Tag Archives: language learning

Learn the language yourself!

[We’re discussing a couple of sayings this week. One is from a Facebook group:
“I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PRESS 1 TO HEAR A MESSAGE IN ENGLISH… WE ARE IN AMERICA, LEARN THE LANGUAGE.”
The other is something I wrote in response:
“Everyone who complains about immigrants not knowing English should have to use Bibles printed in Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew.”
]

“Learn the language!” That’s the loving response that so many Americans* offer to those that want to come to this country. Never mind that most Americans can’t write their own language correctly, nor speak it in a grammatically correct way. Before you get too mad, let me point out that I include myself in that. I learned a lot while trying to teach English in Argentina, because the colloquial English I learned isn’t exactly “by the book” English. It would be interesting to see how the average American would score on the TOEFL test. Most would fail a simple test over the difference between their, there and they’re. [“Your so rite,” you say] It’s time that Americans refudiated such language errors. (To quote one of the exemplary speakers of the xenophobic movement)

Add to that the fact that many countries require 12 years of foreign language in their public schools, while American schools rarely require more than 2 or 3 (if that much). The old joke runs like this:

Q. What do you call someone who knows three languages?
A. Trilingual
Q. What do you call someone who knows two languages?
A. Bilingual
Q. What do you call someone who only knows one language?
A. American

No, I never heard that joke overseas. That’s one we tell on ourselves. Americans travel the world demanding that everyone speak to us in English, then sit at home shouting “LEARN THE LANGUAGE!” to those who would come here. We’ve sent ambassadors to other countries who did not speak the language of the host country.

The second largest economy in the world will soon be China. Do you want to guess what the proportion of English-speaking Chinese businessmen is to Chinese-speaking American businessmen is? Probably about like it’s been with the Japanese.

Now let’s lay aside the cultural issues. What about us as Christians? Is it our place to demand that others do what benefits us? Some urge immigrants to learn English out of concern for their welfare. But that’s not the attitude expressed in these groups that we’re talking about this week. Let me say it clearly. Christians have no business joining with those that express such unloving attitudes. If we think people should learn English, it’s our job to reach and help them do so, as many loving Christians are doing.

It’s not our task to whine about having to press a button during a phone call.

*And yes, I’m using the term “American” in the ethnocentric way, despite the fact that I know many countries besides the U.S. can lay claim to the term “American.”

B&B Friday: Books that have impacted my life

booksRather than review a book or a blog this week, I want to write about some of the books that impacted my life. Most of them are several decades old, but here goes…

• He Loves Forever by Tom Olbricht. OK, it wasn’t just this book; it was also the fact that I had Dr. Olbricht in class at that time. He taught me to let the Bible itself define which subjects are most important. That may sound obvious, but it was a concept that had a major effect on my understanding of the Bible.

• How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth by Douglas Stuart and Gordon Fee. Again, a book that taught me about how to interpret the Bible. The idea of discerning the different genres within Scripture had a major impact on how I read the Bible.

• Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. I received this as a gift from the first couple for whom I performed a wedding ceremony. I didn’t grow up studying spiritual disciplines like fasting, meditation, etc. Foster’s book opened my eyes to these practices. The chapter on simplicity was also important in my development.

• Language Acquisition Made Practical by Thomas and Elizabeth Brewster. This book not only discussed non-traditional language learning but also introduced the concept of bonding to me. This had a major role in helping me decide to skip going to a language school before going to Argentina. I’ve never regretted that decision.

• Friendship Factor by Alan Loy McGinnis. While I’m still basically a shy person, this book came along at a time when I was learning to interact with others more effectively. It’s a book I read several times during my college years.

These are by no means all of the books that influenced my development over the years. But I think they are books that have had a place of significance in leading me to where I am today.

Feel free to share some of the books that have impacted you.