National Language CLA

Culture and Language Acquisition (CLA) is a vital part of any missionary’s early time on the field. One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding language fluency is that it is a binary concept, with speakers being either “fluent” or “not fluent.” In reality, CLA is a spectrum, like any skill that can be mastered, with many levels spanning the gap between complete novice and accomplished master. It is vital to recognize this.

In light of this difference, how can sending churches have confidence that the workers they have sent overseas to plant churches really are culturally and linguistically able to contextualize and proclaim the Word of God effectively into a new language? In order to keep missionaries accountable, GSI uses the ACTFL scale to measure linguistic ability.

Take a look at the following video series, intended to help you understand:

• How linguistic fluency is measured
• Why we hold to the standard of Advanced High (Capable High) before workers begin to preach or translate the Bible

In this first video, we will see a relatively simple exercise— how do learners handle a simple, familiar task? Observe how people at various levels of English approach the task of purchasing onions from a market stall.

Video: Going Shopping

When tasks are concrete and familiar to a language learner, it is fairly easy for people to prove competent with minimal ability. Even the most basic learners are able to successfully purchase the onions from the stall without much difficulty.

Let’s make the task require just a bit more vocabulary.

Video: Describing Details

Here, the differences in language levels start to be more evident. Some of the learners speak only in brief sentences, “I see X; I see Y,” where others are able to put those sentences together into coherent paragraphs. Learners with broader vocabulary use it here to make their speech more natural and fluid.

Next, let’s see what happens when we begin to get into some increasingly abstract ideas. Watch how they respond when we challenge the learners to communicate in a more formal register.

Video: Talking Politics

In this video, the differences between language levels begin to become more clear. The beginners are barely able to communicate at all, and much of what they do say is hard for native speakers to follow. However, as we move up the scale, we see learners with more command of the language, increased capability to function with formality, and much higher ability to describe and contrast complex ideas.

Finally, let’s get to a really challenging spiritual topic: the communication of the gospel message itself. Be watching for two things in particular:

• Which speakers know the gospel the best?
• Which speakers have the ability to communicate it well in their second language?

Both of these things are necessary! A missionary who is sent out to proclaim the gospel and plant churches must first know the gospel well enough to communicate it in his/her own language. From there, they must know the language and culture of the target audience well enough to proclaim the message clearly (Col. 4:3-4)!

Video: The Message of the Gospel

Hopefully, these videos prove helpful to understanding the vast range of language proficiency levels and why it is necessary for a missions agency to prioritize this portion of the sending process. GSI is committed to helping sending churches with the task of holding workers accountable to reaching a high level of culture and language fluency before they engage in gospel ministry!

To learn more about how your church can ask the missionaries you support around the world to have their language ability assessed, please feel free to contact our Church Relations department by clicking here.