Dialogue Journal 2002-2003 Learning language is enriching

N°11
Editeur responsable:
Jean-Luc Godard,
55, Tonnelet, B-4900 Spa

2002/2003
www.dialogue.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

The stay at Dialogue was most helpful in focusing my efforts on key areas for improvement. The teaching methods were well adapted to my requirements and the teachers were excellent.

David P. McNeilly, david.mcneilly@wanadoo.fr

The quality of instruction was quite high, with a great deal of attention given to individual needs. I was able to make significant progress in the areas of greatest importance to me in a short period of time.

Colleen Keenan

On my return home, I received with interest the most recent cassette to which I have subscribed for a long time. A month ago I heard about 50 %. Now, after my stay at DialoguE, I hear almost all.

David Moore

Total immersion is the only way and Dialogue has it all, in a wonderful living and working environment. Just 5 days of intensive learning brought back my previous standard of oral comprehension and expression, following years of non-usage. I have no hesitation in recommending Dialogue to anyone wishing to improve their language skills.

John Keating

(Other testimonials at www.dialogue.com)

DialoguE: Language

Lessons of Kilimandjaro

In this sensitive year, after the tragic events of 11 September 2001, many of you have again placed your trust in us. All DialoguE centers have enjoyed a record number of enrolments in 2002, for which we sincerely thank you.

Tailor-made courses and a family atmosphere are certainly the ingredients of a recipe that is rapidly gaining popularity. As paradoxical as it may seem, the Kilimandjaro is not alien to this success. In climbing the slopes of this mountain, Claudine and I could hardly imagine that this adventure would allow us, many years later, to offer the DialoguE approach to the whole world.

You will find in the table below a summary of the lessons the mountain taught us. We shall only pin to it the following anecdote. This goes to show that learning a language, far from being a passive act, is an enriching construction of meaning.

The excursion was made in 5 days: 3 days and 1 night to arrive at the summit situated at more than 6000 meters, 2 days to climb back down. The first day we naturally answered ‘Abari’ to all those whose paths we crossed and greeted us by using this expression. And what if this expression wasn’t the equivalent of ‘Hello’? Wouldn’t the best strategy have been to speak first? In fact the correct answer was ‘Muzuri sana’. The people we had crossed had not been greeting us but asking us how we were!

Claudine & Jean-Luc Godard
info@dialogue.com

THE LESSONS OF KILIMANDJARO


Events	The learner	The DialoguE trainer
For this climb, we had a guide, a cook and porters.	The autodidactic type, left to his own devices, loses his time: He does not take the easiest or shortest way. He is alone in confronting the unexpected and sometimes huge obstacles.	Offers the learner optimal conditions: relieves him of all constraints (meals, etc.), shows him the best itinerary, accompanies him and helps him to overcome the obstacles within his reach.
- Abari – Muzuri sana	Learning is to have the right to make mistakes, to form hypotheses, to try to understand, if possible, without a dictionary.	Creates explicit situations where the learner works out the meaning without translating.
Arrival at the refuge to spend the first night.	One cannot make constant progress: Stages are necessary. One has the impression of stagnating.	Explains the human rhythm, changes these dead times into moments of recharging and enrichment.
Second day: After two hours of walking, we passed some adolescents who had collapsed at the side of the path: They had adopted too fast a rhythm.	Must not skip any stages: One cannot construct robustly unless the foundations are solid, and this takes time.	Helps the learner to find the right rhythm and to respect it. He often returns to what has already been learned to consolidate it (spiral progression).
The guide relieved us of our camera: Carrying it had become too painful.	One learns more quickly if one doesn’t have other preoccupations (business, mail, etc.)	Frees the learner from all unnecessary burdens so he can concentrate further on his learning and make faster progress.
Third day: We walked all day to arrive at the third hut, which seemed so near.	One often makes progress without noticing it.	Makes the learner constantly aware of the progress made.
The last evening, only 15 minutes away from the summit, we gave up: Claudine’s feet were frozen, Jean-Luc was a sick as a dog.	One doesn’t always reach the set objective. What’s important is how far one has come, how much progress has been made. The goal is not to get to the end at all costs, and certainly not dead or handicapped for life.	Respects the choices and the limits of the learner, does not force him to reach the end at all costs. Maintains pleasure in the effort.

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