Learnig French

Have you ever heard of Rosetta Stone?

While this phrase may bring to mind the literal ancient stone which helped scholars to unlock an ancient language, I'm referring to the computer program.

During my Sophomore year I switched my major from Business to English. The main reason was because I got sick of looking at numbers, and really wanted to learn the ins and outs of the language I speak everyday. After officially switching my major I realized a requirement that I had never noticed before- In order to graduate I would need 6 credits of an "intermediate language."

The last time I was in a foreign language class was in the 9th grade, and I got fed up with it and decided to never take it again. But here I was, faced once more with "French."

I really couldn't tell you why I chose French in middle school, it just seemed more exciting then Spanish, which everyone was taking. Yet here I am in college, realizing that the only other language that may be of use in my life is Spanish, but since I already had a foundation in French, I started eating more baguettes and wearing those sweet hats.

All that to say, taking a college level French course did (and still does) scare me to death. Because of that I got "Rosetta Stone" in order to help me learn.

Rosetta Stone always talks about how they are the program of choice to teach anyone how to speak a new language in a simple way; "immersion."
From the Oxford English Dictionary: "Immerse- To plunge into, to bury, embed, involve, or include in other things."

Opening up the program felt like I stepping into France. There is no English, just French speakers speaking French about French things as you look at pictures of... America. Just kidding, they show French pictures.

I was blown away at first, and honestly a little frustrated. But after doing a few exercises I could see the benefits of all of this Frenchness. By only seeing hearing and speaking French I had to really learn the language instead of just learning to translate.

There is an obvious difference between someone who can translate between languages, and a person who can think in a different language. By being able to be surrounded by the language and culture, Rosetta Stone helped me to really learn and clearly understand all of this stuff.

When I first came to college I was doing something everyday of the week. Monday thru Thursday I was at prayer meetings, Bible studies and huge Christian meeting. Friday and Saturday I would be having conversations about the Bible and God with a few friends and Sunday I was at church. When I wasn't doing all of this stuff I was reading for myself and really taking it all in.

I was immersed.

Because of the people I was surrounded by, the things I was studying and the conversations I was having, I was really able to learn who God is, and what he was doing all around me. It was amazing.

Much like Rosetta Stone, this high intensity immersion slowed down once I started being comfortable in what I already knew.

In French I know how to ask questions, how to say thank you, I can get by, though a little choppy, I can still get by.

The more I look back on the last few years I see the same thing happening with my longing for God. I know how to pray, I know the truth, and God has entrusted me to lead. All of these things have made me comfortable.

While I go to class and learn about French, everything is still translated into English, and everyone still thinks in their native language. It is only by myself, with this program, that I am able to be completely immersed in all that is French.
It is the same way with getting to know God. While we can learn a lot from listening to other people and going to a billion meetings, we also need to sit down and surround ourselves with prayer and the Word so that we are able to truly and effectively be immersed in God.

Surrounding ourselves is really a great way to learn anything, but without speaking who knows if we really have learned? Let me explain; I can sit in French class for two years, and do exercises on Rosetta Stone everyday, but if I don't speak the language, how can anyone, least of all me, know if I truly learned anything.
If we go to all these meetings, and sit and read John Piper and Francis Chan but don't act on what we have read, did we really even learn?

It is a great first step if you can translate a language. You are able to get a glimpse of a culture, and maybe share that with someone else, but things will get lost in translation. The best speakers, or teachers, are those who can truly think in the language, and act out what they know.

How well are you doing in French class? Are you a translator or a speaker?
Acting on what we know is the true test to illustrate if we really know anything at all...