Getting Acquainted with Failure

Language learning has been a great experience for us so far. We are having a lot of fun, and it is amazing how quickly we are progressing. It is encouraging to look over the last two months and see how much we have grown in our language skills. I still remember what it felt like to have an entire conversation in German for the first time. I didn't understand everything, but I was able to express my ideas and understand the gist of what the other person was saying. Cool! But here is the thing. Even in the face of all this learning, we have also become close friends with failure.

We fail all the time. We make mistakes in class, when we are doing our home work, when we write anything or speak to anyone. We can't get away from it no matter how much we try. If we were to completely form all of our sentences and check them against every grammar table and dictionary, we would never say a word. One phrase has really stuck with me from our language training in Colorado: "You have to destroy the language on your way to mastering it."

Failure has become a close friend as we continue to live with the language barrier...but pressing into our failure also brings about humility. In our language class, there are lawyers, architects, and micriobiologists - all highly educated, highly competent people. And in class, you find us all speaking at a kindergarten level about zoo animals and going to the super market. We are being humbled. We know that we need to make 1,000,000 language mistakes on our way to mastering German, and so we have decided to start now and get as many as we can out of the way! We want to make accepting failure a step towards success, and this is the perfect testing ground to work out that idea.

Photo credit: lyns from morguefile.com

A New Attitude

Photo credit: grietgriet from morguefile.com

Last Friday, we completed two weeks of PILAT training at MTI, which stands for "Program In Language Acquisition Techniques". The training was not specific to the language we will learn (German), but instead, focused on preparing us and equipping us to learn another language. The training was absolutely invaluable. We learned about phonetics and linguistics, practiced language learning activities, and discussed the process of language learning, including how to best reach fluency.

One of my biggest takeaways was my attitude change. Going into language learning up to this point, I was nervous. Although I was a good student in school, learning a language to actually use and communicate is totally different from language learning in high school! And fear of the unknown was getting the best of me. I was also going into the adventure with a "grin and bear it" attitude. If I hunker down and study a lot, like I did in school, I can get through...right?

But PILAT completely reframed my attitude. I now have an entire workbook of activities I can do in the community and with a language helper that will help me to actually use and speak the language, not just read and write. I now have confidence in a method that has stood the test of time. I have practical steps to take, which reduce my fear and uncertainty.

One of the lessons from PILAT that really stuck with me were their "5 premises":

1. Language is a natural himan capability.
2. Language is a person, creative production.
3. Language is a social, interactive activity.
4. Language is a cultural, historical expression.
5. Language is a structured, governed system.

These premises really get at the core of language and, surprisingly, brought me comfort. They reinforce that my brain has been made to learn a language! God created us to communicate and our brain is capable of so much in terms of language use. I'm excited to discover that!

When I learn German, I may learn differently than anyone else because language is personal and creative. There is nothing wrong with that. Everyone speaks their own language a little differently; this is another place where my personality can come out.

In the end, language will help us discover and understand Austrian culture in a deeper way. It all comes back to our motivation - why are we on this journey? To communicate the gospel. We are not learning German to buy bread at the store or to read the Austrian newspapers...we are learning to interact with Austrians and communicate God's love. When we continually go back to the importance of communication in ministry, we are motivated to continue in language learning.

Which language learning premise resonates with you and why?

The Most Important Word in Language Learning

Nate making vowel sounds into a mirror

Our last week and half has been something 'totally different.' We transitioned from SPLICE training, where we talked about animals such as owls, turtles and ducks to gaining tools to learn a new language at the PILAT program.  The program has been very valuable as we pursue learning a new language in Austria. We now have many activities to explore the language and the culture with child-like eyes.

Recently in class, someone said, "I can't say that word." The leader of the PILAT program, who has an immense wealth of experience, responded, "You cannot have incomplete sentences in language learning. You must instead say, 'I can't say that word yet."

He went on to explain how important the world 'yet' is in language learning. When you tell yourself, "I can't say that word", there is a finality to it. It communicates to yourself, "I will never say that word right."  

But when we add 'yet' to those statements, we add hope. When we say, "I can't say that word, yet" or "I can't make that sound yet", we look forward to a time when  we can make that sound. We look forward to when we can hear the difference between those two sounds. We keep working on making that sounds, because we are confident we will get it right eventually. Hope looks to the future; it looks to possibilities. 


This hope is really exciting for us. It looks into the monumental task of learning a language with an attitude of hope. We are excited for the possibilities of learning and growing when we arrive in Austria! And when we get discouraged in the long journey of language learning, we will remind ourselves, "We are not there...yet. But we will be."


This applies to many other areas of life. When we say "I'll never learn to do that" or "I'd love to try that, but it would be too hard for me", we remove the possibility of ever achieving our hopes and goals. But if we add 'yet,' we have continual hope of learning something new, venturing into uncharted territory, making new discoveries, and allowing God to use us in ways we never thought possible. In situations that seem too difficult or too scary, let's try the word 'yet'. It brings hope for the future!


Question:
What statements do you need to add a 'yet' to?