Using Google Translate at Church

One of the challenges of language learning is finding situations where you can hear real speech but still understand enough to follow along.

Last night at church I experimented with a simple tool that helped me do exactly that.

During our first week in Athens we visited a Greek church. Our plan was to visit several churches before deciding where to attend, but this one was so welcoming that we have simply stayed there.

The songs are sung in Greek, and the lyrics appear on the screen along with an English translation. For the sermon and the rest of the service, the church provides simultaneous translation through headsets.

The system works very well, but it has one drawback for a language learner: if I am listening to the English translation, I cannot hear what is being said in Greek.

So last night I tried something different.

Instead of using the headset, I opened Google Translate in conversation mode on my phone. As the service continued, the app displayed what was being said in Greek and generated an English translation underneath.

It worked surprisingly well. There was a small delay, but I could hear the Greek first and then glance down to check the translation.

This feels like a much better learning option because now I can focus on listening to the Greek.