EuroLingual Teaching Method is based on communication
｜EuroLingual (Umeda & Fukushima) School
OUR TEACHING METHOD
The teaching method used at Eurolingual School is based on communication. Students actively exercise the four fundamental skills of the language: writing (W), reading (R), listening (L) and speaking (S). From the very beginning of the course, particular attention is given to conversation, to develop an increasing capacity to express and cross-culturally communicate in the target language. This method includes the study of the rules of new language, syntax and grammar, which are essential to language learning, but which, alone, are not sufficient for gaining a real command of the language.
EuroLingual Teaching Method is Based on Communication
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If your goal is to learn, to speak and understand a new language, you will learn faster (and forget slower) with lots of exercises we can teach you at EuroLingual, in order to have a sustainable language growth. The experience of our certified mother tongue teachers along with the informal relaxed atmosphere of the lessons ensure that learning is fun and effective. For each particular student we know how to address our lessons in order to improve your knowledge and reach your aim as soon as possible.
Learn Languages Revolutionarily with Sustainable Growth
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3W-Learning Cycle Model
The learning method at EuroLingual is based on the “Goal-Oriented Approach” Method. With our method the students can make gradual progress in every lesson by achieving the "goal of the day". By setting these checkpoints in every lesson, we ensure that students are steadily on the way towards their goal.
EuroLingual Learning Cycle
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To guarantee improvement, our lessons follow the 3W-Learning Cycle Model which ensures progress and improvement. This method is divided into three phases.
Warm Up
Firstly, to prepare students for progress, we ‘Warm Up’ them in order they can get their mentality, heart and feelings prepared to study the target language.
When students enter a classroom, their thoughts are usually far from the task-at-hand. They may be thinking about the conversation they had with their colleague; about the essay they have to write for their boss; or they may simply be tired from a lack of sleep. The first step is to bring the learners’ attention (motivation) into the moment so they can focus on the learning ahead of them.
After a review of the previous lesson the students will be guided to discover a new language through simple logical associations connected with the previous knowledge.
Work Up
In the next ‘Work Up’ phase, the students learn new structures and vocabulary, practice and make sustainable progress in their goal. They familiarize with the new structures and realize that learning with a goal of understanding (motivation and intuition) promotes the best long-term retention compared to memorizing words (short-term memory is not usable). In addition, from the point of view of cross-cultural communication (comparative culture), students can change their way of thinking, something that it is not possible if they are only learning a new language. Then, using creatively the new language, they increase their communication level. EuroLingual instructors know how to encourage learners to use new material in ways that are interesting, challenging, and relevant to trainees’ lives.
Wrap Up
Finally we ‘Wrap Up’ so that the progress stays with the student. In this phase, we review the day’s goal with the students (free practice) so they can become more confident and motivated. It consists in role plays, summaries, problem solving activities, discussions or games to review the learnt structures. People learn more from experience than they do from presentations and training materials. For most adult learners, learning is a matter of trial, feedback, reflection, and retrial. The presentations and training materials are there simply to initiate and support active learning experiences, nothing more. During this phase, learners review everything they have learned and celebrate how far they have come.
The ‘WWW Method’ is structured so that every minute of lesson leads students to sustainable progress (long-term retention) and success.
Developing Communication Skills
How EuroLingual develops communication skills?
By communicating in an authentic and communicative situation. The four skills: writing (W), reading (R), listening (L) and speaking (S), are the foundations of any language. They are separate yet bound together with an inseparable bond: culture (C).
These four skills never stand out as individual areas but they form a chain cycle (the learning cycle of a foreign language): if you break one ring of the chain, the whole chain would collapse.
Learning Cycle for a Foreign Language and Four Skills
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Language is a skill, it's not like learning a fact. If you want to become a weight lifter, you can’t learn weightlifting from a book but you need to develop your muscle. To learn a language you have to grow your appropriate brain tissue in order to have long-term memory vocabulary. Language structures need to move from short-term memory to long-term memory if you want to let them become usable in the future. Here we will explain a few of the exercises we use in our lessons to improve each skill.
Writing (Written Production)
Writing is necessary if a person is looking to study or work in a particular country. Writing also helps to increase the use of the language because when the students have to write their texts, they are forced to notice certain grammar and vocabulary structures and think about why those are used and not others.
Before engaging in a writing task, students need to know the purpose of writing and be introduced to key vocabulary. In every language class, our teachers at EuroLingual play a great role in making the writing tasks as productive and achievable as possible:
- Make the written tasks as frequently as possible.
- Write about a topic that interests you (real-life situations);
- Write only in the target language, without translation from Japanese;
- Use known vocabulary and constructions you have already learned;
- If you use the dictionary be careful, always cross-checking and looking for examples in context.
