Review – Grow Your Mind to Go Global

Deborah Fulcher Crimes, the author of Grow Your Mind to Go Global is the founder of Lessons from Abroad, a twelve-year old institution that provides a variety of language programs for children. She is therefore well-qualified to write this book which is aimed at exposing young people to the opportunities and benefits associated with international travel and learning a foreign language.
The book is divided into three parts. In the first part, Mrs. Crimes passionately describes her own journey into the world of working with foreign languages and children. For the bulk of the book, however, she allows other professionals to share their views and experiences with going global. These contributors describe the circumstances that led them to become global citizens and how it has impacted their ability to have fulfilling careers or wonderful experiences. The writers come from diverse backgrounds, from a Spanish professor in Seville to a multi-lingual foreign service agent. We hear from a young singer who was required to sing French classical music and an business man who jumped at the chance for a stint in London.

The final chapters of this book are in the form of a worksheet that encourages the reader to catalog their language skills and foreign travel experiences, set SMART goals related to those experiences, and then to execute those goals.

Grow Your Mind to Go Global has a very conversational tone and the experiences are expressed with great passion that will likely generate an interest in travel and foreign language learning. The worksheets at the end allows the reader to immediately turn that excitement into a workable plan.

Disclaimer: I was one of the early editors of this book and I know the author personally. I was not involved in the final layout and design.

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