Phase One: The Here-and-Now Phase (10 weeks, ideally)

In the 30 first hours, The growing participators listen to instructions and questions and respond non-verbally, while learning to understand about three hundred vocabulary items, and many simple grammar constructions. An additional approximately seventy hours of Phase 1 activities involve more activities like those of the first thirty hours, but also activities that require verbal interaction. By the end of this phase, the growing participators are familiar with approximately 800 vocabulary items and many simple grammar constructions and common expressions needed for survival. Communication ability is, of course, still highly limited, but will steadily become richer, wider and deeper.

Phase Two: The Story-Building Phase (15 weeks, ideally)

For the first fifty to eighty hours of Phase 2 the growing participators work hard to “loosen up their tongues”, speaking more and more freely, with the help of a supportive host nurturer. The primary activity at this time employs wordless picture stories. Then for an additional fifty hours, they interact with a host person (or people) who likewise creates stories from wordless picture books. In the interaction, the growing participators help to guide the story somewhat, and clarify aspects of the pictures that the host nurturer does not fully understand. Since the stories are largely created by the host nurturer, it is at this point that the growing participators begin, in a small but real way, to see these stories from host people’s point of view. Finally, for approximately twenty hours of this phase, the growing participators and their host nurturer build their own autobiographical picture stories.

Phase Three: The Shared Story Phase (25 weeks, ideally)

This is the phase when the growing participators can be said to be developing “conversational ability”. They are moving from understanding simple narrative speech to understanding complex narrative speech, but only when the content is largely familiar, as when they hear a story that they already basically know (not that they know it word for word, but they know the overall plot and basic details of the story). There are three common types of activities in this phase: 1) hearing detailed descriptions of familiar daily activities, such as using a bus; 2) hearing stories that are already familiar (in the sense mentioned); 3) hearing “reminiscences” of shared experiences.

Phase Four: Deep Life Sharing (four to six months)

This is the phase when relationships start to go really deep. Activities include ethnographic interviewing related to everyday life and the exploration of host people’s life histories through discussions with them. The growing participators also continue sharing from their own backgrounds and experiences. Spiritually motivated growing participators can use some of this time for learning about host beliefs and comparing those with one’s own beliefs in discussions aimed at mutual understanding. In sharing their own beliefs, the growing participators can also begin using a “chronological Story telling” approach. However, the primary emphasis is on learning the host world broadly and deeply by learning individual lives broadly and deeply.

Phase Four: Deep Life Sharing (50 weeks)

This is the phase when relationships start to go really deep. Activities include ethnographic interviewing related to everyday life and the exploration of host people’s life histories through discussions with them. The growing participators also continue sharing from their own backgrounds and experiences. Spiritually motivated growing participators can use some of this time for learning about host beliefs and comparing those with one’s own beliefs in discussions aimed at mutual understanding.

Phase Five: Native-to-Native Discourse Phase (50 weeks).

It may involve discussions of literature, movies, radio talk shows, etc. The growing participators are hoping to develop their “recognition vocabulary” (words they understand when they hear them in context) to as many as ten thousand items. (Their speaking vocabulary—words the growing participators use freely in their own speech—will still be much smaller). The growing participators will be learning about a wide range of areas of life that are commonly discussed, and participating in those discussions credibly. They will also be giving special attention to different language styles (formal, informal), and the socially appropriate ways to carry out various functions of language. The recorded native-to-native discourses that are a key resource in this phase will include some that are related to the work-role that the growing participators will be fulfilling in the host world, preparing them for fuller participation in that role.