Learning a language through fiction
The idea is to write a fictional story about a character in a foreign land who teaches himself to speak the language, and in the process the reader learns the language organically. It's immersion by proxy.
The story is of a 14 year old boy who wakes up on a train at a small town in the Spanish countryside.
He finds a note from his troubled mother saying that she cannot take the stress of her life and she is leaving.
The note instructs him to go to the authorities and have them contact his grandparents in the US who will arrange his way home.
He decides not to follow the instructions and to instead search for his mother.
He has little money, does not speak the language, and has no idea where he is.
The story is told from his point of view, and through the course of the book, (out of sheer necessity) he teaches himself the language organically.
We, the reader, are also learning the language with him.
The story will have many twists and perils to keep the reader engaged and invested in the boy’s process of learning a new language and the fate of his mother.
If successful, the book could be 'localized' in many different languages.
The story is of a 14 year old boy who wakes up on a train at a small town in the Spanish countryside.
He finds a note from his troubled mother saying that she cannot take the stress of her life and she is leaving.
The note instructs him to go to the authorities and have them contact his grandparents in the US who will arrange his way home.
He decides not to follow the instructions and to instead search for his mother.
He has little money, does not speak the language, and has no idea where he is.
The story is told from his point of view, and through the course of the book, (out of sheer necessity) he teaches himself the language organically.
We, the reader, are also learning the language with him.
The story will have many twists and perils to keep the reader engaged and invested in the boy’s process of learning a new language and the fate of his mother.
If successful, the book could be 'localized' in many different languages.
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