FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FRENCH IMMERSION
-
What
kind
of progress can I expect to make at Dialogue ?
-
How
many
people will there be in my group at Dialogue ?
-
Private
lessons
and ultra-rapid progress sound perfect, but
this must be expensive ?
-
Group
study
must be more interesting and motivating than private
lessons ?
-
What
I
need most is to understand better what other people
are saying. Can you help me to rapidly improve my
listening comprehension ?
-
How
can
you summarize the ways in which Dialogue is truly
different ?
-
You
have
mentioned
a natural approach. What do you mean by that ?
-
All
language
schools talk about the benefits of total French
immersion. How does Dialogue view this ?
-
When
can
I start a course at Dialogue ?
-
What
length
of stay and what programme would you recommend ?
-
I
am a beginner. However, I need to learn a language
for business or professional reasons. Do your
programmes suit me ?
-
I
am an advanced-level speaker and I am having trouble
finding training at a high-enough level. Do your
programmes suit me ?
---------------------------------------------------------------
Q.---
What kind of progress can I expect to make at Dialogue French
immersion ?
A.--- Our students tell us that they make as much progress at
Dialogue in two weeks as they would have made in four full
semesters at university. However, we would prefer to be modest
about this: We guarantee twice the rate of progress as in
other schools that specialize in intensive French courses.
Dialogue is particularly suitable for people who have little
time to spend on French study and who are looking for a highly
efficient language training programme. You will receive a
report at the end of your stay that evaluates your progress
and recommend strategies for consolidating your progress after
your stay.
(top)
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Q.---
How many people will there be in my group at Dialogue ?
A.--- Just one. You, and no one else. The core of Dialogue's
philosophy is total personalization. Unlike in other schools,
you will not be expected to adapt to a general and impersonal
teaching method. Instead, we will adapt to the way you learn
best. As in other schools, you will make progress in general
language and communication skills. However, you will also
focus on and achieve your own communication objectives. Every
moment of instruction at Dialogue is 'a la Carte', designed
according to your learning style, and the specialized
vocabulary or subject matter you need to know in French. If
you need to, you can solely work with the material that you
bring with you.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.--- Private
lessons
and ultra-rapid progress sound perfect, but this must be
expensive ?
A.--- Our prices are competitive and similar to those
charged by other top quality language schools. However, 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. The groups are even larger outside of lessons
(mealtimes and breaks). Dialogue is strictly one-to-one,
and we only accept a limited number of participants per week
to ensure personalization also outside the lessons. Therefore,
for the same investment of money and time, you can obtain at
least twice the results you could obtain elsewhere.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
Group study must be more interesting and motivating than
private lessons ?
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.---
What
I need most is to understand better what other people are
saying. Can you help me to rapidly improve my listening
comprehension ?
A.--- Yes, we certainly can. It is difficult to communicate if
you can hardly understand what other people are saying. To
achieve quick, tangible results in this area, we have
developed a unique method to rapidly improve your French
listening comprehension. Your ear, despite every effort on
your part, does not naturally hear all the sounds of the
French language. If you cannot even hear the sounds in the
first place, you cannot be expected to reproduce them. The
fact is that you have already had a lifetime of ear training
in your own language that affects your ability to hear in the
French language. We can open your ears to the sounds of French
in just one week. Your open ears can once again have the
child's ability to distinguish between words such as, le
vin, le vent, and levons, that may sound identical to your
ears, but that have obvious differences to the trained ear or
to the native speaker.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
How can you summarize the ways in which Dialogue is truly
different ?
A.--- Most schools attempt to instill linguistic confidence in
their students. This is an admirable goal. However, it is just
not enough if you need to learn the true 'ins and outs' of the
French language. Every Dialogue session simultaneously works
on four essential goals: Developing listening comprehension
and pronunciation skills (the listening threshold), learning
to speak without making mistakes (the linguistic threshold),
practicing appropriate means of expression (the cultural
threshold), and finally, gaining pleasure in speaking the
target language (the psychological 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. We, at Dialogue, believe that
virtually everyone has the resources to be a master of
'multiple' languages. We follow the Socratic Method of
eliciting our students’ unconscious knowledge and latent
skills, and correcting mistakes through a natural and
communicative system of dialogue building. The European
Commission is very interested in our de-schooling approach.
Our students do not attend a ‘school’ or have ‘lessons’ with a
‘teacher’. Instead, they join a ‘family’, and participate in a
‘learning experience’ with their personal ‘coach’.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
All language schools talk about the benefits of total French
immersion. How does Dialogue view this ? ?
A.--- Total immersion sounds great, but the question remains,
total immersion in what ? Hearing French 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 French
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.---
When can I start a course at Dialogue ?
A.--- Whenever you wish. Whether you are a beginner or almost
bilingual, 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.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
What length of stay and what programme would you recommend ?
A.--- It all depends on your objectives and the length of time
you have at your disposal. The best way is to contact
us to discuss your needs. Our advice is free and without
any obligation on your part. In any case, you will achieve
your objectives more easily and rapidly than you can imagine
at Dialogue.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
I am a beginner. However, I need to learn a language for
business or professional reasons. Do your programmes suit me ?
A.--- Absolutely. Whatever your level is, our personalized
method enables us to start working on your target professional
vocabulary from the first session.
(top)
-----------------------------------------------------
Q.---
I
am an advanced-level speaker and I am having trouble finding
training at a high-enough level. Do your programmes suit me ?
A.--- Dialogue trainers recognize the special
needs of very advanced language students. They know how to
structure advanced training so that the advanced student makes
just as much progress as students at any other level.
(top)
DialoguE:
" One of the best French immersion courses"
The Wall Street
Journal
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