Ever wonder how Frontiers workers go about learning language? Some workers have access to language schools. But many others live in remote locations or study obscure dialects, and for them, language schools and curricula simply don’t exist. Some languages don’t even have a written alphabet or script.
In this final post in our three-part series on language learning, a field worker shares about the corporate joy of being nurtured into a new language and culture.
Now that our language is progressing, we include shared experiences in our lessons. We go on outings around town with our language helper, Minou, and afterwards, we sit down and reminisce about what we did, talking in as much detail as possible. We make a recording of Minou describing our experience from start to finish. We end by listening to the recording together and noting down new vocabulary words, expressions, and structures.
This morning I needed groceries, so we decided that our shared experience would be a trip to the shop.
Together with Minou, my husband and I walked a few blocks to the market on the main street of our little town. We talked about the warm sunny weather, the dog asleep in the middle of the road, and the women hanging laundry on a wire fence.
Two older men passed us, and we overheard one say to the other, “Where do those foreigners come from?” We looked at each other and smiled.
We arrived at the shop and bought yogurt, sugar, and eggs while asking the shopkeeper about his family and his apple orchard. On the walk back home we greeted various neighbors on the street. A woman passed us on the way to the market with a tub of fish on her head.
As we reached home and took our shoes off at the door, Minou said, “I’m happy, very happy!”
I looked at her and saw her eyes shining brightly. “You speak very well! I’m very happy!” She repeated this again as we sat down at our kitchen table to continue the lesson.
I realized that, although she’s been giving us lessons for several months, Minou had never seen us out in the community actually interacting with people. She was surprised and pleased at how well we were doing.
As I saw her face lit up with joy, I could sense that she was proud of us and proud of herself. The success of the morning’s experience probably meant more to her than her week’s wages. She saw her efforts making a difference in our lives.
As Minou invests in us and helps us grow in our language abilities, we pray that she will also be drawn towards the joy of knowing Jesus’ love.
**Lisa and her husband have lived overseas for more than 20 years and raised two daughters in West Africa. They are now making a new home in the mountains of North India, where they have been warmly welcomed by their Muslim neighbors. Lisa also does spiritual coaching for other women on the field.**
Original article: www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/word-by-word-i-am-very-happy
