Learning a language fast!

My parents got a mission call a few weeks ago to serve in the Paris France temple visitor's center. I am so stinkin' excited for them! It is pretty much an open secret that the thing I've looked forward to most since I came home from my mission is when I get to go on a mission again! And the senior missionaries have such interesting service opportunities! I can barely wait. (Ok, I almost said, "I literally can't wait." But then I caught myself. Phew.)

Anyway, I digress. My parents. Going to Paris. For 2 years. The point is that they are in urgent need of brushing up their French skills. So I've been thinking a lot about how to get to conversational in a language you already sorta know. (I've got experience in this, it turns out.) So here's what I do if I was going to Paris. (Or if I got a re-do on our assignment to the ASL branch.)

1. Wonder why on earth I was re-learning French when I'm way better at 3 other languages now...so good thing it's not actually me going to Paris :) (I took French in High School and a semester in college. But once I learned Tagalog, I never looked back. (Except for the few months before we went to Montreal as a family.) It turns out that once you stop having to conjugate, you have no desire to ever do that again. ANYWAY...
2. I'd use the language as much as I could. When I learned Tagalog, they advised that we never say a word in English if we knew it in Tagalog. You have to actually be using the language for your brain to start processing things in that language. So I would say that during dinner, or before noon, or whatever, French only in the house. Get that tongue in shape! :)
3. Listen to/watch the language as much as I could. Your brain needs some time to start to hear the different words, to take in the patterns of the language. When we learned ASL, we talked a lot among ourselves, but I did not appreciate how important it is to watch native signers and learn how it looks when done right. So I'd start watching the news in French on YouTube, or start watching a French sitcom (Asterix?....). I'd start listening to General Conference talks in French, or maybe find a podcast for kids that was simple enough for me to understand. I'd try to get as much of that sound into my head as I could.
4. Pray more, because God doesn't help if we try to do it ourselves.

After Marriner was called as branch president, we had 3 weeks of calm before the storm. Our biggest focus was learning as much sign language as we could before our feet hit the ground and we had to start focusing on other things. Looking back, that was a really special time for our family. Not everyone was completely sold on the idea of learning sign language really fast, but in general, we felt a need to work as hard as we could, and we felt the Spirit teaching us things we couldn't have imagined just a few weeks before. Working hand-in-hand with the Spirit to be ready for our assignment built our faith in ways that really boosted us through the first few crazy months.

Who knows when you may be have the chance to learn a language in the service of the Lord. But I hope when you do, you cast aside your feelings of inadequacy and just focus on being the best you can to bless God's children. My parents have always been such fabulous examples of this to me. I can't wait to see the ways they are blessed as they brush up their French and take off to serve! My willingness to learn a language for the Lord comes from their great example. And I'm proud to come from such a family.