[B-Greek] How do we learn language?

Gary S. Shogren gshogren at racsa.co.cr
Tue Feb 15 10:53:48 EST 2005


Hi all, I've been off the list for several years, and now I'm back, and 
arrive just in time for a very interesting discussion. In the last six 
years, I've gone from teaching in English to teaching the New Testament 
full-time in Spanish (Costa Rica), and had to begin to learn Spanish from 
scratch when I was 40.

My observations:
1. Knowing a little Latin and some high-school French was a great help with 
a third Romance language.
2. As the "rules for proficiency" state, being able to communicate orally 
in a connected fashion is key. Writing and reading are important, but not 
so important for my work.
3. IT IS NOT TRUE that one picks up a second language by using it. Friends 
of mine have come to Latin America with the philosophy that "we'll pick up 
Spanish just like we learned English as children" -- it doesn't work, 
although obviously, conversation is very key as well. Some believe that 
language acquisition switches to the other side of the brain past a young 
age (puberty or younger?). In fact, I would divide language acquisition 
into three groups: 1. first language as an infant; 2. dead language, where 
reading and sometimes writing are the main activities; 3. second language, 
where verbal skills predominate.
4. Probably the greatest bungee-jump of the classroom for me is translating 
aloud and spontaneously, directly from Greek to Spanish without thinking in 
English. When we go around the room to translate, I do my verse along with 
the group - I would in an American classroom too, but I believe this helps 
my people feel that it's as challenging for me to translate as it is for 
them, for different reasons. It helps the level of mutual empathy.

It's great to be back. Hi, neighbor, Ron Ross! Gary Shogren

Gary S. Shogren
Universidad Cristiana Internacional ESEPA
San José, Costa Rica 





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