How do missionaries learn languages

Reading the Book of Mormon, the Liahona and other church publications in the foreign language aloud can be an excellent way to keep up the language and the accent. Speaking the language with others is perhaps the most direct way to keep up a language. It may be the only way to truly practice a language and keep skills fresh. This might be done by volunteering at a branch that uses those language skills.

Unfortunately, not all language groups can be found readily in the U. Spanish in the U. However, native Danish speakers are hard to come by. However, do we also view the acquisition of language skills as part of the process of preparation to serve? The best way — still — is making sure not to forget the promises made on the plane as a young missionary. Most missionaries believe they will marry, go to college, have a wonderful family and earn enough money to go on a mission with their spouse. Those who have kept up their language skills will approach subsequent missions and language requirements with less temerity.

An Idahoan, Darrel Hammon likes being outdoors, growing things and seeing things the way they could be. You can read more of his musings at www. NPR Explains.

Download Media Close. I agree to the Terms of Use for media file use. Below are links of two people's personal stories confirming this. One big factor is that they are taught in total immersion from day one and as soon as they learn something new they are expected only say it in the language they are learning.

When I was in the MTC we were taught to pray in Spanish on the first day and were expected to only pray in Spanish for the rest of our missions. Anyway, there are some thoughts for you. I hope this helps! There have been many good answers on this subject.

Having been an observer of the missionary process to learn a language, I will share my insight. They do immerse themselves into the language from day one in their training. As much as possible, they try to avoid their native language and attempt to communicate in the new language as exclusively as they can. This indeed accelerates the learning process. However, even accelerated, even the military has studied the LDS language training process and has attempted to duplicate it as much as possible.

Even they cannot seem to match the success rate from what I have seen, but they try. When a missionary goes out, they often are not very fluent in the new languages. This makes for some very comical situations when they use a wrong combination of words that suggests something far from what they intended it to mean. On the spiritual side though, there have been countless witnesses of missionaries who, when fairly new in the language, barely able to speak it well, if at all, have experienced moments when their minds just opened up and marvelous words seemed to flow from their mouths for the duration of a time, stunning not only themselves but those around em.

I believe very firmly that the gift of tongues is given to these missionaries. I believe that anybody who is sincere in their hearts in Jesus Christ can also experience this wonderful gift from time to time. After hearing the witnesses, there is no question in my mind that this gift is manifest in people far more than any of us realize.

I served as an Elder in the LDS church as a missionary. While I didn't serve a foreign mission, my brother and my father the first in his family to join the church did. It's been mentioned several times in responses that in order to understand many of doctrines and principles of the LDS church all stem off of the belief that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that God Our Father in Heaven communicates through a prophet today as he has always done.

Contrary to the rest of Christianity, we don't believe the gift of tongues as most other Christians do. My buddy was Presbyterian, and I think has since converted or is in the process of conversation to the LDS church, and many others Christians I've known whom have prayed, speaking in tongues.

I even have a life-long buddy that claimed to be pagan or Satanist that claimed he had a moment in which he "spake in tongues". The fact of the matter is this, by our beliefs as LDS members, the gift of tongues is the ability to understand a spiritual message spoken by the Spirit, in one's native tongue, or the ability to learn a foreign language in order to preach the message among our Father's children.

It's not some secret code or babble, it's an Elders ability to rapidly learn Spanish, English, or Mandarin at a rapid pace. In my experience, I served an English speaking mission but, I found I was able to communicate the message I was sent to deliver in a way I'd never been able to communicate with others before.

I did it well. That was the gift of tongues, or gift of the spirit. I did learn a little German in school but nothing religious related but knocked on someone's door.

They answered and only spoke German, but I was able to instantly convey a very basic simple gospel point in German. I may have been prepared in High School, but that language was quickly brought back, long enough to say my peace and then that was it. Never used it before and not after, that may have been the gift of tongues as well. It's not a secret, it's being open to the Spirit and granted the authority to be called to use that ability by God Our Father, not by a man having no authority.

That's the beauty of having a living prophet. Because the gift of tongues is real and present in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and because of the urgency and importance of the Lord's great commission to preach the Gospel to every creature, "to all nations", baptizing in His name.

All else, including study practices, diligence, personal motivation or aptitude, tutoring, metrics, immersion and programs are merely appendages to these facts. I am told that on occasion when a missionary in training feels that the Spanish he is called upon to master appears overwhelming or just too hard to learn, he is placed during the luncheon break next to missionaries studying the complex languages of the Orient.

He listens. Suddenly Spanish becomes not too overpowering, and he eagerly returns to his study. But there is one language that every missionary at the MTC must learn and know.

President Monson said,. There is one language, however, that is understood by each missionary: the language of the Spirit. It is not learned from textbooks written by men of letters, nor is it acquired through reading and memorization. The language of the Spirit comes to him who seeks with all his heart to know God and to keep His divine commandments. Proficiency in this language permits one to breach barriers, overcome obstacles, and touch the human heart.

To hear returned Mormon missionaries speak the language in which they testified of Jesus Christ on their missions, check out this video:. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.