THE KEYS
YOU SEEK
IN JUST
5 DAYS
YOU WILL :
ENHANCE
YOUR COMPREHENSION
IMPROVE
YOUR PRONUNCIATION
ELIMINATE
THAT FEELING OF NOT PROGRESSING
ACQUIRE
A MASTER KEY
SPEAK
WITH
PLEASURE
NEGOCIATE
WITH EASE
|
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
about
the language courses
-
What
kind of progress can I expect to make at Dialogue ?
-
How
many people will be in my group at Dialogue ?
-
Private,
ultra-rapid progress sounds great, but isn't it
expensive ?
-
Isn't
group study more interesting, and certainly more
motivating ?
-
Will
a course of just a few days allow me to significantly
improve my pronunciation ?
-
How
can I jump-start my comprehension level over a short
stretch of time ?
-
How
can you sum up the ways in which Dialogue is truly
different ?
-
You've
mentioned a natural approach. What do you mean by
that ?
-
All
the schools talk about the benefits of Total
Immersion. How does Dialogue view this ?
-
When
can I get started at Dialogue ?
-
I'm
a total beginner, but I need to learn a language for
business or professional reasons.
-
I'm
an advanced-level speaker and I'm having trouble
finding training on a high-enough level.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Q.---
What kind of progress can I expect to make at Dialogue ?
A.--- Our students tell us that they make as much progress
in two weeks at Dialogue as they would otherwise have made
in four full semesters at a university. But let's be
conservative about this: We guarantee twice the rate of
progress than in other private schools that specialize in
intensive language instruction. Dialogue is particularly
suitable for people who lack the time for long-term language
study and who are looking for the ultimate in intensive
language training for results. The student receives a report
at the end of his or her stay at Dialogue that includes a
complete progress evaluation and strategies for optimizing
further language study after leaving Dialogue.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
How many people will be in my group at Dialogue ?
A.--- Just one. You. And no one else. The heart of
Dialogue's philosophy is total personalization. At Dialogue,
you will never have to adapt to any preconceived system.
Rather, we adapt to the way you learn best. You won't have
to adjust to general (and often impersonal) learning
programs. As in other schools, you will make progress in
general language and communications skills, but you'll also
focus on and achieve your own communications objectives.
Every moment of instruction at Dialogue is A La Carte,
molded to your learning style, and especially to the
specialized vocabulary or subject matter you need to know in
the target language. We've earned a valuable reputation
internationally for intensive, effective, and ultra-rapid
preparatory work for specific business objectives
(conferences, negotiations on specific issues, seminars,
meetings, speeches, press conferences and interviews).
Dialogue is a restaurant where YOU write the menu. If you
wish, we can even put aside general language study and
concentrate solely on the specific material you suggest.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
Private, ultra-rapid progress sounds great, but isn't it
expensive?
A.--- No. Not at all. Our prices are very competitive,
certainly in comparison with other intensive language
schools. But there is a difference: most other schools will
put you into a small group of 4 or 5 people, with a big
surcharge for private lessons. Dialogue is strictly
one-on-one, and for the same price. For the same expenditure
of money, for the same expenditure of time, you leave the
course with twice as much knowledge (and five times the
confidence!).
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
All right, Dialogue's value seems obvious, but isn't group
study more interesting, and certainly more motivating ?
A.--- Yes and no. At Dialogue, you'll have all the
advantages of a group with none of the inconveniences. It's
always pleasant to be in good company of course. During
breaks, meals, the evening hours, our students appreciate
their opportunities to interact with one another. But during
lessons, the presence of others is usually an obstacle
rather than an advantage. Others will rarely share your
objectives, your style, your level, your reactions, your
needs. In groups, the slower student can be maddening, and
the faster one can be just as maddening. Group training is,
more often than not, group plodding. A chain is only as
strong as its weakest link. In a group, it's easy to become
confused and disoriented by the mistakes others make. It's
just as easy to become apprehensive about making mistakes in
front of others. In language learning, group dynamics aren't
always beneficial.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
Will a course of just a few days allow me to significantly
improve my pronunciation ?
