earninglay aay ewnay angulagelay siay asyeay saay iepay

blank stares all around...so i will say it again

EARNINGLAY AAY WENAY ANGUAGLAY SIAY ASYEAY SAAY IEPAY

still didn't understand? i said [and this is the last time...you should seriously get it by now]

EARNINGLAY AAY WNEAY ANGUAGELAY SIAY ASYEAY SAAY IEPAY

how could you not understand that? i said "Learning a new language is as easy as pie," of course...

.....in pig latin.

Usually when a foreigner doesn't understand what we are trying to communicate we tend to just say it louder. And I know my next statement is going to be rather obvious but I am going to say it anyway: that does NOT work.

It doesn't work for a number of reasons.

1. A foreign language sounds like a bunch of gibberish.

2. The fact that it sounds like gibberish does not change just by saying it louder. It still sounds like gibberish no matter how loud you get.

3. Other people around you look at you funny. Mainly because you are yelling at a person who is just standing there looking at you like you have grown 2 heads because after all, yelling gibberish to a person accomplishes nothing, so you may as well have 2 heads...

4. Generally the person you are trying to communicate with is not deaf. They don't need you to repeat it louder and you don't need to exaggerate the syllables.

Give up, stop speaking gibberish and try to communicate in a helpful way, then you won't look so foolish and you may even accomplish something.

I have learned a great deal about my English language learners through trying to learn Czech.

And let me be the first to tip my hat to the kids I know who can speak 2 or more languages.

Words have to have meaning for me to want to speak them. My vocabulary in Czech is close to non-existent. I can say a few words like "hello" "goodbye" "bread" and thats about where it stops.

Its amazing to me that my students use English all day at school, attend Czech class or extra an English class, depending on their needs, and then go home to sometimes a different language...Korean, Serbian and Russian are just a few of the languages my kids can speak.

And I sit, once a week in Czech class, wondering if the lady in front of me will ever stop speaking gibberish to me and wondering if the gibberish that she is speaking to me will ever mean something and actually turn into words and sentences and then actual conversations

[insert gasp here]

And then I begin to think about the Tower of Babel. There were all those people that weren't replenishing the earth after the Lord told Noah to "go and replenish the earth" and still they stayed together.

maybe they liked their families

maybe there were too scared to venture out of wherever they were

maybe they liked being able to communicate with others

maybe they liked being able to communicate with others because they were able to be confident in their communicating abilities.

maybe it was a pride thing

I like being with my family and I like to know that i can communicate with anyone I run into.

Its hard to be able to say only 3 words correctly.

And it is humbling to try to learn a new language...I see very clearly my weaknesses and my pride that English should be enough. And I see my desire to stay in my current English bubble.

I also see that God has called me to this place to not stay in my English bubble, to humble myself, to realize that English is not enough and to do the impossible: learn Czech.

p.s. next time you see a foreigner, don't say something to them, realize they didn't understand and then just say it louder and louder. it doesn't help.