Language Reboot is a one-week Grow2Serve online course designed to help you improve your language learning process. The course asks you to invest 4-6 hours of learning time over an 8-day period.
Cross-cultural Gospel ministry is all about relationship. And relationship doesn’t happen without heart to heart communication connections. Since the days of William Carey, modern missionaries have known how important language learning is. You’ve made a commitment to language learning and you want to do well.
Language Reboot will provide you with three kinds of help in improving your language learning process.
- An overview of basic concepts of being an effective language learner. These include your attitudes about learning language, spiritual dynamics at play during language learning, and how to match language competency expectations with anticipated ministry roles.
- A guided tour of language learning tools that are available to you. These include curricula and exercises for language learning planning and implementation as well as assessment tools and technology ready to be utilized.
- Some guidelines and advice for reassessing your current language learning program and making appropriate changes for improvement.
How is your language learning process going? Don’t go it alone! Many have already trod this pathway and offer help and suggestions. Many are in the same stage of the journey as you, and perhaps you can lean on each other.
As a result of participating actively in the course, by the end you should…
- Identify good and bad attitudes within yourself that may be helping or hindering your language learning progress and develop a plan for working on some of the hindering attitudes.
- Be aware of various techniques and approaches for adult second-language learning.
- Understand some elements of your personal learning preferences that may help you be a better language learner.
- Be able to find and use language learning tools that are freely available to you.
- Understand the importance of evaluation of language levels and stages and be able to find and use resources for this purpose.
- Be able to evaluate the effectiveness of your current language program and plan for adjustments for improvement.
Content, Community, Consultation, Connections
Language Reboot will afford you not just the opportunity to explore some interesting information regarding improving your language learning program, but, more importantly, it will connect you with others who are in a similar stage of life with you. You’ll be able to help each other and learn from one another. Your course facilitator will also be a great resource for clarifying what you are learning and for providing input on assignments you will complete and discussions in which you will participate.
Is this Course for Me?
Language Reboot is designed for those who are currently living in a language-learning context, are committed to language fluency for the sake of effective cross-cultural Gospel ministry, and have already spent at least 6 months in an intentional program of language learning for at least 10 hours a week. If you are a current, experienced language learner and are committed to living and serving well in your cross-cultural context, this would be a good course for you.
Better language learning – learn by doing!
The course creator and facilitator for this course is Mark Morgenstern. Mark and his family served in evangelism and church planting in Russia and Ukraine with Cru, Navigators, and ReachGlobal from 1992-2006. He spent a couple of intense year of language study in 1995-97, which opened up the door for ministering almost 100% in Russian for the next 8 years. Returning to the US in 2006 to serve as training director for ReacGlobal, Mark is currently the director for continuing learning through the CIT Next ministry of Center for Intercultural Training.
Please note that for maximum learning impact in this course, a participant will ideally spend 30–90 minutes daily (Monday–Friday) working on the material. Some of the coursework will involve reading, writing, listening, and viewing videos on the computer. Other pieces will involve practicing the skills you are learning by interacting with your facilitator and other learners, and by engaging in your local community.
