I’d Tell Teenage Me How to Effectively Learn a Language

Daily writing promptWhat advice would you give to your teenage self?View all responses

The most effective way to learn a language is by immersion into the language, not by forcing yourself to study it, memorize vocabulary, and obey grammar rules. That’s how we learned our mother tongue. We first caught it by hearing it over and over. Then a few years later we were taught in school what we had already caught.

There’s a grammar that my teenage self needed to know. It’s God’s grammar. That grammar is better absorbed when it’s heart-caught by lots of exposure than when it’s head-taught by tedious, analytical lecture. Immerse your heart in Scripture in an open, humble, and tender way. Read the Bible every single day as a love letter written personally to you. Absorb it with your heart, don’t analyze it with your mind.

When Jesus is allowed to indwell and to take full control of a human heart He inspires, and He empowers. He implants and grows an abundance of the fruit and character of His Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) Surrender your all to Him and begin to listen to and obey Him in all you think, say, and do.

Hang around people who are filled with exuberance for Jesus–who talk about and celebrate Him day and night — who radiate His love, humility, holiness, and presence. Ask God to lead you to those kinds of people (because they can be difficult to find). Immerse yourself in their presence, no matter where or whether they go to church. Make them your very best friends. Gradually you will catch their exuberant love for Christ.

The language of Spirit-produced exuberance is beyond words. God often produces such exuberance in me that I “ooh” and “aah” with glee and amazement in His presence. (Romans 8:26)

The exuberant “joy unspeakable and fully of glory” (1 Peter 1:8) that the Bible talks about is supernaturally produced by Christ in you. (Colossians 1:27) It’s not memorized by your mind. It’s soaked up by your heart. When you begin to sense God’s exuberant presence, go with Him — don’t hold back. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

Spirit-produced exuberance made visible through people’s unrestrained surrender and obedience to Christ’s inner promptings powerfully demonstrates His reality. (Acts 1:8) Exuberance for Jesus will fill your life with joy and delight. Let the Holy Spirit make you aware of His amazing wonders and release Christ’s exuberance in and through you. (Psalm 47:1)

Most Christians have experienced an exuberant moment, but Jesus wants to empower His followers to live a joyfully exuberant lifestyle even in difficult times. (Matthew 5:12) He wants to make your life a holy, pure, enduring, and exuberant expression of His Spirit living in and through you.

Jesus keeps me exuberant. My heart overflows with His unrestrained joy. (John 7:38). I spontaneously wave my arms, (1 Timothy 2:8) dance around, (2 Samuel 6:21) and make joyful sounds. (Psalm 100:1) His grammar freely flows from within me.

(Back to language learning: I took 2 years of French in high school and learned nothing (although I tried) but a very few random words. Two years ago, at 71, I began to listen to Spanish videos for an hour or two every day and to read the New Testament in Spanish each day. After two years I can have nice spontaneous conversations with Spanish speakers.)

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://hopethoughts.com/wp-content/u..." data-large-file="https://hopethoughts.com/wp-content/u..." src="https://hopethoughts.com/wp-content/u..." alt="" class="wp-image-42754" />Photo by Photo By: Kaboompics.com on Pexels.com