Childlikeness, Phonetics, University and Village Life

On Friday, we finished up the Second Language Acquisition module. No, I am not yet fluent in either French or Baka, though I hope to be near fluency in both within the next few years. To be completely honest, we didn’t even work much on our individual languages (people here are going all over the globe, so we are not all working on the same languages), but we certainly learned a ton. Through the course of this 2 week module, we learned how to approach a new language humbly, how to find a language helper, how to supplement language school, how to use different tools to learn the language in a more effective way, and how to better articulate the sounds of the language we are going to learn.

I found out that I am a structured, analytical learner, and that I will probably do very well in French language school. However, I will probably be challenged when it comes time to learn Baka, since there will be no structure provided for me. We discussed different language learning options ranging from very unstructured tribal type situations where one must learn from an illiterate native speaker, most likely without a “bridge (common) language,” to a highly structured university type setting. I get to try to learn language from both ends of that spectrum. Many in our class will have to do something in between.

With the help of one of our instructors and many people in Wycliffe, I was able to procure a copy of a Baka phonology. This is a document, written about 25 years ago, that describes, in linguistic terms, what sounds are in the Baka language. It was very difficult to locate, but it is a very neat tool to have.

At the end of last week, when I was beginning to get a little discouraged about learning two languages, God used two events to encourage me. First, I heard from a teammate, who has just reached level 2 in Baka. That means that he will get to begin doing formal ministry now and dedicate less time to language learning. If he can do it, then it must be possible! Second, when I met with our phonetics specialist to go over some of the sounds of Baka, I was told that I was making all of the sounds just perfect! I knew that I had been listening to Baka the whole time I was in Cameroon before, but I didn’t know that I had heard and remembered the sounds so well. What a great encouragement at the end of two weeks of learning. Now, I can’t wait to get started!