A.--- Without question. We have developed an extremely
effective pronunciation improvement method. A great number
of university professors and international businesspeople
come to Dialogue to improve their pronunciation in record
time. Several professors from Harvard University who gave
presentations at the Sorbonne in Paris directly after
Dialogue training were complimented by the French themselves
on their unusually fine pronunciation skills.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
Your work with Harvard professors is impressive, but I want
to learn to understand the everyday language. How can I
jump-start my comprehension level over a short stretch of
time ?
A.--- That's a good question. It's not easy to communicate
if you can hardly understand what other people are saying.
To achieve quick, tangible results in this area, we've put
into place a unique oral comprehension method. Your ear --
despite every effort on your part -- doesn't naturally hear
all the sounds of your target language. If you can't even
hear the sounds in the first place, you cannot be expected
to reproduce them. In only one week we can change your ear.
(Don't worry, there's no pain, no actual surgery!) The fact
is, you've already had a lifetime of ear training in your
own language that tends to come in the way of your ability
to hear in the target language. With our method, after a few
hours, you'll be a little child again. Your open ears will
once again have the child's ability to distinguish between
words (such as, in French, le vin, le vent, and levons )
that previously sounded identical to your ears, but that
have obvious differences to the trained ear or to the native
speaker.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
How can you sum up the ways in which Dialogue is truly
different ?
A.--- Most schools attempt to instil linguistic confidence
in their students. This is an admirable goal, but it's just
not enough if you need to learn the true ins and outs of a
foreign language. Each Dialogue session works with not one,
but four separate objectives. The Dialogue trainer doesn't
just help the student break through the psychological
barrier, he or she also helps the student pass listening,
cultural and linguistic barriers. During each session, the
learner gains pleasure in speaking the target language
(psychological threshold), adds aural comprehension and
pronunciation skills (the listening threshold), practices
appropriate means of expression (the cultural threshold),
and increasingly learns to speak without making mistakes
(the linguistic threshold).
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
You've mentioned a natural approach. What do you mean by
that ?
A.--- The Greek philosopher Socrates said that hidden inside
every human is a philosopher. At Dialogue, we believe that
virtually everyone on this planet has the hidden ability to
be a master of "multiple" languages. We follow the Socratic
Method of drawing out what we believe is already inside
rather than trying to cram outside material into a language
student's already spinning head. The European Commission is
very interested in our de-schooling approach. At Dialogue,
students discover that they've been made a member of a
family; it's not quite the school they expected. Training
sessions replace lessons. A true home-away-from-home
replaces the classroom.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
All the schools talk about the benefits of Total Immersion.
How does Dialogue view this ?
A.--- Total immersion sounds great, but the question
remains, total immersion in what? Hearing the target
language for a week instead of your own is a fine idea, but
true immersion, the Dialogue way, is so much more. To ensure
true immersion, Dialogue accepts only a handful of
participants (our term of choice) each week, who immediately
become part of the family, all in the target language
environment. At meals, during breaks, after dinner, native
speakers always predominate at Dialogue. At many other
schools the ratio is just the reverse, with a single
instructor for up to ten students. Dialogue dinner-table
conversation is the real thing, not student or tourist talk.
On weekends, participants aren't left to their own devices;
Dialogue people are always there to show them around and to
satisfy their curiosity as tourists.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
Sound like just the thing for me. When can I get started at
Dialogue ?
A.--- Whenever you wish. Whether you're a complete beginner
or just on the point of total fluency, you can begin on any
day of the week, and for as many days or weeks as you wish.
You can give yourself a break during weekends or work
through them. You make the schedule at Dialogue, and you can
also adjust it in mid-stream if you need to. Before
beginning at Dialogue, we'll discuss your needs and desires
at length.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
I'm a total beginner, but I need to learn a language for
business or professional reasons.
A.--- At Dialogue, that won't present a problem. We'll have
you working in your target professional vocabulary from the
first session.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
I'm an advanced-level speaker and I'm having trouble finding
training on a high-enough level. Many schools simply refuse
to accept a student with my level of competence, yet I know
I can learn much more.
A.--- Dialogue trainers recognize the special needs of very
advanced language students. They know how to structure
advanced training so that the student makes just as much
progress as the less advanced student, without being held
back by the group approach.
(top)
|
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
|