Persevering in Language Learning

I held a small paper cup filled with warm spiced chai. I sat around a faded blue plastic table on a worn plastic chair, surrounded by fellow chai drinkers. It’s my favorite place to be. My fingers danced around the edges of the cup to avoid being burned by its heat. All the while, those around me were speaking a tongue I longed to understand. Like the chai in my hands, my heart burned with a desire to join their conversations—to sincerely laugh at what was funny and cry at what made their hearts ache.

This was life during the first several months in South Asia. Lots of tea. Lots of smiles. Lots of, well… trying to figure it all out. When you arrive on the field, you are overwhelmed by a tidal wave of “new.” New people, new culture, new clothes, new food, and—you guessed it—a new language.

Missionaries are people who work to adapt themselves to their new lifestyle as best they can so the lost might know Jesus. Language learning is one of the most important things cross-cultural workers do to live and work in a new culture. However, we know that in many parts of the world, including South Asia, you can find bi-, tri-, even quadrilingual people who know English. So, you might be thinking, “Yes, exactly. So why would I want to go through the trouble of learning a new language when I can use a translator? It doesn’t seem like it’s worth all the trouble.” I am here to tell you—it is. Learning the heart language of the people is worth it because Jesus is.

I don’t want you to think that language learning is an insurmountable mountain with little reward. That’s simply not true. I offer here three different realms in which we gain from learning the local language.

1. Relational & Cultural Gain

Almost intuitively, we understand that knowing someone and being known by them in their heart language creates space for a deeper relationship with both friends and ministry partners. Often, when we first arrive on the field, it is an isolating and lonely experience. This is largely because we do not yet have the ability to communicate with neighbors, shopkeepers, believers, house helpers, or anyone around us from the host culture. Nevertheless, as we slowly learn and grow in our ability to communicate in a new language, our relationships with those around us deepen. We can look forward with hope as we walk the cumbersome path of language learning toward the rich community we may one day experience with locals.

Our inability to communicate in the beginning stages of life overseas requires us to practice dependence. This can look like depending on God, as we should, but also depending on nationals. We need help from nationals to know the right prices for vegetables in the market, to figure out what to do when we get locked out of our house, or when we see a monkey in our apartment building. As a result, we are often able to form meaningful relationships and clearly demonstrate that we, as the foreigners, do not consider ourselves to have all the answers all the time. To say it another way: this is a right expression of humility that can point to Christ.

Furthermore, in learning a language, we become familiar not just with syntax and grammar but also with the very culture it carries. When first encountered, new cultures are like an enigma that must be decoded—and language is the key. Through a translator, whether Google or otherwise, we can get to know the surface level of a culture, but we are unable to dive into its depths. By being able to converse in a local language, we come to understand the many facets of the new environment we find ourselves in. This allows us to form stronger relationships and to honor, understand, and appreciate the new world we are in.

2. Evangelistic & Missional Gain

Another way we gain as missionaries through learning a language is by developing gospel fluency—being able to share the gospel in the heart language of the hearer. We learn the words of life in the local heart language and keep them on our lips, ready to share with those who will listen. Gospel fluency enables us to model evangelism in the local language for our national partners and show them how they can speak the true story of Christ to their fellow countrymen. In doing so, we implicitly emphasize the reality that they can share much better than we can in their own language, since we may stumble through grammar or vocabulary. So here, really, there are three ways we gain: clarity of the gospel , mobilization of the local harvest force, and a pushing back against the supernatural reality of evil.

Furthermore, knowing the nuances of vocabulary that best express biblical theology allows for more effective training of nationals engaging in the missionary task. Languages are complex and carry both linguistic and cultural nuances that must be acquired. If we rely entirely on a translator for understanding, we risk losing those nuances. As we struggle through language learning, those nuances become clearer and, in the end, refine the way we share the gospel and teach nationals.

3. Strategic & Catalytic Gain

Even more, there is great strategic and catalytic gain in language learning. The most effective mission strategies are those that emphasize local ownership of the core missionary task of church planting. If we are only looking for nationals who speak English, then we miss the opportunity to effectively equip and train many of the believers we encounter. By knowing the local language, our pool of potential coworkers broadens immensely.

Consequently, since our goal is local ownership of the core missionary task, being able to train and work with this larger pool of national believers is more strategic. We gain access to train and develop more brothers and sisters for the task, which, Lord willing, can result in significant progress toward seeing the gospel take root in every place, among all peoples.

Some Final Thoughts

I am a firm believer that learning a new language is a grace that God gives. He allows our minds to begin to understand, use, share, and love in a new language. We must commit even this task of language learning to God.

The ability to communicate deeply in a new language takes a lot of time. Language learning is hard. It’s frustrating. Progress is not a straight line upward and to the right. It requires the learner to take each day as it comes—looking for opportunities to speak with nationals, build relationships, grow in gospel fluency, and remain steadfast in prayer.

There is great joy to be found in this task of language learning because, ultimately, Jesus is worth it. If you are in the throes of language learning, looking ahead to learning a new language, or speaking a language not native to your heart, may you find encouragement in the sustaining presence and help of Christ. May we grow in humility, dependence on God, and in our ability to effectively train the harvest force around us. So drink those cups of chai—all for His glory to be made known among the nations!