Private
lessons
and ultra-rapid progress sound perfect, but this
must be expensive ?
Group
study
must be more interesting and motivating than private
lessons ?
How
can
you summarize the ways in which Dialogue is truly
different ?
You
have
mentioned
a natural approach. What do you mean by that ?
What length of stay and what programme would you recommend ?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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-----------------------------------------------------
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.
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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.
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-----------------------------------------------------
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).
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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’.
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-----------------------------------------------------
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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DialoguE:
" One of the best French immersion courses"
The Wall Street Journal