Greg Chewning
“The opinions expressed by the Tabor College EML student bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Tabor College. Tabor College is also not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information in the post.”
The poet Robert Frost once said, “Way leads to way.”
This line has not only spoken volumes to poetry critics and spiritual directors like Beth Booram, but to me as well. The love of languages were always in my life in some fashion. In grade school I purchased language books and programs here and there. In high school I tried out what little foreign phrases I knew around my friends. It wasn’t until college that my life took a more serious turn to language learning.
My junior year of college I ended up enrolling in New Testament Greek as an elective. Little did I know that this course would put me on a path towards Tabor’s entrepreneurial master’s degree! It was in my studies at Tabor where I spent the majority of my time studying New Testament Greek in greater depth, enhancing my vocabulary and study skills. Language learning didn’t stop there though. It only began.
After a few years of studying New Testament Greek, another restlessness formed in me…the desire to speak a language. See, New Testament Greek is no longer a spoken language. You can do wonderful bible and historical studies with the language, but you will not find yourself chatting or connecting with someone on a deep level like we do in everyday conversation. I wanted to connect in conversation with others. I wanted to engage in the worlds of others I feel so far removed from through conversation.
Needless to say, a love for Latin American Spanish arose. Living in a city that has a great amount of Spanish speakers only heightened this love. It’s this love that has motivated me to study Spanish for the last six months. Throughout this time, I’ve been able to connect with people all over the world through Skype and other media. I’ve had conversations with: Spaniards, Peruvians, Guatemalans, Nicaraguans, Mexicans, Argentinians, Bolivians, and Ecuadorians! Who knows what the future will hold!
This all goes to say, well, just what Robert Frost said: “Way leads to way.” Without studying New Testament Greek I don’t think I would have desired wanting to speak a foreign language. After learning to speak a language, how could I ever go back!? The doors keep opening, the languages are endless, and I am happy.