ICCT Learnernotes
© Lonna J. Dickerson (2008)
Director, Institute for Cross-Cultural Training
W heaton College, W heaton, IL 60187-5593
http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/icct/
Getting a Jump Start on Language Learning
Before Leaving Home
Many people wait until they are overseas to begin preparing for and learning their new language. However,
the most successful learners are often those who take some key steps toward language learning before
they leave home. These people are the ones who get that all-important jump start that pays big dividends
in how quickly and how well they learn their new language.
Here are six steps you can take before you leave home to help yourself
become a more effective language learner.
1. Perhaps the best financial and time-management investment you can
make is to take a pre-field second language acquisition (SLA)
program, like our summer ICCT course. While three extra weeks of
preparation may sound like an unnecessary expenditure of time and
money, those who arrive overseas with this type of preparation consistently
report that pre-field SLA preparation saves far more, in both time and
money, than they spent to take the course.
The most successful
learners are often
those who take some
key steps toward
language learning
before they leave
home.
How can good pre-field preparation help? Our ICCT program, for example, will equip you with the basic
knowledge and skills for effective language learning no matter which approach to learning you plan to
use—formal opportunities such as enrollment in a language school or independent study with a tutor,
informal learning through building relationships with individual native speakers, or a combination of
approaches. Because pre-field SLA courses vary in their goals and content as well as length, we
recommend you investigate programs to find the one that is most appropriate for your needs.
2. Find a native speaker helper to work with for a minimum of two hours each week. Your helper
may be a neighbor, a student, or any person who is willing to give you some time. (Your pre-field
course should teach you how to learn from ordinary native speakers and give you practice in doing this.
This will allow you to make the most of these language-learning sessions because you will know what
you need to learn and how to go about the learning process.) First, work on learning “survival
language”—the kind of language you’ll need right away in your new country—and some basic “building
blocks” such as the alphabet, numbers, and a few of the most basic sentence patterns.
Here are some suggestions to choose from, but you should add to this list items that will be
immediately useful to you and skip the items that you will not need right away.
a. alphabet
b. numbers: most common numbers (e.g., 0 - 100) and common numbers used in currency
denominations
c. common food items (e.g., fruits, vegetables, meats, etc.): 15 - 20 common foods
d. names of stores, shops, and other place names: 10 - 15 most common place names
e. names from a few of the most common signs such as street signs (e.g., Metro, exit, entrance)
f. names of common modes of transportation (e.g., train, bus, car, metro, etc.)
g. conversational management phrases/sentences: begin with 6 - 10 phrases/sentences (“Please
speak more slowly. Can you repeat that? I don’t understand? What is this? How do you say
____?”)
ICCT Learnernotes
Getting a Jump Start on Language Learning
h. basic greetings and leave-takings
i. basic self-introduction
j. basic sentence patterns (e.g., a few of the most simple types of sentences in which you can
substitute new words to change the meaning of the sentence. Here are two basic sentence
patterns in English: “I need________.” and “Where is _______?” However, basic sentence
patterns in your new language may be very different from these.)
3.
Look for on-line language material to supplement what you do with your native-speaker helper.
Some sites have grammar exercises, games, podcasts, video clips, and other material for learners
at various levels, while others may have no more than some common vocabulary, a few conversational
management phrases, and perhaps simple greetings and leave-takings. A particularly good Web site
is Word2Word Language Resources, which includes links to free on-line language materials for almost
100 languages as well as on-line dictionaries, on-line translation, and other resources for second
language learners (http://www.word2word.com/course.html).
4.
If CD-ROM programs are available for your target language, purchase one or two programs.
Transparent Language (http://www.transparent.com/ ), CD Access (http://www.cdaccess.com/), and
World Language Resources (http://www.worldlanguage.com/) have CD and DVD programs that are
especially helpful for beginning learners. The first level of Rosetta Stone software can also be useful
(http://www.rosettastone.com). (Before paying full price elsewhere, be sure to check eBay.) Learning
suggestions: If possible, check for accuracy what you are learning from the CD with your nativespeaker helper and then practice the same material with your helper.
5.
Take a language course. For the most popular foreign languages—and for many of the less
commonly taught languages—many universities, colleges, and community colleges offer courses that
run from a week to a semester in length. The methods and techniques used for most North American
language courses are “communicative.” This means that learners are involved in actual
communication from the first day of class, thus providing a good foundation for continued learning in
the on-field language program. For a searchable database of institutions that teach the less commonly
taught languages, see http://www.carla.acad.umn.edu/lctl/db/.
Many people wait until they are overseas to begin preparing for and learning their new language.
Thirty or forty years ago that was a good idea, because most language courses offered in North
American colleges and universities didn’t really prepare students for oral communication. But now all
that has changed. Most language courses are now very “communicative” in methodology. That is, their
chief goal is to prepare learners to actually use the language in real-life situations.
6.
Collect resources you can use before you go overseas and/or use in on-field language
learning. These include language textbooks and dictionaries as well as articles, books, web sites, and
other information to help you become a more effective learner. One helpful resource is the ICCT Web
site (http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/icct/). Click on “SLA Resources and Links.” You can also e-mail us
for a list of resources for your specific language.
You may not be able to do all the steps listed above. But can you do one or two of them? Whatever you
are able to do before you leave home will give you an important jump start that will pay big dividends in
how quickly and how well you learn your new language and how effectively you can use that language in
everyday life and ministry.
This article m ay be reproduced and distributed to others. For using excerpts, please give credit to the source.
For m ore ICCT articles and resources for second language and culture learners,
language coaches, and ESL/EFL teachers, go to http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/icct/