Should I go where I already know the language? Missionary Preparation Tip #020

A lot of us learn some Spanish or French or German in high school, and may even further that language learning in college. Does that mean we should go as missionaries to Spain, France or Germany?

TRANSCRIPT
Should I go where I already know the language?

If I already speak a language does that mean that that's where God has called me? may be a question that can come to mind.

I would say, the best thing to understand about languages, probably, in answer to that question, would be that you have, each of us has, a mother tongue. And again, because you're listening to me speak in English, there's a high likelihood maybe English is your mother tongue. The mother tongue is already there.

When you learn another language, you're learning to decode the second language. Every language you learn makes it easier to learn the next language. I would not discount the fact that I already know German, French, Spanish, whatever. Italian — whatever similar language I may already know from college days or high school days or whatever. But I would also not discount the possibility that that has been a tool that God has used to help me to decode and unlock the ability to learn languages and to develop, even, an aptitude to pick up language.

So I wouldn't necessarily say, 'Well, since I studied German I'm supposed to go to Germany.' Maybe that's the case. Maybe that's something that God is using to prepare you to learn languages, and that's a skill that you're developing in that process.



Credits:
Produced by Mission Data International
Video Editor: Paul Nielsen
Cameraman: Peter Armstrong

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2010 Mission Data International
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2010 Mission Data International

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