As a matter of fact, we can and should be. As the owner of ABC Languages, a language school in New York, I do have my biases but, ultimately, the goal here is for you, the language student, to have the most effective learning experience possible that also fits your lifestyle.
Of course the best thing to do to achieve language proficiency is to pack your bags, hop on a plane and find a nice local family who will take you in for 6 months to a year so you can fully immerse yourself in the language and the culture. For most of us, however, this is not a realistic proposition.
The next best thing is structured study with the ability to interact with other speakers, especially native speakers. In-class study is obviously a great way to achieve this. The classroom setting provides both a guided path to learning and the opportunity for spontaneous interaction. Self study alone can help build your vocabulary and augment your grammatical skills, but personal interaction is key if you want to learn how to converse. We understand this both at my school and at Living Language. My classrooms offer many hours of practice and interaction, and Living Language eTutoring offers self study followed by live interaction via video chat.
Taken together, classroom instruction and self-study with a live-instruction component can be complementary tools for someone who wants to have as much contact as possible with a new language in order to build conversational skills. And that’s the point, right?
EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE
Every bit of exposure you have with the language counts. A rule of thumb is that in order to “own” a vocabulary word, you have to see, hear or say it up to 25 times before it is locked in your brain. This is where self-study can be a useful and cost-effective tool. For a fraction of the cost of live instruction, you can, on your own time, use a self-study program to help you reach that critical exposure number.
STAYING ENGAGED – USE IT OR LOSE IT
I cannot stress enough how important it is to regularly be in contact with your second language. They say you get over a breakup in about half the time of the relationship. Well, that’s also true of a language. Like a relationship, you have to keep working at it to keep it going. That’s why a combination of class-room and self-study with a live component can be so useful. You’ll be able to fit in more contact, you’ll retain more, and you’ll progress faster.
ABOUT ABC LANAGUAGES
ABC Languages offers a wide range of language learning programs in over 20 languages. Serving New York for 15 years we offer group, private and virtual lessons to students of all ages. ABC has worked with dozens of NY’s top companies including the NBA, ABC News and Armani just to name a few. Both Columbia Business School and NYU Business School use ABC for their language needs. Dozens of NYC’s public and private schools turn to ABC for enrichment and academic language instruction. Former clients include luminaries such Willem Dafoe, Uma Thurman and the cast of Damages Season 4.
ABC’s staff and instructors are passionate about languages and welcome everybody, no matter what skill or interest level, to join us in the adventure.
ABOUT ME
With a love a love of languages, a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Boston University and a lack of career direction, I started ABC Languages (originally Language Exchange) in my apartment back in 1997. Today we have roughly 100 group classes, hundreds more in private lessons and about 100 instructors teaching over 20 languages. I have taught, French, Italian, German, and I still occasionally do, as well as ESL and love every minute of it. Along the way I have also picked up Spanish and am currently working on Russian. Before coming to New York I lived and studied in France, Italy and England. My last extended experience living abroad was in Berlin, Germany where I worked for the Treuhandanstalt (the agency created to privatize the former East Germany). Needless to say, it was an experience I’ll never forget.
I am occasionally asked to share my knowledge of languages and small business by the media including the NY Times, The Daily News, CNBC, Martha Stewart Radio and PBS’ Real Simple.
