Grammar Analysis

Grammar [gram-er] noun 1. A subject that you took in school and either didn't understand or promptly forgot;  2. A necessary evil that you fear, because of 1;
3. Something that fascinates you, because you're a little bit weird and 1 and 2 don't apply to you.

My focus at ETNOS this semester is Análisis Gramatical, which, as you might guess, is the Spanish translation of the title of this post.  I have the responsibility of teaching our 8 students the fundamentals of morphology and syntax during 4 hours per week.

The purpose of the class is to prepare the students for the linguistic phenomena that they will encounter while learning an indigenous language and give them the tools to understand and explain the way it works.

The most challenging thing about this class for me is that, just like you, my students fall into one of two basic categories when it comes to grammar: love it or hate it.  It is a difficult subject and, in many ways, you are either wired for it or you're not.

For example, take this basic homework problem that I gave to the students earlier in the semester, a collection of data from Pocomchí (Guatemala).  Some of you will be able to identify the verb roots and subject and object affixes within 5 minutes or so.  Others will stare at it for 20 seconds, not care, and move on to something else.

We use material prepared by SIL Mexico

Obviously, my students don't have the option of blowing it off.   For those without the wiring, the process of remembering terminology, finding patterns, and diagramming the material is often frustrating.  As the professor, I have to find a balance in the way I present the concepts, so that the students at both extremes keep moving forward without either group getting lost or bored.

Last week we moved past this stage of the linguistic process (morphology) and have transitioned into syntax.  Syntax is even more exciting (sarcasm alert) because it is the analysis of phrases and sentences.  Naturally, this includes sentence diagramming, an activity that some of you may have done in school.  Our method is different than what is normally taught, so it can be applied to any language that may be encountered.

Please pray for the students:
     -for patience with me as an inexperienced professor
     -for understanding and appreciation of the need for a solid understanding of grammar in the language-learning process

Please pray for me:
     -for wisdom as I teach and work to help the students understand difficult concepts

In other news, we are taking a break from normal classes this week to take a trip out to Oromomo, a village of Chimane/Yura people in the jungle northwest of here.   Another staff member and I will be accompanying the students for a week-long adventure starting tomorrow, Tuesday.  Please pray that it will be a good experience for the students and for Kaylee and the girls as they do without me for a week.  Lord willing, I will post a report with photos in about 10 days!

So . . . what do you do?

"Profe"

That's what I get called more than anything when outside of the house these days.  "Profe" is short for "profesor" in Spanish, and I'm sure you can guess what that means in English.  Try pronouncing PDO-fay, light on the "d" (just a flip, really) and heavy on the "o" and you'll be pretty close.

I haven't taken the time to really write about what we are doing here now that we've changed gears.  Here's a look at what we're up to:

As a "profe," I spend five hours per week teaching two different classes: Culture and Language Acquisition and Spanish Grammar.  Most of the rest of my work week is spent preparing for those classes and spending time with staff/students.

I am not a language teacher in the sense that I am teaching about language rather than teaching language itself.  Call it Applied Linguistics, I guess.  The fundamental principle of my current role is to prepare the Etnos students for their future language learning.

As an organization, we highly value native languages.  Our focus is planting churches among ethnic groups where the indigenous language is strong, yet the people have not been taught God's Word, or have been taught in a trade language, resulting in a lack of understanding and, thereby, lack of fruitful ministry.  The purpose of the Culture and Language Acquisition program is to prepare these trainees to be able to move into a village and learn the heart language of their target people group without the aid of dictionaries and classrooms, all while building relationships and gaining an understanding of the worldview and culture of their new friends.

CLA Class

In Spanish Grammar, I am indeed teaching the grammar of the language, but to people that already speak it.  Three of our current students are Bolivian, two are Argentinian, and the other two are Chilean.  Although some also speak other languages (Quechua, Aymara, and English), Spanish is their heart language.  While the class does reinforce their knowledge of their own language, the principal goal of the class is to teach the structure of their grammar and the reasons behind the forms.  Then, armed with this new understanding and terminology, next semester we will be teaching Grammar Analysis to apply the same principles to other languages.

Thankfully, all of the groundwork has been done for these classes and I was essentially handed the curricula at the beginning of the semester.  However, I have to assimilate the material in Spanish and make it my own in order to teach it properly.  I have added a lot of my own stories and experiences to the mix which makes it easier and more natural to teach.

When I have extra time, I am preparing for a one-week practical technology module that I will be teaching at the beginning of next semester with another faculty member.  The focus is on passive solar such as solar ovens and water heaters.  I am doing a lot of research on various types of projects that we could do and am starting to think about preparations we will have to make to be able to build some of them.

I have also been given the opportunity to preach on occasion at the church we attend.

The bulk of Kaylee's time is taken up with household duties and homeschooling the girls, but she is involved in the inner workings of campus as well.  She has taken on the cleaning of the offices and classroom and is working on getting to know the student gals better, to be able to have input in their lives.

Together, we host the weekly staff meeting in our home and have a student couple that comes over a few hours a week for mentoring/counseling.

One of our student lunches

Kaylee has also been an indispensable help to me in my CLA class as well.  Not only does she help me think things through as I talk about my class prep with her, but with some of the class elements themselves.  As part of the practical training of language learning, we have hosted the students in our home to demonstrate what it is like to experience another culture and language.  In June, we will be having a 3-week language practice time which Kaylee will also be heavily involved in.

 And mixed into all of this craziness, we try to spend some time together and with our funny children.