Most people in the world learn orally. This means they talk to others to get the information, skills, and help they need. Although literacy rates appear high, people's reliance on the written word is actually quite low. This is because their tendency is to learn in a form most natural to them. In the U.S. only about 13% of the population use reading as their preferred way to learn. This statistic is similar in Canada and Europe. If this is true in developed countries, what about countries like the Dominican Republic?
When we began teaching the Bible in the rural villages, we assumed that most people had a basic ability to read and that with the Spanish NIV Bible, they could read a passage and understand it. We quickly discovered that even if the passage could be read, it was unlikely that it would be understood. Many of the younger people could read, but most of the older folks had difficulty. Some were embarrassed about this and it deterred them from attending the studies. Reading certainly was and is a problem but there was more to it. We noticed that most Dominicans prefer to use their network of friends and family to gain information, solve problems, and make decisions. Their process of learning was obviously different. Teaching them in the same format we had used in the United States would probably not be very effective.
So what to do? Well being the literate people that we are, we got on the internet and began searching for answers. We had heard about missionaries working in "oral cultures" where the language is not even written down or there is little access to education. As we searched, we learned that missionaries around the world, even in developed countries, are using oral methods to evangelize and disciple people. They are finding that when they teach using oral methods a much greater percentage are able to understand and share what had been taught to others.
Oral methods are using stories, dialogue, pictures, films, and drama to communicate Biblical truths. Orality is about much more than whether a person prefers to read or hear information. It is a way of life. Literate people tend to organize their lives and think in a 1, 2, 3 fashion. Oral people rely on their memory of events, stories and people for information. Their knowledge and wisdom is housed in stories. Think about the power of a story. People enter into story intellectually and emotionally. Stories are easy to share and to pass on. No wonder Jesus taught so much using stories and parables.
In September we attended a training conference called "Simply the Story." We learned how to lead inductive Bible studies without using any written material. First we learned a Bible story well so we could tell it in a dramatic fashion. Next we taught the story to our small group and finally lead them through a question/answer discussion to help them discover spiritual observations and applications from the story. We are very excited to bring this method back to the Dominican Republic, use it, and train Dominicans to use it.
If you would like to learn more about orality we recommend the following website:
http://www.story4all.com/
Story 4 all is a podcast we listen to regularly and love it for the information and encouragement it bring us. Under the resources tab, you will find links to several organizations that are using oral methods in missions.
