30 Words

THE LAUNCHING OF THE 30 WORDS’ 30 LANGUAGES TOUR

As a muggy afternoon melted into a crisp and pleasant evening, 30 Words was busy setting up a ‘language class’ on Hollywood Boulevard.  Our artfully (think- the art only your mother would love) painted sign advertised our unique request to passersby - “Teach Me Your Language!”

Hollywood Boulevard was the launching point for the 30 Words’ 30 Language Challenge. This summer, the 30 Words Crew is traveling the West Coast in an attempt to learn 30 languages.  The 30 Words Tour will roll from Shakespearean Festivals to Native American Reservations to the famous Boulevards of Los Angeles, looking for people to sit with us for an hour or so and teach a beginner’s language course.

We hope our trip highlights certain truths about learning a new language:

1) Anyone can start speaking a language quickly.

Focusing on useful content is the key.  Starting to speak immediately is the goal, and talking with shop keepers, bus drivers, new friends, strangers, and others will teach you how a language is used.  Real conversations will help you develop a sense of what words and phrases are used most frequently.

2) You don’t need to look hard for a teacher.

Anyone who uses a language daily is, for all practical purposes, a language ‘expert’.  We all know how our language is used and what words and phrases are most useful because we use language in every aspect of our lives.  This intimate knowledge enables all of us to teach language.  Unlike math or science, subjects which require deep study for expertise, language is such an intimate part of our lives that we can not help but be experts in its use.

When traveling in a foreign country, you are surrounded by ‘experts’ in the local language.  From hard hearing elders to gregarious children, anyone can  be your teacher.

3) Learning a language is fun.

Breaking down a language and beginning to speak is a blast.  Choose content you want to learn and a place you enjoy learning.  We can write about this all we want, but what better way to make it clear  than actually having a fun time?  We believe our photographs, videos, and stories from the trip will illustrate this point clearly.

When 30 Words set out to build a new language guide, we wanted to build a guide that was small enough to carried everywhere and durable enough to survive serious abuse.  Why?  We wanted to build a platform that would allow travelers to learn and speak a new language anywhere.  Wherever travelers feel comfortable using a newly acquired language, a Language Guide should be there to help - whether one is wine tasting or resting on a surfboard off the Indonesian coast.

OUR FIRST LANGUAGE CLASS:

Back on Hollywood Boulevard, 30 Words was preparing to prove these beliefs about learning a new language. However, it appeared we had signed up for a daunting task. Glitzy lights illuminated a bevy of street artists dressed as famous figures.  A dazzling Marilyn Monroe stood glamorously over a fan, twisting and turning above an invisible air stream.  Jesus strolled stone-faced up and down the avenue.  How could 30 Words compete with such attractions?

We did not even have time to ’set up’ before a passerby sans costume approached…

“What are you selling?”  He asked.

“Nothing.  We are here to talk to people about languages.”

“Why?”

“I sell language guides and I want to talk to people about learning languages.”

“Got it… a bait-and-switch.”  he said knowingly.

“No, we want to learn languages so we are looking for teachers.”

long pause.  skepticism dances across the man’s brow…

“I don’t get it.”  He said as he turned to chase down Jesus for a photograph.

Despite a less than auspicious start, within two minutes of setting up our sign, we met our first teacher.  Our teacher, David, volunteered to teach 30 Words the basics of Hebrew.

Before our lesson finished, a group of students approached and asked what we were doing.  The students represented a diverse range of languages - from Mandarin to Spanish to Luganda, a language spoken in Uganda.  One of the students, Joshua, sat down and taught 30 Words the intricacies of Luganda.  While our sign promised that we needed five minutes of each teacher’s time, both classes lasted close to an hour. Needless to say, we were impressed with our teachers poise and patience.

With two classes in the bank, the energy and the excitement of the night left 30 Words exhausted.  However, 30 Words’ 30 Language Tour was off to a great start.  In one evening we met two fascinating and generous people who took the time to teach a couple of strangers their languages.