DialoguE Journal 2000-2001

The Optimum Way to Learn a Language

N°9 Editeur responsable: Jean-Luc Godard, 55, Tonnelet, B-4900 Spa		2000/2001 www.dialogue-languages.com
ONE-TO-ONE COURSES WHERE THE LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN

Meilleurs Voeux

Seasons Greetings

¡Felices fiestas!

Die besten Wünsche

Beste wensen

"DialoguE, one of the best language programs"
[The Wall Street Journal]
Deutsch - English - Español - Français - Nederlands

Two words to describe DialoguE: IT WORKS.
If you're really serious about improving your language ability in the shortest amount of time possible, DialoguE is your best choice. Here's why:

1. You learn at your own pace, not someone else's. You address the issues that are relevant to you, not someone else.
2. The DialoguE Method is extraordinary. DialoguE literally opens your ears: you hear sounds and words that you could not hear before.
3. You're inundated by the language. From the time you wake up to the time you stumble into bed, you read, speak, think, and eat in your new language. After that, it goes on: you start dreaming in it.
4. The Method reinforces itself after the course ends. You leave with notes and audio tapes that have been custom made for your needs and your interests. I made more progress in my week at DialoguE than I did over the course of a year studying at school.

Richard H. Zahm

(Other testimonials at www.dialogue-languages.com)

DialoguE : The Optimum Way
to Learn a Language

French in Spa, Spanish in Barcelona, Dutch in Knokke, and our recently added programs for German and English. In just a few years the DialoguE approach has become the standard for communication in general and languages in particular. Students avidly attest that a week at DialoguE is the equivalent to a full year of old-style language training. The Wall Street Journal in 1997 called DialoguE one of the best methods on the market. DialoguE owes this success to its optimization of the language learning process.

De-schooling

In order to optimize language training, you’ve got to break with tradition. The learner, not the instructor, must function as the center of the process. True training works by adapting to the learner, to his or her cognitive style, priorities, needs, and centers of interest.

Failure is unacceptable and unjustifiable

When we optimize training, we also professionalize it. The need to be productive demands maximum results with minimal expenditure of time and energy. Failure is not even conceivable. The trainer, aided by the learner, puts a winning strategy in place. The learner strives to reach specific ambitious objectives, which he or she often exceeds.

The self confidence to surpass all expectations

It’s hardly worth it to learn without gaining confidence; actual performance will leave much to be desired. Self confidence, the key to all learning, yields miracles, even the seemingly impossible. De-schooling also calls for allowing the learner to take errors in stride, without guilt. Trial and error provides a tremendous learning opportunity.

An independent learner who gets things done is a contented learner

Making learners masters of their training and giving them the means to rapidly become independent is one of the major priorities of the DialoguE trainer. To become effective, one must rapidly learn to use linguistic tools without help from the trainer. The DialoguE trainer guides and develops potentialities. He helps the learner implement the learner’s own strategies for learning, to make his or her own progress, and enjoy the process.

The School Method	DialoguE’s De-schooled Method
Standard training methods	Training is individualized and personalized
Failure is acceptable	Failure is unacceptable and unjustifiable
Psychological aspects rarely considered	Self confidence is a primary objective
Little stress on productivity and real-world use of the language	Training at all times focuses on productivity and real-world applications.
Satisfaction with average results	Maximum progress with minimal expenditure of time and energy
Dictatorial system – instructions	Participatory system – cooperation
The trainer and learner compete	The trainer and learner work as a team
The trainer tries to make the learner perfect	The trainer makes the learner effective
The learner must adjust to the trainer	The trainer adjusts to the learner
The trainer fixes objectives and priorities	The learner fixes objectives and priorities
The trainer directs, prompts, demands	The trainer guides, accompanies, facilitates
The trainer controls	The learner learns to self-evaluate
Mistakes are negative, even "sins"	Errors are seen as positive conditions to progress
The trainer assigns too much material	The learner covers what he or she needs to know
The trainer defines the tasks to accomplish	The learner defines the tasks to accomplish
The trainer develops what the learner should know	The trainer develops the learner’s skills and confidence
The trainer unconsciously renders the learner dependent on the trainer and the training	The trainer gives autonomy to the learner and teaches the learner how to use linguistic tools effectively
The learner learns only during lessons	The learner learns constantly
All too often, the trainer subverts the learner’s efforts	The learner participates cooperatively in the experience

Universal Spanish
At DialoguE

At the beginning of the 21st century, nearly 400 million people speak Spanish as their mother language. The expansion of the language of Cervantes is particularly vigorous in the United States, where the candidates for President in the recent elections have resorted to speaking in Spanish to attract the Hispanic vote.

The form of Spanish which uses many words borrowed form English is called Spanglish. An article in The New York Times described Spanglish as the third language of New York, after English and Spanish.

The use of English words in the following examples might sound strange to you if you are not used to hearing them regularly. A red traffic light is called redlighteo (instead of semáforo en rojo), the roof of a building is el rufo (instead of el techo), to park a car is parquear (instead of aparcar), and to have lunch is lonchear (instead of comer).

The differences are mostly limited to vocabulary, but sometimes they can affect the logic and syntactical structures of the language: for example: te llamo para atrás (I'll call you back) instead of te vuelvo a llamar. Its critics claim that Spanglish is an invasion of Spanish by the English language. Its defendants state that it reflects the reality of many Spanish speakers in North America, living within two languages and two cultures.

The people who choose DialoguE to learn or improve their Spanish have a clear idea of what they are looking for. They are investing their limited free time in acquiring the universal Spanish that all Spanish speakers understand. The grammatical structures and idiomatic constructions they learn are those which are used internationally in any sort of conversation.

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Journal 2001-2002

DialoguE Journal 2000-2001

The Optimum Way to Learn a Language

DialoguE’s De-schooled Method