Marhababik exclusively uses the Growing Participation Approach (GPA) to language learning and cultural adaptation. No memorization, no book based curriculum, just steady growth through strong, memorable encounters with vocabulary as participants build recognition.
The Paradigm
Entering as learners, we recognize we are outsiders and need Tunisians to help us see their world through their eyes. All strategies involve genuine relationships with host people and allow the GP to literally partcipate in host practices beginning with “This is a man. This is a woman.” We progressively grow ever-deeper in participation in Tunisian life.
The Method
6 phases of planned lessons take you from language infancy to mature lifestyle participation. These lesson plans include innovative activites with your nurturer, we call this time “special-growth participation” (the hours in the chart below reflect this time). “Lifestyle participation,” on the other hand, is the time spent in host culture, outside of your sessions with your nurturer. Each phase is designed to build on and reenforce language already used. Digital recordings of each session, give you a record of new words and their usage, which you use for review in between sessions.
Connecting | Emerging | Knowable | Deep Personal Relationships |
Widening Understanding |
Evergrowing Participation |
|
Phase | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Hours | 100 | +150 | +250 | +500 | +500 | ∞ |
New Words | 800-1000 | +1500 | +2500 | +3000 | +1200 | ∞ |
Total Words | 800-1000 | 2000 | 4-5000 | 8000-9000 | over 10,000 | |
Time | 6 months | 6 months | 6 months | ongoing | ||
18 months (in an ideal scenario) |