Faith-based language learning
This might be the answer to some of the “hurry-up” language acquisition decrees: according to the Jakarta Post, an Islamic boarding school in Probolinggo, East Java, offers a rite called Ilmu Laduni (the knowledge from God) that “allows someone to learn something without really studying it.” Students, or patients as they’re called, say a prayer for several hours, recite a few Arabic sentences mixed with words from the Coptic language of Egypt, drink special water blessed by a cleric, and have water poured over their heads in a bathing rite.
The prayer is translated as “Oh God, I beseech you that a foreign language should come to me perfectly” and then “Oh God, I beseech you for a perfect language and its perfect meaning.”
“Mohammad Ali, an expert in Eastern literature at Airlangga University, Surabaya, said that what was recited was not a prayer in Islam but a mystic prayer outside Islamic conventions. He said this could be seen in the use of the words Nun and Amun, both meaning ‘the Celestial Deity’ in Coptic.”
One patient said, “It does not stand to reason, but my brother tried it and it worked. I would like to learn English quickly so that I can find a good position in the company where I work.”
The Post reports that “thousands of people have come here to learn a foreign language quickly. Each has paid between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1.5 million [US$55 to $166]. But independent study is possible, if one follows “the special requirements, which include fasting, praying and eating vegetarian food and abstaining from eating foods containing the element of fire.”
And as they say in the diet-supplement advertisements, your results may vary.
Although I don’t think anything comes freely, I believe that many efforts sustained by faith produce surprising results quite commonly. I have personally experienced language learning that may share some common points of your story. Before serving two years as a Christian missionary in Japan, I spent two months in an intensive language school. The two months were spent doing only 4 activities: prayer, study and discussion of Christian theology (in Japanese), eating, and sleeping. After 2 months we missionaries had surprising abilities with the language. Although I wouldn’t call myself fluent at the time, I think I was confident. After arriving in Japan, my learning accelerated, and after 3 or 4 months in the country, I actually was fluent when having a specific type of discussion...basically anything about spiritual matters. After one year, I could fluently discuss practically any subject, and I was confident enough to take on any conversation.
Although I don’t think prayer and faith miraculously create new language abilities, faith does produce a confidence that sustains intense study. Combined with language immersion, my own language studies were amazingly effective. To this day, I can jump immediately into a Japanese discussion and recall enough vocabulary to hold a reasonable conversation. A gift from faith? A miracle from God? Dunno about that, but I definitely think faith has a way of sharpening our thinking and efforts such that amazing results are possible.
Posted by joconner on 05/01 at 10:34 AMOh, I agree—faith can sharpen thinking and effort, especially if you’re immersed in the subject and highly motivated to learn. But it appears that in this case, all you study is the prayer, not the language. Devote the same hours and intense effort to actual language study and practice, and voila! Conversation, or at least a few useful phrases.
Posted by on 05/16 at 03:40 PM
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