My late younger brother joined the Peace Corps after he completed a master's degree in international business. He was sent to The Gambia. He learned French and became fluent. But he also learned Wolof, a West African language. I think his training in Wolof was overseas. Not sure if he learned Mandinka. The people he worked with mainly spoke Wolof and French. This was in the late 1970s-early 1980s.
My late brother didn't serve in Senegal, although I believe French is the main European language used there. But it's definitely French in The Gambia. His first wife was from the Gambia. She spoke French and Wolof. I think she spoke Mandinka, too. She lives in the U.S. now.
Its true when people say " you learn something new everyday " ! All these years (44) i stupidly thought when you join the Peace Corps you just go somewhere that needs your help and well you help. If you learn a new language thats a bonus. But to find out its more intense and they make sure you wil be successful is amazing. I feel so knowledgeable now😊. I wish that could have been apart of my life story. At least i wont be totally naive if i ever have a conversation with someone about The Peace Corp !!!!
Olly, what a great video this is! I love the way you spliced people in, even JFK! I never really knew what the Peace Corps was all about. Hats off to the volunteers.
RPCV Honduras here. I received the very best language training. It was a mix of the Natural Approach, TPR and immersion. I left Honduras with an foreign service score in Spanish if 4+. 5 is native college speaker. Thanks Peace Corps.
A lot of the African languages these people have to learn are hard to learn if you are not in the country where they are spoken. not because the languages themselves are hard but because there is not a lot of media online that you can use to learn them. most learning websites and apps prefer to teach languages from richer countries like Icelandic and Gaelic.
I could do this! I (have) lived in NL for 7 years and speak it, plus some regional variants. I also made a video about why Dutch is German, but also isn't ;)
Really, really good video....but a few things not quite right. 1) Only those countries with a language requirement will give you a test once you arrive. All others will be tested (LPI) at the end of the 3-month pre-service training (PST). 2) You didn't talk much about PST where you get language lessons 4 hours/day 5-6 days/week for 11-weeks in small groups of 3-4 volunteers with a native speaker instructor. It's pretty intense. 3) The statistics you gave were pretty old. At the time of the 2020 evacuation due to the pandemic, there were 7000+ volunteers worldwide 4) Post-pandemic it is not very competitive yet. Because it has been so long since they had volunteers out in the field. As of 4/2023, there were about 1200 volunteers in the field. But because application numbers are down, PC is not advertizing again to get new volunteers. 5) Now they give the LPI multiple times during service, not just at the beginning and end.
Came here to say all this. Although in Morocco we had language training for 6=7 hrs a day. Plus living with a host family that only speaks Moroccan Arabic. Also PC encourages continuous language learning throughout your service and will give additional stipend for a tutor
Wondering if your language level is up to Peace Corps standards? 👉🏼 th-cam.com/video/yBTjkYoQj4E/w-d-xo.html
I tried to apply to Peace Corps recently. Never got any response.
But, if they allow the opportunity then I will happily respond back.
My late younger brother joined the Peace Corps after he completed a master's degree in international business. He was sent to The Gambia. He learned French and became fluent. But he also learned Wolof, a West African language. I think his training in Wolof was overseas. Not sure if he learned Mandinka. The people he worked with mainly spoke Wolof and French. This was in the late 1970s-early 1980s.
Don’t they speak French in Senegal, and English in the Gambia?
My late brother didn't serve in Senegal, although I believe French is the main European language used there. But it's definitely French in The Gambia. His first wife was from the Gambia. She spoke French and Wolof. I think she spoke Mandinka, too. She lives in the U.S. now.
Its true when people say " you learn something new everyday " ! All these years (44) i stupidly thought when you join the Peace Corps you just go somewhere that needs your help and well you help. If you learn a new language thats a bonus. But to find out its more intense and they make sure you wil be successful is amazing. I feel so knowledgeable now😊. I wish that could have been apart of my life story. At least i wont be totally naive if i ever have a conversation with someone about The Peace Corp !!!!
not too late to join!
Olly, what a great video this is! I love the way you spliced people in, even JFK! I never really knew what the Peace Corps was all about. Hats off to the volunteers.
Amazing content as always. May God bless you and everyone here.
RPCV Honduras here. I received the very best language training. It was a mix of the Natural Approach, TPR and immersion. I left Honduras with an foreign service score in Spanish if 4+. 5 is native college speaker. Thanks Peace Corps.
I went to high school with one of the Peace Corps members in the video.
Im a current peace corps volunteer in East Timor. Tetun is fairly easy to learn, but i was surprised how avanced we got in just 10 weeks
Keep bringing the different ways to learn languages Ollie!
Love this. Please make more videos like this.
A lot of the African languages these people have to learn are hard to learn if you are not in the country where they are spoken. not because the languages themselves are hard but because there is not a lot of media online that you can use to learn them. most learning websites and apps prefer to teach languages from richer countries like Icelandic and Gaelic.
Please do 11 reasons to learn Dutch. 🇳🇱
I could do this! I (have) lived in NL for 7 years and speak it, plus some regional variants. I also made a video about why Dutch is German, but also isn't ;)
Excellent video
Really, really good video....but a few things not quite right. 1) Only those countries with a language requirement will give you a test once you arrive. All others will be tested (LPI) at the end of the 3-month pre-service training (PST). 2) You didn't talk much about PST where you get language lessons 4 hours/day 5-6 days/week for 11-weeks in small groups of 3-4 volunteers with a native speaker instructor. It's pretty intense. 3) The statistics you gave were pretty old. At the time of the 2020 evacuation due to the pandemic, there were 7000+ volunteers worldwide 4) Post-pandemic it is not very competitive yet. Because it has been so long since they had volunteers out in the field. As of 4/2023, there were about 1200 volunteers in the field. But because application numbers are down, PC is not advertizing again to get new volunteers. 5) Now they give the LPI multiple times during service, not just at the beginning and end.
Came here to say all this. Although in Morocco we had language training for 6=7 hrs a day. Plus living with a host family that only speaks Moroccan Arabic. Also PC encourages continuous language learning throughout your service and will give additional stipend for a tutor
Does anyone know if there is something similar to this in the U.K? Would love to do this, always wanted to volunteer abroad. Thank you!
Love this video, but the “peace” In Indonesian is a bit wrong. It should be damai (peace/peacefulness) or perdamaian (peace in war, peace on earth)
Hey olly 😊 i just wana ask if i already have german and french in school would it then be a good or bad idea to learn italian too?
What is their methodology?Any specifics?
👍
Can you try to add Finnish to storylearning?
1970s?
Whose getting the most out of this?
Still worthwhile though.
Long home stay? I had my own house...
Peace corps asks for candidates to know a language so they know you can learn the one you need to do your job.
All the sounds are super distracting: the whips and pops are the only reason I have, turn this off! Otherwise, I'd love to hear the content.
Peace Corps volunteers now huh? Interesting.
America and 'Peace'
...the irony
Hi Olly. I prefer your real voice not the AI voices. There are good, but not as much as a human voice.