French - Spanish - English Dialogue

I undertook the course at DialoguE during the last week of September and first of October last year. I was a beginner at the start with no more than some remnants of schoolboy French with a few tourists phrases thrown in. I had been reading a Teach Yourself book for a few weeks before attending the course. I had originally booked a two week course with the intermediate weekend but due to a family death just before going on the course and an unfortunate incident in Brussels station on my way to the course I actually lost 4 days of tuition. Mr. Godard was most helpful through this and not only did he provide me personal assistance such as taking me personally to the Police Station to make a statement but also assisted me with getting funds into the country through his account. In addition we were able to make up for some of the lost time through Mr. Godard re-arranging schedules to give me extra lessons on the days I was present. He has credited me with the remaining lessons to be taken on my next visit which I will definitely take once time allows.

I took the course because I had been offered a job with a French company and as I was to be working with French speaking indigenes I had to undergo an interview in France, in French, two days after finishing the course. I passed the interview and was offered the job the next day. One of the many good things I found about the course was that I told Mr. Godard at the start that my initial aim was to pass the interview, with a secondary aim of continuing to learn the language, and he was able to tailor specific aspects of the course directly towards my interview. This definitely helped me get through a rather nerve racking experience as some key points, questions and responses had been turned into key phrases during the course and recorded on cassette allowing me to hear and rehearse them time and again. This 'Key Phrases' is a particular aspect of the course and I have found it particulary useful and still listen to the tapes on a regular basis now. Through this I am gaining more confidence and having been given a good grasp of the structure of the language have now found it much easier to learn on my own the grammar and verb conjugations. I have three French contractors working for me here in Nigeria and whereas I used to conduct all business in English with them, I now spend a lot of time speaking French on the job and even go out for a beer with them where we only speak French. The 'immersion' part of the course gave me the confidence to do this as only French is spoken throughout the course, although you are helped when you are in particular difficulty in trying to make yourself understood.

I found the whole atmosphere to be very relaxed and pleasant with meal times and evening interaction being something to look forward to. The food was excellent although Mr. Godard and myself could never agree on the best choice of wine, luckily he always had several. The instructors were very pleasant and relaxed, although forceful in their coaxing of French conversation from you and getting across the lessons material. I felt the individual instruction was of particular benefit because the moment I had a problem with a particular aspect the instructor was able to concentrate on that aspect until I had understood it. In a class session this would often not be possible leaving a gap in ones learning. Where the instructor noticed a particular problem this was specifically addressed on the 'Key Phrases' tapes so that it was available to me for continual reference.

By the end of the course I was rated as around level 2 with a notation that I should be able to achieve level 4 with another weeks training. In the few months since I've finished it I believe I have been able to raise myself well above level 2 with what I took from the course in both materials and the experience and am quite confident writing to the French company with which I had the interview in French. Even if I don't end up with the job that started it all, the course has given me impetus to learn a second language fluently and I intend to do that.

I cannot actually, at this moment in time, think of anything that I would like to see improved. Jean-Luc and his wife, Claudine, made you feel very welcome and the small numbers gave the evenings a sense of a friendly gathering. For those who wanted less intensive study it would even make a pleasant and different holiday as Spa is a very pleasant area of Europe. I am happy to recommend the course and will be going again myself as soon as I can fit it in.


What you will certainly not find elsewhere

THE KEYS YOU ARE LOOKING FOR	LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP INTO A LANGUAGE

IN JUST 5 DAYS, YOU WILL:	THE DIALOGUE ADVANTAGE
ENHANCE YOUR COMPREHENSION	ONE-TO-ONE INSTRUCTION
IMPROVE YOUR PRONUNCIATION	EXCELLENT VALUE FOR MONEY
ELIMINATE THAT FEELING OF NOT PROGRESSING	SPECTACULAR PROGRESS
ACQUIRE A MASTER KEY	70 HOURS OF TRUE IMMERSION EACH WEEK
SPEAK WITH PLEASURE	TOTAL FLEXIBILITY
NEGOTIATE WITH EASE	THE DIALOGUE NATURAL APPROACH
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