When I left Romania 5 years ago, I was conversant in Romania, but still far from being fluent. With the passing of time, I wasn’t sure how much Romanian I would be able to speak and understand when I returned this time.
I am very thankful that I have not lost very much of my Romanian language skills. I was able to pick right up where I left, as if I had only been gone for 2 weeks instead of 5 years! Occasionally I hear a word and think, “I did know what that word meant, but I don’t remember anymore,” but that is rare. Other times I hear a word and think, “That’s the first time I’ve heard that word since I’ve been back.”
On Monday I started language class. I will have class 4 times each week, so I can improve my language skills, especially conversation and grammar. As it is with most language acquisition, it is much easier for me to understand what is being said than to speak it correctly. My language classes are at our education center called “The House on the Rock,” which is part of the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries organization “Veritas.” There full-time language teacher who teaches the Romanian language to students and other missionaries. A few days a week, I am the only student. The other days 2 or 3 others will be joining me for class.
It is crucially important for missionaries to be able to communicate in the language of the people to whom they minister. For this reason, I am devoting the first 3 months of my time in Romania to language study. Even though I already have a good foundation, I want to be able to have deep conversations without the need of a translator. Part of language study will be spent in formal classes at the House on the Rock. The other times will be spent in informal contexts where I will be having conversations in Romanian.
9/25 update: This week (my 2nd week in language classes), one more student joined the class. So there are 2 of us on Monday and Tuesday to study grammar, and 3 of us on Wednesday and Thursday to work on verbal/conversation skills.
1 comment:
You are so right! It is so crucial to be able to communicate, plus it enables you to establish many more relationships with others. There is such freedom in knowing that you can talk with the person sitting next to you without constantly being nervous. So - all that to say -- good for you in setting aside some time to spend time with the language. I'm sure that this will prove to be an amazing foundation for you.
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