Have you heard about the Growing Participator Approach (GPA)? If so, what have you heard?
We at Launch India, love the GPA and have seen it help many people reach their desired goals in learning South Asian languages such as Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Telugu, Marathi and Tamil. We have seen GPA work effectively both online and in person.
But is the GPA for everyone? Is it the best approach for you and your family as you consider your options for taking on the grand adventure of learning a new language and culture?
I recently heard a wonderful presentation from Nora McNamara (pictured here) who is currently a PhD student in Second Language Studies at Indiana University. She presented on the top most common misconceptions regarding the Growing Participator Approach. (The statements in quotations come from Nora's presentation and everything else is my (Mary's) personal commentary on the topic. )
Check out these 12 common misconceptions about the Growing Participator Approach and see if that might help you as you navigate which option will be best for you!
Misconception #1 : GPA is for Everyone
"Of course not! If you are having success in language learning using a method besides the GPA, fantastic!!"
Research shows that the number one indicator of success in language learning is simply TIME SPENT LEARNING THE LANGUAGE. So all methods aside, are you spending time learning the language? Are you experiencing growth in understanding, speaking and connecting with people? Are you moving towards your language goals? If so- great! The GPA is by no means the ONLY way to learn a language and if you're having success using a different method, by all means, keep it up!
"GPA is not a magic button for learning language and culture that makes it all easy and without struggle. So if you are struggling with this method or perhaps with all methods, please know that YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE! Learning a new language and culture is a very challenging task!"
"What GPA does do is keep the focus in learning language and culture on RELATIONSHIPS."
We love this aspect of GPA because when relationships are central throughout the process, your motivation to continue giving time to the endeavor has a higher chance of keeping you committing time to the journey.
Misconception #2: GPA is Flowers, Kittens, & Rainbows every day.
"GPA is about entering into deep relationships in another language and culture. Obviously this is going to be challenging!"
So hopefully there will be many days and moments of joy throughout the journey. But it is also 100% expected that there will also be struggle and days of deep frustration.
Misconception #3: GPA is just a bundle of different techniques for learning language.
"The Growing Participator Approach at the biggest picture level is an approach based on general theoretical ideas about keeping relationships with native speakers central to everything when learning language and culture."
Underneath this general approach, GPA has 6 Phases which describe a method compatible with the approach. And within each phase, there are specific activities that are designed to maximize growth at the unique level of Growing Participators (GPs) in that Phase. These techniques change from phase to phase as you grow deeper into the language and culture of your hosts.
Misconception #4: GPA doesn't let you learn to read and write.
"Yes it does. GPA teaches you to read and write in a comprehension-led way. Different GPA-using programs may introduce these skills at different times."
Some programs say that learning to read and write might help with skills like pronunciation, however other programs believe that it can actually hurt pronunciation skills.
Learning to read and write can also expand one's access to resources for continued exposure to vocabulary in meaningful contexts as you grow deeper into the phases.
At Launch India, we introduce reading at the end of the first Phase and then continue to suggest helpful activities throughout Phases 2-6 that allow you to continue to maximize your growth overall into another language and culture, using reading and writing in a timely way throughout this process.
Misconception #5: You don't talk in GPA Phase 1.
"Yes, you do talk in Phase 1."
There are 40 "meetings" in Phase 1. These "meetings" are basically a set of activities and vocabulary sets. On average, it takes about 2.5 hours to complete one "meeting."
For the first 15 meetings, the Growing Participator (GP) is encouraged to listen and point as their Nurturer (teacher) introduces the first several sets of vocabulary and plays other games with these words to grow the participator's understanding of the words in sentences. These 15 initial meetings take on average 37 hours to complete. For a participant doing full time language learning, this is 2 weeks of 1.5 to 2 years of language learning where they are focused solely on understanding. But regardless of how much you're doing these 37 hours are 2.5% of the total recommended 1500 hours of Phases 1-5 of GPA.
By "meeting" 16 of Phase 1 and onwards, a Growing Participator is speaking daily as a regular part of their meetings. By this time, they have had multiple repeated exposures to hundreds of new vocabulary words in their new language. By the time a GP is speaking, they are not just repeating memorized phrases back to their teacher, but they are expressing their own ideas, giving commands, and using the words and sentence structures they have learned while growing their listening and understanding.
So it is true that GPA encourages some initial time of really focused listening as you take your very first steps in starting to learn another language and culture. Speaking is obviously going to be important in learning a language and building relationships. But speaking without understanding is also not conducive to real relationships.
Misconception #6: GPA doesn't do Grammar.
Usually when people say this, they mean that GPA does not have an official Grammar workbook with assignments and homework to memorize grammar rules and drill them in a traditional way.
This is true. GPA does not teach Grammar in this way because research shows that it is not the most effective way for a learner to effectively and correctly use grammar in their own speech in another language.
