It is estimated that there are over 200 languages spoken in Europe. So chances are, if you were to move to Europe to serve as a missionary, you would need to learn a new language.
Kendra and Tanner Clarke spent 2 years as missionaries to Germany through the Journeyman Program of the International Mission Board. They began learning their new language, German, in much the same way we all learn our first language… by learning the vocabulary of everyday things, listening to others speak, and then little-by-little putting simple sentences together. Children’s books are excellent tools for language practice because the language is written at an easy-to-understand level!
Listen as Tanner reads to us in German. While you listen, see if you can identify the German word for caterpillar.
{Note: it might be helpful to read the books to your class in English first. This will provide familiarity for students on the story in English before they listen to the story in German.}
Some other questions to ask students after listening to the book:
- So, can you guess which word means caterpillar? The title is kind of a trick 😉 The word for caterpillar is raupe. The title actually says, “the small caterpillar never full”!
- Were there other words throughout the book that you were able to identify?
- Did the language sound hard to learn?
One of the things we can learn from this activity, is that God is creator of diverse people around the world, with diverse languages, customs, and cultures. We can also be reminded that learning another language is a very real part of being a missionary. If you can’t communicate with someone, then you can’t share the Gospel with them. So when you pray for a missionary, especially one going to a country in which they’ll have to learn a new language, you can always pray for God to help them learn quickly and efficiently the language of their country of service.
And then we can be confident that as God calls, he provides all that is needed for a person to fulfill their calling. He is faithful to his creation!