[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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