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Mormons and Language Learning | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| dmg Diglot Senior Member Canada dgryski.blogspot.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 7013 days ago 555 posts - 605 votes  1 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Dutch, Esperanto | Message 9 of 35 09 June 2007 at 8:57pm | IP Logged |
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I remember stopping a pair of Missionaries on the street in Montreal and trying to chat with them about the methods they used to learn the languages. (Side note: of the two, one had learned French, and the other _Spanish_!?) I didn't manage to get a useful answer out of them, possibly because they were unaware of the multitudes of language learning methods available, and even upon prompting for what the courses were like I didn't really get anywhere.
The interwebs give me handwavy statements about how it's a "miracle" that the missionaries are able to learn their target languages so quickly, but nothing that actually delves into the methods used. Googling, I see a course/book set called "French for Latter-Day-Saints", as well as similar courses for (at least) Spanish and some others. I doubt these are actually used at the Provo MTC, and rather are just "normal" courses with LDS-specific vocabulary and situational dialogues or something. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| leosmith Senior Member United States Joined 6552 days ago 2365 posts - 3804 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Tagalog | Message 10 of 35 09 June 2007 at 10:00pm | IP Logged |
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I've had a lot of Mormon friends over the years. My boss is a Mormon. He tells stories of friends going to their misson language training center, and being told "you will not speak English for the duration of this course". And unlike so many other students in immersion courses, they will probably obey those directions. My boss was in Texas during his mission, so he had no language training.
Another friend went to HK. He claimed to be fluent in Cantonese essentially from the time he got there. I believe him; he's extremely sharp, and I get a kick out of watching him talking to the waitresses in Chinese restaurants. He say's it's a gift. I don't doubt it. Extreme motivation and believing it's a gift aside, I'd still like to find out about their methods. I'll see if my boss can refer me to someone who knows. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7148 days ago 1152 posts - 1818 votes Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 11 of 35 09 June 2007 at 10:39pm | IP Logged |
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I see that Dr. Robert Blair writes their textbooks. I did a Google search for French for Latter-Day-Saints and discover it is a book by Dr. Blair and a set of four cassette tapes.
The courses cost less than $10. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| onebir Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 7165 days ago 487 posts - 503 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 12 of 35 09 June 2007 at 10:45pm | IP Logged |
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So what's to stop dedicated linguaphiles 'seeing the light' - or whatever the appropriate term is - and going on mormon 2 month language courses? :p
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| leosmith Senior Member United States Joined 6552 days ago 2365 posts - 3804 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Tagalog | Message 13 of 35 09 June 2007 at 10:57pm | IP Logged |
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If you'd like to convert, I'm sure they'd take you:)
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 newyorkeric Diglot Moderator Singapore Joined 6381 days ago 1598 posts - 2174 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Mandarin, Malay Personal Language Map | Message 14 of 35 09 June 2007 at 11:17pm | IP Logged |
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I'll ask my friend on Monday what his training was like, but I don't think it was anything unusual.
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| Raincrowlee Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 6704 days ago 621 posts - 808 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin, Korean, French Studies: Indonesian, Japanese | Message 15 of 35 10 June 2007 at 2:13am | IP Logged |
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In a way it shows what effect strong faith can have on one's attitude. Mormons truly believe they are doing the work of God, and being sent to a particular location must be part of His plan, so it's only natural that they should be able to understand the language. The faith also gives them the drive to study the language for hours without feeling "bored," and each word they learn carries them closer to their purpose, which is to introduce the light of Mormonism to unsuspecting natives.
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| Captain Haddock Diglot Senior Member Japan kanjicabinet.tumblr. Joined 6770 days ago 2282 posts - 2814 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, Korean, Ancient Greek | Message 16 of 35 10 June 2007 at 8:50am | IP Logged |
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I think Raincrowlee and Leosmith are on the right track. Missionaries — the honest and devout kind, not the let's-enjoy-a-church-sponsored-vacation kind — really believe in what they're doing. Some of the programs they go into are no-nonsense, learn-or-else language courses that consist of all day complete immersion, their native language being forbidden.
In other words, you have a potent mix of intense motivation and a study load that would the toughest of us cringe. And if you happen to be bright with a knack for grammar, Bob's your uncle. On the other hand, I've met missionaries in Japan who've lived here for 10-15 years and can't speak Japanese. I wonder why the heck they came, and why they're still fooling themselves. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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