What GPA does do for Grammar is introduce it in contextual ways where sentence structures are real and part of a greater story. Participators are encouraged to use the GPA Grammar activities of Input and Output flooding to help them self-discover the patterns of their new language for themselves.
"You own what you discover."
While it may not hurt to read a grammar book and learn from published resources, it just simply will not affect your ability to use grammar correctly until you have heard a native speaker use correct grammar constructs hundreds of times.
Launch India has developed specific Grammar workshops that we have our participants begin using from Phase 2B onwards. These workshops allow participants to focus in on various grammar concepts and review old vocabulary in a way that is interactive and fun.
Misconception #7: There is no flexibility in the GPA.
"GPA is actually intentionally flexible to grow along with the participant."
So long as relationships remain central to the program, the specific activities and structure of a session can and should be adjusted so that each session remains both challenging and fun for the learner.
When you begin with us, Launch India will pair you with a language learning coach if you do not already have one so that someone trained in the method can hear your desires and goals and help you adjust your sessions to meet your unique needs.
Misconception #8: GPA is not based on research.
"On the contrary, the creators of GPA - Greg and Angela Thompson- developed this approach based on a lot of research on learning languages as well as their own experience learning several languages."
You can check out this post by Greg Thompson to learn more about how research impacted this approach.
Misconception #9: You can hand someone GPA materials and let them loose.
"Everyone needs a coach."
While the official GPA guides are incredibly helpful and worth reading, the guides aren't meant to be sufficient in and of themselves to help someone successfully implement the GPA on their own. Consulting with someone who is trained in the approach can help significantly to get the most out of the approach and start building relationships effectively.
At Launch India , we have trained Language Learning Encouragers who send you both the original guides as well as abbreviated versions as you progress through the program. They also meet with you as you transition through each phase to ensure you understand the approach. Additionally, our Nurturers are also well trained in the GPA method and can help provide guidance throughout each session.
As in many parts of the world and in many languages, there can be a lot of variation in dialect, vocabulary, pronunciation in different regions where the languages are used. For this reason, it can be helpful to train up your own Nurturer as soon as possible. We often recommend to people wanting to learn a more local dialect to use our Launch India trained Nurturers for Phase 1, Phase 2 and parts of Phase 3. These earlier phases often require more support and once you get through them you are usually in a much better position to train a Nurturer personally to carry you through the rest of the recommended hours.
Misconception #10: Participation means you will become a full member of your community.
On average, it takes 17 years to become "fluent" in another language in the sense that a native speaker would see you as no different from them. So the reality is that most of us learning another language will never actually reach full fluency in that language or culture. But we can still become members of the community with many deep relationships.
"The technical psychological term for what we are becoming is a legitimate peripheral participant. "
The GPA in later Phases 4 and 5 speaks about joining "communities of practice" where you are surrounded by native speakers in a normal local setting and growing to participate more and more in the discourse of that group of people. While growth is going to happen and growth is the goal, it is not the realistic expectation that we become full members of this community as we will always maintain some of our home identity in various ways. This is why Phase 6 is described as lasting for "years and years and years." We will always have more to learn in our new language and culture as we deepen our understanding and our participation.
Misconception #11: Everything with the GPA on it is following the approach.
The GPA is being used effectively all over the world in various settings to help learners grow into different languages and cultures.
"However, one should also be careful as the effective reputation of the GPA has led certain individuals and institutions to use the title to promote their program without ensuring that the method is actually being used."
The GPA guidebooks are all made accessible for free online. So you can always do your own research by reading these to see whether the program you are considering is actually doing the GPA as has been shown to be most effective.
We at Launch India are also connected to people across the globe using this approach correctly. If you are looking to learn a language other than Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Telugu or Marathi, we would be happy to connect with our network to find you an appropriate program that suits your needs.
Misconception #12: You need to be full time using the GPA
Perhaps you are required to learn language using a certain method which is not GPA. Are you therefore disqualified from dappling in the approach?
"No! You can supplement whatever approach you are using to learn language and culture with GPA as is helpful for you. Again, we recommend connecting with a coach to help you do that as effectively as possible."
Conclusion
The Growing Participator Approach (GPA) has been around now for awhile and is also now growing in popularity. As it is more widely used and more widely known, it is possible that misconceptions about this approach also increase. The official GPA website can always be consulted for the purest description of the approach.
We at Launch India love the Growing Participator Approach as we have seen it help hundreds of learners enter into deep relationships with people in a different language and culture. But we have also seen people successfully enter into deep relationships using other methods. We strive to provide the best experience possible for learners using the GPA, but we also love to cheer people on towards their goals using whatever approach is best for you!
Reach out today for a free consultation or trial class to see if GPA in person or online could be a good fit for you to learn Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Telugu or Marathi!
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