N°10
Editeur responsable:
Jean-Luc Godard,
55, Tonnelet, B-4900 Spa

2001/2002


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


I personally can 't imagine that a better program than Dialogue 's exists anywhere.

Alan Weiss

Between us we 've had exposure over the years to many different training methods in dozens of settings, thus we feel competent to compare and measure Dialogue against other approaches.

Margot Dexter and Palmer Swanson

Dialogue is THE place to go. The greatest risk for any student is that Dialogue can be rather addictive.

Ann Bensinger

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



LEARNING A LANGUAGE
IS NOT EASY
HOW TO SAVE TIME
Learning a language is very similar to the preparation of an athlete. To speak a foreign language well one needs patience, consistency and motivation. The architecture of any language is complex. In this sophisticated system, the relationship between signs and their meaning, between "words"and what they represent, is completely arbitrary. To speak is one of mankind 's greatest achievements. For all children, whatever their mother tongue, the process of acquiring a language is spread out over a period of 13 to 15 years.


Children do not learn rapidly
Contrary to what is generally accepted, children do not learn that rapidly. They start to speak after listening for 10 months. Between 9 to 15 months old, they pronounce their first words. They produce incomplete sentences after only 18 months. At the age of three and over, the language has been formed, though the number of acquired constructions is extremely limited. With less than 1000 words, vocabulary is still very limited at this age.

Mother tongue: 6 new words per day
According to the most optimistic studies, a 6 year-old child should know, at least passively, 12000 words, an average acquisition of 6 words per day, or about 2000 words per year since birth. Why is this process so slow? Why are 12 years necessary to master the spoken language? At that age, one is still far from having acquired the written language or abstract vocabulary. Before attending school, a child learns without noticeable effort: speaking is just another game. Speaking slowly forms its thoughts and personality. It takes time.One often forgets that a child automates its speaking, and this process of automation requires a long time.

The key to automation: 3000 repetitions
To communicate naturally and with pleasure,one most have acquired the more widely-used phrases. There is no miraculous solution:these phrases must be repeated 3000 times. It 's just the same when learning to swim or ride a bicycle. Even insurance companies agree with this number:a new driver is considered dangerous until he or she has driven 3000 kilometers. How to say it?

The cultural dimension
Speaking a foreign language well is not enough. You must be able to respond within the cultural tone of the person you are speaking to. Copying expressions straight from your mother tongue does not allow for a constructive dialogue. The person you are communicating with will prefer to listen to grammar or vocabulary mistakes before feeling assaulted by common or polite expressions in our mother tongue. Even when used with the best of intentions, they literally undermine our communication.

One week at DialoguE corresponds to a year elsewhere
Like most of the participants in our programs,you will progress more in one week at Dialogue than in one year at school or university. And this, despite the difficulties mentioned above. In one week at DialoguE, you will have begun to automate at least 2500 words. At the end of your stay, your personal audio cassette will contain all your useful "key sentences". Listening to this cassette just 15 minutes each day will be enough to maintain the level you have reached.

The unique method developed by DialoguE for improving oral comprehension and pronunciation allows you to save time, and avoids having to correct any bad habits you might acquire (pronunciation,grammar approximations,etc.). Don 't forget that correcting a bad habit requires twice as much time as acquiring new notions. One week at DialoguE will allow you to become sensitive to cultural differences. You will be easily understood and accepted by the people you interact with.

The DialoguE approach will motivate you. You will be impatient to continue the sometimes difficult, but stimulating, quest of learning a foreign language. Like a mountain climber, in the company of your DialoguE guides, you will soon reach those summits you only dreamed about.

The irresistible attraction of Gaudí and Spain

Most students at DialoguE 's Spanish school cannot resist paying a visit to the more well-known monuments built by Gaudí:the Sagrada Familia, Casa Battló or the Güell Park. Antoni Gaudí executed most of his unique creations in Barcelona, and the city is organizing throughout 2002 a series of events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth.

The son of a coppersmith,Gaudí was born in 1852 in Reus,a town some 110 kilometers from Barcelona.A lifelong bachelor and vegetarian due to his rheumatic condition,he studied architecture in Barcelona,graduating in 1878. Five years later he was given control of the Sagrada Familia project,a task to which he would dedicate the remainder of his life.

The At the turn of the past century he built the three emblematic works that are classified as Unesco World Heritage Sites: the Casa Battló (completed 1906), the Pedrera (1910) and the Güell Park (1914). In his later years Gaudí was content with very little, and dressed shabbily. As a result, when he died in 1926, run over by a tram, nobody initially recognized his body. Barcelona paid a fitting tribute to the architect, and he was buried in the crypt of the temple to which he devoted his last 43 years.

The The Sagrada Familia is the most visited building in Barcelona and its spires rising over 100 meters have become a symbol of the city. The Hall of Columns and the huge ceramic serpent bench of the Güell Park never cease to amaze, even after countless visits. When passing through the Paseo de Gràcia, eyes look instinctively for the Pedrera and Casa Battló buildings.

The Barcelona Town Hall has created a website, www.gaudi2002.bcn.es that gives full information about the events organized to mark the 150th anniversary of the architect 's birth as well as detailed information about his life and works. The International Gaudí Year is just one more reason to study Spanish with DialoguE during 2002. Take advantage of quality, tailor-made programs which permit great progress in short time. Combine study with pleasure: study Spanish and get to know the fascinating world of Gaudí …

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Journal DialoguE

Journal 2002 - 2003

Journal 2001 - 2002

Journal 2000 - 2001

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