What Are the Challenges of Learning a New Language?

What are the challenges of learning a new language?

Language learning is one of the most humbling experiences that humans can possibly have. It's extremely difficult to learn any language to a degree of proficiency that is required for gospel preaching. For me, learning the language was challenging in the character aspect. Most of all there's a technical aspect to linguistics, but it was really the character side that was challenging for me. It's humbling yourself every single day to be the slowest person in the room, to be the person that doesn't understand the jokes, to be the person that is not interesting, is not charming, is not funny, and to consistently submit yourself to the Lord to be that person over a period of years. Sometimes two, three, sometimes five, six, seven, eight: that's difficult for any believer, for any Christian, and I was not different in that sense.

What can help you in language learning is good training, good methodology. It doesn't guarantee you anything, but it's a necessary foundation for language learning. There is nobody who can teach us those languages that are not offered at the university, that are not offered in classes. There is no grammar textbook, there is no dictionary that exists for these unreached language groups. So for us to go out there and be able to put together a sentence, be able to pick up vocabulary, understand the syntax and the grammar, it really takes a little bit of structure, a little bit of discipline, and a lot of grace from the Lord over a long period of time.