SPANISH ABROAD
You CAN learn Spanish with us the fun way!
Do you remember struggling through Spanish in school and hating every minute of it? And the time when you tried to ask simple directions during that trip to Mexico and ended up lost instead? Perhaps you've studied Spanish for years and know the grammar inside out but are still not able to converse comfortably. We can teach you speak Spanish without it being tedious and frustrating. In fact, it can be fun! You can learn quickly and use your new skills right away. We make it possible with our lively method, our outstanding teachers, and our wide array of up-to-date learning resources.
OUR METHOD
The Most Natural Way to Learn
Our method, which builds on years of successful experience, teaches you a new language the same way you learned your first-naturally, through conversation. From the moment the lesson begins, you will only hear your target language. This direct method allows you to pick up vocabulary and grammar in their proper context with the least amount of effort.
You begin not only to speak, but to think in your new language quickly under the guidance of our dynamic native instructors.
Through role-play, such as telephone conversations, business presentations, and making travel arrangements, you are exposed to just about every setting you'll encounter abroad. You will learn the language you need to communicate in situations that are relevant to you. You will get the confidence you need- and the best part is that you will have lots of fun in a professional learning atmosphere.
In order to help you develop your language skills fast and effectively, our teaching policy is to keep group classes to a reasonable number of participants (maximum 8 per group).
Principles
1. The teacher conducts the lesson only in the target language.
Students should start thinking in the target language as soon as possible. Translation confuses and wastes time.
2. The teacher gives the learner the opportunity to speak as much as possible during the lesson.
The only way in which students will learn to speak a language is by speaking it.
3. The teacher concentrates more on teaching structures (i.e. how words are put together) than on teaching individual words.
Language is not a collection of words, but a system of word combinations.
4. The teacher keeps theoretical explanations to a minimum.
In order to drive a car it is not necessary to know how the engine works. Students should be able to induce a rule from examples.
5. The teacher encourages the learner to play a creative role in the learning process.
In order for students to be constructive and creative in their use of the target language, they must experiment. It is impossible to memorize a number of sentences and phrases which they think they will need one day. Role-play activities carefully planned by the teacher is one of the many resources used to achieve this aim.
6. The teacher observes the principles of applied psychology.
The goal of our method is to make language learning as efficient and pleasant as possible. The method is flexible to give the teacher the possibility to adapt his approach to the individual requirements of the student. Factors such as linguistical talent, motivation, openness and cultural particularities have to be considered.
7. The teacher combines the structural and functional approaches to language teaching.
A structural approach to language learning is one which places the emphasis on learning the structures or grammatical items of a language. The functional approach puts the emphasis on learning how to express oneself in situations which may occur mainly outside the classroom in everyday life. The most efficient teaching method is the combination of both approaches. Our method teaches structure on the basis of functional situations.
