What is Sector-Specific Language Training?

Sector-Specific Language Training (SSLT) is Peace Corps’ adaptation of several current trends in second language teaching in which specialized content is incorporated into the language curriculum through clearly identified language functions, grammatical forms, specialized vocabulary, and cultural knowledge. The underlying principle is that, when technical content is integrated with language teaching objectives, language becomes the vehicle through which technical knowledge is developed, and technical knowledge forms the building blocks for language development. SSLT represents one solution to the “gap” that occurs when the performance expectations of a Volunteer’s project require language skills that aren’t directly taught as part of a post’s existing language curriculum. 

What is the Sector-Specific Language Training Inventory?

The SSLT Inventory is a first step in analyzing the language that is necessary for Volunteers to acquire for successful implementation of language-dependent projects. The inventory:

•       identifies the mode of language delivery (interpretive, interpersonal, or presentational) and whether the communication is through speaking, listening, signing (sign language), reading, and/or writing;

•       generates authentic target-language examples of what the language looks like in authentic communication;

•       identifies the language functions required for each project activity task, written in the form of “Can-Do Statements”;

•       maps grammatical structures and sector-specific vocabulary to those language functions; and

•       addresses the cultural knowledge inherent in that project activity task for the specific context.