The Law of Language

 The Sunday School Teacher 12

 

We turn now to the third law or principle of good teaching, namely, this: that the language used in teaching must be common to both teacher and student.

On the surface, this seems a simplistically obvious point. Of course, you say. If I am speaking in English and the child does not understand English, I will not be able to teach her anything. While that is true, it is not what I am talking about. The truth is, both of you may be speaking the same language, but if what you intend to convey with your choice of words is not what she understands, you will still have failed. The student and the teacher must have a common understanding of the term or concept under discussion in order to handle and discuss it effectively.

This is true for linguistic reasons. There are a variety of words in English that sound the same but have entirely different definitions. See "flea" and "flee," for example. But it is also true because experience and perspective levels can confuse people in relation to a common language. To a Star Wars fan, a laser carries a different connotation than it does to a research physicist. And while I doubt you will teach any children who are research physicists, the point stands. How you understand something and what you intend to convey with what you say may not be at all how it is received or understood. Nor is this concern limited to what the teacher says to the student. In a good classroom, thought expressed in words flows in both directions. If you, as a teacher, misunderstand a term or concept your student references, the resulting confusion will be due to a violation of the law of language.

Understanding the importance of this, then, how can we ensure this law is not violated? Allow me to offer you a few practical suggestions.

First, as you teach, emphasize your willingness to be interrupted with questions. The student should always feel free to stop you and ask for an explanation of a term or concept you are discussing.

Second, every teacher should become a student of body language. I realize this, too, can be misunderstood, but ignoring it is worse than misunderstanding it. If a child looks puzzled or confused, stop and try to ascertain why. It may be they are struggling to make the intellectual connection you want them to make, but it may also be that they do not know what you are talking about, period. Learn to read that where possible so that you may make adjustments.

Third, I suggest keeping an old-fashioned dictionary in your classroom and using it from time to time. Have the students look up key terms related to your discussion. It will likely make them more comfortable with the overall learning process, but at the very least, it will help them with the specific lesson in question.

Fourth, as a general rule, the fewer the years, the fewer the syllables, and the shorter the person, the shorter the sentences. As I pen this, I am reading through an apologetics book with my sixteen-year-old son. The author, a brilliant philosopher, wrote like one would expect a brilliant philosopher to write. Unfortunately, it takes a brilliant philosopher to understand it. If your Sunday School class is composed of children, the teaching needs to be on their level rather than yours. You may feel throttled, but if you do not, those children will miss most of what you are trying to convey, and you will be wasting your time. As you read their body language and comments, keep rephrasing things until you are satisfied they understand.

Fifth, and this may be the most critical point along this line, if a word is central to your lesson, carefully define it at the beginning. This is true for all teaching, but especially true for theological education.

Words mean things. They are the building blocks of our understanding and application of God's will. God chose His Words precisely and placed them exactly where He wanted them. Their meaning will vary depending on context, original language, repetition, etc. This is not a book on hermeneutics, but as a Sunday School teacher, you should have a decent grasp on working out the proper meaning of God's words you will be talking about. And you need to convey that understanding in a compressed or capsulized way to your students. That theological understanding is the bedrock on which you construct everything else you have to say.

Put another way round, if you are teaching about faith, define it as you mean them to understand it - the same for grace or peace or Heaven or wisdom or obedience or anger or envy or bitterness. From the very beginning, help them to see what you mean when you use the word.

Sixth, keep abreast of slang and generally avoid it. Some teachers attempt to take a shortcut to relationship building by speaking like their students speak. The result is cringeworthy. Be your age and let the students be their age. By and large, avoid the temptation to chase coolness, to chase relevance. Doing so is like chasing your tail – entertaining to watch but always fruitless.

Seventh, after applying all of this, as you teach, occasionally stop and ask them to define the term you are using. This serves both as a review and a waypoint. It reminds the entire class of what you mean when you use the word, and it helps you understand just where they are in their grasp of that. Not to mention, almost any question and answer type of interaction between a teacher and a class is a good interaction, even if it is as simple as a definition for a word.

If you have read some of my other books, you will notice how important I consider this law to be. In most of them, I dedicate entire chapters to defining key terms. If you have heard me preach much, you will undoubtedly hear me doing the same thing. I will often spend an entire sermon on one word, especially if that word is a key element of a longer preaching series. I have no desire to bore people to tears, but I also have no desire to think I am communicating one thing when what people understand me to mean is something else entirely.

As the old saying goes, the important thing here is that we communicate. But communication is downstream from applying the law of language. Additionally, if we are careful to ensure a good understanding of a particular biblical term, we will help that student for the rest of their spiritual life. If we do a good job, from then on, as they encounter that term or concept in reading the Bible or hearing a message, they will derive more from it than they would have otherwise. Essentially, then, though following this law can seem frustrating at times, the benefits that flow from it are practically endless.

If your students do not understand you, stop. Reword something. Ask something. Illustrate with something. At all costs, ensure they grasp what you are trying to convey with that key term. Then, and only then, proceed.