How I became “a fanatic” about learning Spanish
I thought I worked really hard on Spanish as a missionary in the MTC. I was very disciplined in and out of classes with the Speak Your Language (SYL aka “HSI” Habla Su Idioma) program. Yet, after one month in Costa Rica my mission president told me he needed to develop some mission leaders b/c a big group of leaders would be leaving soon. My president asked me how my Spanish was going, and I said “Muy bien!” However, he wrote in his notes my Spanish learning was “Slow.” Mentally, this infuriated me because I felt after all my preparation, I was not meeting expectations. I accepted his challenge to be become a better instrument in the Lords hands in Costa Rica (and life) by becoming a fanatic about learning Spanish.
Why the approach to “be a fanatic” is what it took for me
In hindsight, I fell into a trap that most missionaries fall into—they don’t understand the urgent reasons that well-honed Spanish communication skills are needed in the mission, right now. “Slow” Spanish skills kill momentum of spreading the gospel. Timing and efficiency matter. It’s hard to be a great instrument in the Lords hands if you are a “dull” tool.
The theory of “being a Spanish fanatic” … “beginning with the end in mind”
• Believe in and be patient with yourself… remember Ether 12:27 where “weak things will be made strong.”
• Study about “gifts of the Spirit” and the “gift of tongues.” Know the Lord’s role in your efforts.
• I learned Spanish is not something I just “put on” or “wore” for two years. It is a calling that should “become” part of me as much as anything else is. This meant I needed to deeply learn it.
• For me, it came slowly, but once it was there, it was there. I just had to work harder at it than everyone else. It was not easy to reach my full capability and love, love, love Spanish, but I do love it now.
• The metaphor of it being “a mental wrestling match” (in which I was determined to win), required great mental discipline. This wrestling match was very real, every day for me. The chances to speak English were all around.
• Learn how you learn best. Then, once you know this, train yourself to learn faster by running “mental ladders” … a little mental sprint first, then a longer mental sprint, and longest mental sprint.
The details of what it means to “be a Spanish fanatic” and feel the urgency to learn it well
• You pocket notebook is critical. Make it “a masterpiece.” Use it this way—in an organized, methodical way, capture “bugger”phrases and words you personally struggle with, or you wish you could say, and words you keep hearing but do not understand. Then, later when you have a second to ask someone what it means (or look it up in a dictionary) capture those answers. These little pocket notebooks become your personal “tracker” to patch up your Spanish, right where you need to most. Refer to it often, update it often. Read it when you are waiting for a bus and there is nobody to talk to, when you are walking around, while you are on a bus traveling, while you are :on downtime"…ALWAYS! All these little focused moments add up, and make you good.
• In this same pocket notebook, allocate a section to capture fun sayings, refrains, idioms, metaphors in Spanish. This is when Spanish became really fun and entertaining for me. The way people in Latin culture express themselves is both endearing and hilarious, in context. For example, I still laugh at this one, “That monkey was holding on to his banana tighter than a grandma on a motorcycle!”
• Be curious as to why things are said the way they are said in Spanish. Always have “a Spanish question” on your mind that you can ask anyone at anytime, anyplace.
• When you are trying to be mentally disciplined to “be Spanish” watch out for vulnerable situations where you are not being “forced” to live and breathe Spanish. For example, gringo companions who are not disciplined and just speak English, or groups of people (who should be speaking Spanish but are speaking English because it is more comfortable) are problematic to maintaining focus. Think in Spanish, pray in Spanish, smell in Spanish.
• Write district reports, zone reports, letters, updates to President in Spanish, write notes to people you meet and teach in Spanish. Write in your journal in English though.
• Waking up 30 min earlier to read Spanish out loud (Book of Mormon first, then conference talks) yields GREAT results during the day. This is a very efficient way to learn. Why? You are engaging more of your senses this way. You are seeing the words and conjugations, feeling your tongue change and feeling it culturally, hearing yourself speak (fast or slow), touching it by chopping off the AR, ER, IR verb endings and seeing the right verb ending.
The math behind this effort… 30 min. / day x 6 days per week = 3 hrs. of “extra proficiency” each week.
3 hrs. of “extra proficiency”
per week = 156 hrs. per year or 312 hrs. in two years. You can become VERY fluent, very fast!
• Listen for Spanish spoken well, all around you. Specifically, learn to distinguish well-spoken Spanish and poorly spoken Spanish. A backwoods, uneducated “campo speaker” is still a native speaker, but when you’re around an educated, articulate, eloquent, professional native speaker, pay close attention. It is 10x easier to learn from them (hint: professional translators used by the Church in General Conferences are excellent. Listen to it as part of your Spanish study, or while cleaning your apartment, or anytime you can). Pay more attention to the Spanish native speakers you meet who use their voice to earn a living—newscasters, journalists, translators, trained professionals. Hear and feel the difference between educated, trained Spanish and everyday “campo” Spanish.
• Read street signs and advertising around you, and ask yourself why it was written that way.
• Engage your mind’s musical learning center by only listening to Spanish hymns for 1 week, then 2 weeks, then one month or more.
• Companionship Spanish Competitions. “Whoever says a word in English for the next hour / day / month (whatever) owes the other a milkshake…or 200 pushups.” Make these fun!
• Get really good at helping / teaching / training new gringo companions how to be mentally disciplined “fanatics” about Spanish. It will be painful for them, but they (and the people they teach) may thank you later.
• You’ll know your “mind and soul” have switched to Spanish when, in a moment of sudden pain (bike wreck, ankle sprain) you cry out in Spanish rather than English.
• The task of deeply learning Spanish well is a big task. Don’t waste too much time being distracted by a feeling that you have to learn all the “street slang” or even excessive “Aboriginal” (Kuna) words and phrases. Amazingly, some missionaries fall into a trap of studying all that even more than Spanish! You may be tempted to do this too, (and see other missionaries devoting tons of time to it) but your mission call is to speak Spanish—not all that. You only need to know enough of “all that” to get by, but your call is to speak Spanish.
• Listen, listen, listen and speak, speak, speak. Pray to “be present and stay in tune.” Don’t let yourself just “zone out” as an escape from Spanish spoken “too fast” all around you. If you feel like you are “zoning out” or that Spanish gives you a headache (it will for awhile), or it is putting you to sleep … you should pull out your pocket notebook and start capturing words you keep hearing. Then, figure out what those words are and focus on that!
• Allow yourself to accept that you are not only a Spanish speaker, but a very good one. Never, ever discredit or "judge yourself" by telling others that you don't speak it well.
• With enough practice and hard work, Spanish becomes something you don't have to think about speaking. You start to "feel" the language and do not even have to think about conjugations, vocab, etc. "Feeling the language" allows you to speak it second nature b/c it is deeply rooted in your long term memory.
The Net Net
Remember, this is a really unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Spanish for two years. Do it. You’ll be a better instrument in the Lord’s hands for the next 60+ years if you do! So many people would love to have the opportunity you have before you.
Motivational reasons to “be a fanatic” about learning Spanish
You have lots of friends (and family) who speak Spanish. You’ll want to communicate with them. Plan now to speak excellently, and be prepared to use Spanish often, now and after your mission.
You’re more respected by natives. At the end of the two years, (if you have focused and put in the work, and get really good at it) a university might allow you to take a “klep test” and test out of a lot of Spanish classes.
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