The scientific principles on which our approach is based translate into unusual ways of working in the classroom for most learners. With us, you communicate before you analyze.
The challenge of communicating in a foreign language
Language is for us a a communication tool before being a learning subject. In practice, this means that you'll spend more time practicing than learning.
Together with the teacher and other participants, you take part in real-life conversations. That's what makes it so challenging, especially for beginners.
Learning to communicate is like learning to swim, it's by getting wet that you make rapid progress, and with us, you practice directly in the water, not by the pool. !
Even if the teacher is there to guide and assist you, it's a bit like in the water where you have to keep calm and breathe, find the right posture to float and make the right gestures to move. Applied to communication, this image corresponds to :
- accepting that you won't understand everything right away without feeling "stupid". On the contrary, ambiguity encourages you to exploit all the clues present (context, other words in the sentence, intonations and gestures of the teacher, reactions of the interlocutors...). It develops qualities that will be very valuable to you in real life!
- accepting that you won't understand everything right away without feeling "stupid". On the contrary, ambiguity encourages you to exploit all the clues present (context, other words in the sentence, intonations and gestures of the teacher, reactions of the interlocutors...). It develops qualities that will be very valuable to you in real life!
- daring to take the plunge and not be afraid to make mistakes. Only then can you adjust what you say, thanks to the teacher's feedback. The process is more important than the result.
- daring to take the plunge and not be afraid to make mistakes. Only then can you adjust what you say, thanks to the teacher's feedback. The process is more important than the result.
- accepting the feeling of being destabilized and be patient. With your progress and the atmosphere of the course, it will pass quickly.
As for you, more advanced learners, you have less reason to fear this "linguistic bath". On the other hand, there's no need to take offense when we correct a mistake. You're here to make progress and have a great time at the same time!
You like to have fun exchanging ideas - perfect!
Communicating this way in class is certainly difficult, but it's very pleasant and rewarding. We only talk about ourselves, there's no need to role-play or refer to textbook characters.
We talk about what we like, what we believe and how we feel. We talk about our experiences, develop our ideas and share our vision of the world.
With more advanced learners, we tackle more abstract themes, always making the link with our experience and perception.
ut while sharing is a pleasure in itself, feeling that we do it with the right words is even better.
If speaking with correct pronunciation, appropriate intonation, a rich vocabulary and impeccable grammar is important to you, you've come to the right place!
Challenging beliefs about language learning
Not learning the way you did at school or in a language center can be confusing.
You might think that our approach isn't for you because you "have a different learning style".
Of course, it's possible to feel more or less comfortable with a certain way of working. However, it's important to remember that brain functioning related to learning is the same for everyone. Our article on grammar mastery touches on this subject.
There is also a tendency to underestimate the time it takes to master a language. On the one hand, the promises made in the course offerings have led us to believe in shortcuts that don't exist.
On the other hand, we can confuse two objectives: passing the activities in a program or the exam for a given level (A1,A2...) and being able to apply its content in a spontaneous exchange. That takes a lot more time!
We also recommend that you ask yourself some questions :
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- What do I think is an effective way to learn a language? Where does it come from? Do I consider a method effective simply because I've seen it used around me?
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- did the method I followed at school or university enable me and my classmates to speak with native speakers afterwards?
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- do language course offerings, whether institutional or not, really take scientific research into account when adapting their teaching and training their teachers?
The best way to find out if our courses are right for you is probably tosee for yourself. As we offer up to two trial classes for groups, there's no reason to hesitate to contact us!