I was in 8th or 9th grade when I first took Spanish. When you’re first learning a new language, you’re memorizing a lot of vocabulary, learning sentence structure and gender agreement, and learning how to conjugate verbs. In my first year (Spanish I) there wasn’t a whole lot of emphasis on conversational skills. Our teacher that first year taught us the basics…we could all count to 20 or something like that, sing “happy birthday” in Spanish, ask where the bathroom was, and tell you that John/Juan is handsome and has a beard.
There was a lot more than that, of course, but the teacher was easily distracted. He was a nice enough guy, but he was dealing with a bunch of middle/high schoolers who didn’t really care what he was saying and didn’t always take him seriously. A lot of times he’d just end up telling us stories about his gang days (he didn’t seem like the gang type), singing weird off-key songs in Spanish, or generally rambling in ways that weren’t terribly helpful for learning. The homework from the book, though, helped reinforce the subject matter. We learned the rudimentary stuff from him, but got the actual instruction from the book if we took the time and put in the effort.
The next year we took Spanish II, and most of us had a different teacher. She was stone-faced, man. I had her for a few years, and even though she had a sense of humor, she hardly ever smiled. The first day I had class with her, the bell rang, she shut the door, then walked to a spot in the classroom we could all see and hear her. Without any introduction in English, she said “si me entiendes, levanta la mano.”
I was a little stunned at first, partly because of the drastic change in teaching style. Everybody sat there in confused silence, looking at each other. As I worked through it though, I was able to put together what she had said. “If…you understand me…raise your hand.” It took me a minute, and I figured it out. But when I looked around the room, nobody was raising their hands. With a little bit of a gulp, I slowly raised my hand, and I was the only one in the class to do it. She looked at me with what was probably a mix of disappointment at only one hand among so many being raised, with a mental note of “okay, so you’re the one setting the curve right now.”
I don’t know for sure, but I have my suspicions what she thought of the Spanish I teacher.
Not that I was a stellar Spanish student, but I picked up some stuff over those years in high school. I had two different teachers, plus the text books and the workbooks. When it comes to learning a new language, reading, writing, speaking, and hearing are four distinct skills you need to develop. These things all worked together to reinforce the same thing: being proficient in the language.
With regard to the Christian walk, there are different skills, disciplines, and practices that all work together to make you more “proficient” in your walk with Christ. Reading the Bible, hearing the sermons of a skilled Bible teacher, speaking prayers to the Lord, and immersing yourself in a culture where people practice their faith, if done consistently, will drive you toward a rich walk with God. Of course there are teachers who are more skilled than others, or who have styles that are more effective for one type of personality over another. If they’re exercising the gifts God’s given them, it’s all contributing in some way to a deeper understanding for somebody.
So stay in the Word, stay in prayer, stay in church, and make sure you’re using your spiritual gifts to do the Lord’s work. This engagement is how we help each other out in our Christian experience, strengthening not just our own walk, but each others’ in the process.