It’s exciting.

July 2011: I hope that people in this new culture will also love me, because I will make many mistakes.  There will be so much that I just don’t know yet.  I already fail to communicate clearly in English and often say things that could be understood in two different ways.  From my perspective, I am perfectly clear, but the other person’s assumptions have led him to a different meaning than I intended.  If the actual spoken word is only a small percentage of what happens in communication, then I will also need to understand tone, facial expressions, body language, unique personalities, and cultural context.  These will likely be very different than the cues I’m subconsciously familiar with in English.  Communication is so much more than words, and I will learn the non verbal cues and historical context faster in the cultural setting.

November 2011:  I’m finding that much of the nonverbal communication transcends culture.  But I would need to live here for many more years before picking up the more subtle nuances.  When a tico is polite, I look for cues to see if he is sincere or not, but I don’t see anything to help me!  People here have been gracious as I have made mistakes (as far as I can tell).

July 2011: The biggest obstacle to learning a second language is within me.  I like to get things done efficiently, and yet I will have to choose to take the longer road at first.  Instead of hiding at home, keeping everything neat and tidy the way I like things done, I will have to live life at the park or market, spending time with people who do things differently than I.  I’ll have to choose to try to understand the perspective of my Costa Rican friends, laughing at all the wrong times, instead of spending the bulk of my time sharing stories with fellow missionaries.  I believe the key to learning Spanish will be living in the middle of Costa Rica and Uruguay in a manner that is deliberately uncomfortable and inefficient, but exceedingly rewarding.  

November 2011:  I am truly living in a way that is uncomfortable, but not deliberately.  I’m not looking for shortcuts to avoid Spanish speaking opportunities, but I’m not exactly going out of my way.  For example, I’ve had meaningful conversations in a hair salon, in the dance studio, and with tico friends.   So, language learning is progressing but still feels somewhat mechanical.  We are learning the difference between “perfecto” and “imperfecto” past tense verbs.  Even when I thoughtfully write a paper, I make mistakes.  I can’t imagine what I must sound like when I’m speaking.   By God’s grace I will keep learning and progressing, poco a poco.