Reading (Written Comprehension)
Sometimes students think that reading is not as useful as speaking, but both these skills are equally important. There are many advantages to developing reading skills in the target language; one benefit is the culture that one gains by reading in the target language, another benefit of reading is that it contributes significantly to the development of that target language (vocabulary, grammar, new structures and how they should be put together or used in a particular culture).
At EuroLingual we practice some activities that can help students not only to improve their reading skills, but to approach the task of reading in a different way:
- Read aloud, never in silent;
- Don’t translate word-by-word;
- Read the whole passage and try to get the meaning from context;
- Practice the new vocabulary or structures writing sentences so you can remember them better;
- Use flashcards to remember new words. If you don’t memorize new words you will not be able to speak!
Listening (Oral Comprehension)
Listening comprehension is a key initial step in communication. The better a student can understand what is being said, the better will be their ability to communicate. Students may feel a great deal of pride when they are able to comprehend something in the target language. This can be a great motivating factor in continuing to learn the language.
Japanese students frequently experience the biggest difficulty in trying to improve listening skills, especially because they are not exposed to the language outside of the classroom. Students usually think that oral comprehension could be improved studying on their own at home but this is not possible without additional supports given by several activities that only a good native teacher can employ to facilitate the development of listening skills. For instance, at EuroLingual, our teachers may prompt with questions during the following listening activities:
- Listen to a dialogue, cartoon, or skit and repeat sentences or do shadowing;
- Use authentic materials (a lecture or a radio announcement in the target language), to become accustomed to different accents and to a realistic pace of speech;
- Listen to a paragraph as it is read aloud and summarize it in your own words;
- Listen to a favorite song and summarize its contents;
- Listen to a joke or riddle which reveals something about the culture being studied;
- Listen to a children story or rhyme, a fable or proverb.
Speaking (Oral Production)
The ability to speak is highly valued by students, but it is often the most difficult skill to develop and creates anxiety among the students. One of the primary benefits of increased communicative competency is the resulting job, education and travel opportunities; it is always an asset to be able to communicate with other people.
At EuroLingual we assist students in the development of their oral skills, using some tips and techniques that increase motivation and minimize students’ anxiety:
- Without looking into the transcript, try to repeat each sentence (say it aloud) exactly as you heard it (repetition);
- Create authentic practice activities as similar to real-life as possible (imitation);
- Practice dialogues in order to expand your vocabulary (role plays). If you don’t practice speaking the language you won’t be fluent in it;
- Don’t be embarrassed if you aren’t speaking the language properly yet. It takes time to learn;
- Don’t be ashamed to allow other people to correct you if you pronounce something wrong.
Culture (Complete Interaction)
To learn a new language is to learn a new culture. In addition to writing, reading, listening and speaking, students need to be aware of how to completely interact using the language within a new culture that is often very different from their own culture.
Why is culture important to language learning?
Culture is an absolutely essential part of the second language class and is indispensable in order to fully understand a language. Aside from understanding the linguistic side of language, culture is a key component in giving the student a well-rounded education in the chosen language and provides a context for understanding one's own culture.
Some visible forms of culture include: language, literature, food, art, holidays and festivals, popular culture, fashion, music and dances, etc. In contrast, there is more invisible type of culture associated with a region, group of people, language, etc. This includes communication styles (gestures and body language), verbal and non-verbal language symbols, cultural rules (what is proper and improper in social interactions), how to behave, myths and legends, etc.
At EuroLingual cross-cultural communication can be gained not only in language classroom but through a variety of tools and activities (i.e. guest speakers, videos, internet clips, radio reports/shows, literature, etc.) Cross-cultural experience can occur through one-on-one contact with native speakers and trips to regions where the language is spoken. At EuroLingual all the teachers are native speakers! And we also give support to study abroad.
Our Learning Tips
Before Starting To Study
What is the best way to make steady progress with a new language?
That is why, at EuroLingual, we place an emphasis on clearly defining ‘levels’ as a means of ‘visualizing’ your language ability. We offer 10 levels of language and define each level according to the set of required skills or knowledge.
EuroLingual
is the bridge you are looking for!
During Your Lessons
Language acquisition is a long term process. People want to speak a language quickly. In learning a language, we follow the advice that “practice makes perfect, and patience is a helpful virtue”. The quicker you learn, the quicker you forget, if the information is not used regularly. Easy come, easy go...
Success is language retention in the long term. Gradual and structured learning is very important. Our suggestions, tips and techniques for learning languages are:
- Speak as much as possible in your lesson… Don’t worry if you mistake!
- Study every day! If it is a lesson of 50 min a week at school, you need to study 1-2 hours at home spread out over the week (10-20 min every day is better than only once);
- Class is the best opportunity to practice the language. Do not miss any lesson!;
- Above all have fun studying at EuroLingual!