This summer Jay and I have been so lucky to meet, in-person, people from our online practice groups. We have been studying with many of these people on a weekly basis for a few years now, and I am continually impressed, humbled and inspired by everyone’s dedication. For learners like us, we know it’s not easy or fast to move toward fluency, so sticking with our learning for the long-run will make or break our ability to achieve our language goals. This means that cultivating resilience becomes a key aspect of the learning process. In this post, I will discuss why resilience is important for learning Chamorro and share 3 key mindsets, gleaned from my fellow language-learners, that can help us build our resilience.

Why Does Resilience Matter for Learning Chamorro?

Learning any new language requires resilience, but I’ve found it’s especially important for learning Chamorro in today’s world. If we are learning in adulthood and want to become conversational or fluent, it can be a long and challenging process. This is due (in part) to our own learning context as adults, which has a huge impact on how we should be studying and practicing. Yet these realities are often unacknowledged by many Chamorro language educators, even when they are trying to teach adults. And what is our learning context?

As adults we are usually very busy and may lack the time or funds for classes, university programs or expensive immersion experiences. Even if we do attend these classes or programs, it’s a mistake to think that participation in these spaces will automatically hand us the language. To become conversational or fluent requires consistent work on our own time, which can be tricky to manage as we juggle our various responsibilities.

Another reality of our learning context is that the native speakers in our families may be far away from us. Rather than having a speaker living in our home or nearby, they may be a continent or an ocean away. Therefore, we must spend large gaps of our time without interacting with them. With the general decline of our language, many families may also have zero speakers left to turn to, forcing us to be extra creative and resourceful in our learning.

Being an adult also means nobody can “force” us to learn Chamorro. We likely aren’t doing this for a grade or any financial compensation. Since the vast majority of Chamorros today can also speak English, we lack any urgency or practical need to learn. Many of our native speakers may also prioritize making themselves understood as quickly as possible, so they may switch to English as soon as they sense we cannot understand. And finally, some of our families may even be discouraging or antagonistic about our efforts.

What does all of this add up to in the context of learning Chamorro? It means we are the only ones responsible for our learning, for keeping up our consistency and motivation. It also means that it may take us longer to reach our speaking or learning goals, so we must be dedicated over a longer period of time. Additionally, we must also figure out how to creatively use our resources to make effective learning experiences.

Resilience ensures that we don’t let any of this discourage us and prevent us from continuing to learn. With resilience, we are able to embrace the challenge and beauty of learning Chamorro and can return to our learning again and again.

Now let’s explore 3 mindsets for cultivating resilience.

Focus On Practice, Not Progress

Right before FestPac started, Jay and I met with our friend Isa and her young son in Waikiki and she told us something beautiful. When she encourages new language learners, she emphasizes the mantra of practice, not progress.

While this may seem counter-intuitive at first, it actually makes sense for us in the context of learning Chamorro in adulthood. Rather than fixating on reaching specific milestones within a set period of time, it makes more sense to focus on the quality of our practice and how consistently we show up for our learning. Why is this the case?

Learning a minority language which is structurally different from English, and one that has large resource gaps, means that “progress” often takes longer. Add to this the fact that acquiring a new language isn’t exactly a linear process, although many learning resources (including this blog!) present it that way. If we focus so much on trying to reach a certain level in a certain period of time, we could end up frustrated when it doesn’t happen and give up too quickly. Or we may believe we can “rush” our learning, which can sabotage quality learning practices.

The mantra of practice, not progress is also important if we are in mixed-level learning environments, where we interact with learners and speakers who know more than we do. This can prompt a range of emotional responses, from inspiration to shame. Some learners may be excited and feel extra motivation to keep going. Other learners may get stressed out about the fact that they aren’t as far along as other learners or speakers and get discouraged. One response is to re-focus our attention and energy on the importance of continuing to practice and show up for ourselves.

Lean Into the Joy of Learning

My own way of mentally girding myself for the challenges of learning Chamorro is to lean into grit. However, our fellow language-learner Aric reminded me of something that can get lost amidst the challenges: we can (and should) lean into the joys of learning Chamorro.

We got to meet Aric and Sophina on their way back into the city from Olympic National Park, and it was wonderful to chat over lunch and coffee. Aric shared that he started learning Chamorro in the mid-2010s, and that learning Chamorro is an enjoyable and deeply satisfying experience for him. He learns Chamorro in his free time, and he likes learning new things about the language and connecting with his father-in-law through the language. In our practice group we get to see this joy shine through – whether it’s sharing something from his life, asking questions, or even self-correcting his own grammar, he always does this in good spirit and is usually the one to start interesting conversations that get our group interacting and using the language.

So despite the challenges of learning, let’s lean into the joy of it. Let’s appreciate the beauty and nuance of our language. Let’s chuckle at our mistakes while also celebrating our wins, whether that’s finally getting our pronunciation correct on that one difficult word, being able to introduce ourselves in Chamorro with ease, or finally unwinding a particular grammar concept. The fact that we are learning is a reason for joy.

And joy will definitely help us go the distance on this journey.

Reframe Our Idea of a “Learning Experience”

One evening in Waikiki, Jay, my primu, and I went out to dinner with our friends Joanie and Aunty “Tiha” Antoinette. My face definitely hurt afterward, from all the laughter we shared. During our conversation I teased Joanie a bit about not coming to our practice groups – we know she has been very busy with work, but it was my way of telling her how much we miss her.

Although she cannot attend the synchronous practice sessions, she told us how she keeps up with our activity in our WhatsApp group. In that space, we prioritize communicating exclusively in Chamorro via text messages, video messages or voice notes. This means that while her current schedule prevents her from attending our synchronous practice sessions, she can still maintain her own language by reading and listening to our conversations in the group.

We also have another learner in our groups, Siñot Meno, who has also been very busy this year with work and has been unable to attend many of our synchronous sessions. He still uses and practices Chamorro on his own time, while also participating in our WhatsApp group, sending us messages in Chamorro and sharing his language projects.

As adults, sometimes life happens and we can’t attend that practice session or participate in the ways that we like. We have all been there, trust me. Rather than being harsh on ourselves, we can actually just reframe our idea of what “learning” looks like. Learning is not just sitting down with our books and notes, or attending a synchronous learning session. It’s also about staying connected to the language.

And how can we do this? If you are in learning groups, try what Joanie and Siñot Meno do and keep up with the messages in your learning group, and send texts or voice notes in Chamorro when you can. You can also try listening to music and stories while doing other activities, such as when working in the yard, doing housework, or on your commute. If you have made other study tools for yourself, like digital flashcards, try to review them in the small moments of your day, such as when you are standing in line or waiting for your coffee to brew.

It’s not about being hyper-productive, but about staying connected to the language and being around it, however it works best for your life circumstances. Just remember to give yourself credit – if you are intentional about keeping the language in your life, these are learning experiences that will help you grow and maintain your language.

How Do You Cultivate Resilience?

And that’s it! Those are the three lessons in resilience I’ve learned this summer from my fellow language-learners. Did I miss anything that you see as crucial? What are the things you do to cultivate resilience for your own Chamorro language learning journey?