New people learn language

 

It's funny how, even though I've been in the islands for over 9 years, having new people around reminds me of what it was like to arrive in the islands, a sweaty mess who didn't understand a word of the local language. My team full of new people (8 new adults and 2 toddlers) arrived at the beginning of the hot season in 2013, excited about mangoes and samosas, less excited about the humidity and the feeling of being perpetually sweaty.

We've just now welcomed a new family to Clove Island, and they're in the throes of adjustment. How do we handle the heat? What sort of food will the kids eat? What do we do with the trash? How do we create healthy rhythms of life?

I've been running their orientation to language learning, working to share the vision of why we learn language, the mechanics of how we learn language, and the personal insight and self-discovery that helps in staying motivated in the language learning journey.

But why do we learn the local language? Especially if we have people teaching English on the island, or if we already speak French (the language of education), why is learning their mother tongue important? We learn the local language because we care about the people we're living among. Learning their language demonstrates honor, gives us a reason to build relationships from day one, and prepares us for heart conversations. If we don't learn language, we're forcing them to adjust to us and limiting the reach of the words we speak.

The truth we speak deserves to be passed on, and those who encounter truth in one language are most likely to share it with others in the same language they heard it. So... we learn to express truth in the most common language used, the mother tongue, the heart language of islanders. Our discomfort and efforts reap a reward in the fruit we see and the seed sowing that goes beyond our small circles.

Language learning is also an opportunity for character development - imagine all the potential fruit from it:

-> Perseverance: it's a long-term commitment and you have to do it even on the hard days.

-> Patience: it takes time to go from a few words and phrases to expressing your own thoughts, to sharing stories and jokes, to deep conversations.

-> Humility: it's not easy to be reduced from a high-functioning adult to a toddler in language skills. When they tell you, "you didn't understand" and you want to justify yourself, but have to admit, "yes, can you explain it again?" That's refining right there.

-> And more: the fruit of the Spirit have such an opportunity to flourish in the ground of language learning. Only, of course, if we embrace the refining process.

I might be fluent in one island's language, but I'm not fluent in them all, and as I continue to grow and develop, I too have to remind myself of the joys of learning, the character development that's available, and the hope of what can be accomplished by embracing the learning process.