THE KEYS
YOU SEEK
IN JUST
5 DAYS
YOU WILL :
INHANCE
YOUR COMPREHENSION
IMPROVE
YOUR PRONUNCIATION
ELIMINATE
THAT FEELING OF
NOT PROGRESSING
ACQUIRE
A MASTER KEY
SPEAK
WITH
PLEASURE
NEGOCIATE
WITH
EASE
|
Look
Before You
Leap Into a Language
You May Have to Put Your Money
Where Your Mouth Is
------------------------------------------------------------------
These are excerpts from an
article by reporter Brandon Mitchener on
intensive and full-immersion
foreign language training.
The article appeared in the Wall Street
Journal Europe Edition,
Friday-Saturday, June 27-28, 1997.
------------------------------------------------------------------
LESSON
ONE: Look
at language classes like any other investment.
After shopping around
for a two-week crash course, David Ecklund, a
47-year-old American
sales executive living in Brussels, thought he
was lucky to get into a
group course that a local school was running
for another U.S.
multinational. It was cheaper than places out
of town and so, says Mr.
Ecklund, "I figured I’d stay in Brussels."
He got what he paid for.
Instead of building the little he had learned of
the language at high
school, Mr. Ecklund got an intensive exercise in
frustration. "In a
classroom environment with seven to 10 people," he
says, "you learn at
the pace of the slowest student." Even worse, he
was so put off by the
experience he gave up entirely on learning the
language for three years.
MONEY MATTERS
Whether you pay for language classes yourself,
like Mr. Ecklund, or
your company pays for them, there’s nothing more
frustrating than
wasting time and money on language lessons -
especially in a class
that’s supposed to be "intensive." But even
one-on-one instruction can
be a waste if you choose the wrong school. And
with prices for
intensive and full-immersion classes ranging from
$20 to $100 an hour -
not to mention the possibility of losing income
from having to take
time off from work or using vacation time - it
pays to choose
carefully. (Intensive refers to morning classes
with afternoons off,
while full-immersion programs pretty much involve
round-the-clock
attention.)
First off, decide what kind of return you want on
your time and money
and choose a school - or combination of schools -
that maximizes the
potential reward while minimizing the chance of
wasting time and money.
Many language schools don’t offer refunds. The
most important criteria
for a successful intensive or full-immersion
experience are small class
sizes and professional teachers as well as
preparation, follow-up and
realistic expectations on the part of the student.
(…)
On his
second try, Mr. Ecklund found just what he was
looking for: a
full-immersion program at DIALOGUE, that both
helped him with his
pronunciation and grammar and adapted itself to
his interests -
including vocabulary geared to his logistics
business. Mr. Ecklund is
commercial director of Caterpillar Logistics
Services Inc., a unit of
Caterpillar Inc.
The key to Mr. Ecklund’s satisfaction, in his
view, was the one-on-one
philosophy of the school, DIALOGUE, which offers
indi-vidualized
courses ranging from 20 hours of
instruction a week to a more extensive 40 hours
a week.
Mr. Ecklund is convinced that the school, which
is run out of the home
of the teachers and includes full board and
round-the-clock attention,
is a bargain. "If you go to group classes, you
might save money, but
you’ll probably spend the same amount over time
because it’ll take you
much longer," he says.
In fact, people who have taken a full-immersion
plunge say group
classes should be limited to five students,
especially if you’re beyond
the absolute-beginner level. The more numerous
or more advanced the
students, the more likely the ability level will
vary wildly.
Small Is Beautiful
A
reason to opt for one-on-one instruction, or at
least go to a school that offers one-on-one
lessons, is the opportunity
to work on specialized vocabulary and cultural
issues that wouldn’t be
part of a traditional curriculum.
Of course, schools like DIALOGUE have their price.
(…) But considering
the degree of individual attention they provide,
students who attend
them have a better shot at satisfaction.
|
THE
ADVANTAGE
1
WEEK OF DIALOGUE
=
1 YEAR OF STUDY
ONE-TO-ONE
INSTRUCTION
EXCELLENT
VALUE
FOR
MONEY
SPECTACULAR
PROGRESS
70
HOURS
OF TRUE
IMMERSION EACH
WEEK
THE
DIALOGUE
NATURAL APPROACH
|
