Alonso – Spanish teacher with several years of experience with Small children and adults. Alonso has a university degree in Languages and applied linguistic from the university of Pamplona. His favourite teaching method is using word puzzles and interactive games. Alonso would be happy to come your house or office in London.
Language tutors available in Barnet.
With the priorities of the curriculum constantly evolving, the teaching of foreign languages traditionally places great demands on students, not least the limited amount of time available to them to develop a familiarity with the spoken and written aspects of their chosen language. Both the content and the duration of courses feature spoken and written practice, but there is always room for improvement. There are several helpful habits that students can develop to assist them while learning foreign languages.
1. Watch Internet Programming
Many national broadcasters put news and current affairs content onto the web and this can be viewed online. This helps develop familiarity with the spoken word and the pace of delivery. It also allows students to repeat sections of dialogue that they may have missed first time around.
2. Find Native Speakers to Converse With
Social networking provides opportunities to meet up with native speakers of almost every language in the area. There is often a group that meets on a regular basis to chat in their own language.
3. Strike up a Conversation
One great way of developing self-confidence is to initiate conversation with native speakers in a spontaneous manner, even in the street or on a plane. They will almost certainly be delighted to share a few words with you and to thank you for your efforts.
4. Go to the Cinema
Foreign-language productions are more visible now than they were a few years ago. With European countries producing award-winning films there are an increasing number to choose from at the cinema. Check the cinema listings.
5. Books and Digital Media
Now that an entire book can be compressed and added to a Kindle or similar device, it is a great way of reading effectively. A whole library of classics can be added and can be read anywhere.
6. Always Carry a Dictionary
The reassurance of having a dictionary in your pocket just in case you need it will probably outweigh the number of times you actually pull it out. It is still a useful accessory that does not take up much room.
7. Learning the Alphabet
Modern language studies are not just limited to languages that use a Latin script and students may need to recognise Arabic calligraphy, Chinese pictograms, and the letters of the Russian alphabet. Newspapers are best as they allow students to copy the letters in the margin.
8. Learn to Cook
The best way to expand your food vocabulary – which can be vast for European languages – is to take up the culinary art and learn some recipes and the names of the ingredients.
9. Buy a Notebook
Jotting down words is useful, and if the notebook is in Central European style the pages will be divided into small squares, which helps develop calligraphy if writing in another alphabet.
10. Listen to Music
Pop music is a great way of learning languages colloquially, and can easily be added to your MP3’s music collection.
Written by Sam Luther, a copywriter and experienced blogger working with independent schools.
Flamenco is so inextricably linked with the culture of Spain, it’s almost impossible for most people who live outside of the country to not link it instantly. As a fusion of dance and music, Flamenco captures the passion and energy that’s synonymous with Spanish life.
As with many traditions, the history of Flamenco is something of a mystery, with many scholars researching its origins. One thing that is clear is the derivation of the name, as ‘Flamenco’ translates as ‘flame-like’. This is incredibly apt, as the dance movements are exaggerated yet graceful and the music bursts with energy. A Flamenco performance can make the atmosphere crackle as the shadows of the performers grace the walls, like a sensual tapestry.
To find out more about this incredible artform, let’s travel back in time some to the 18th century. The preferred music of the upper classes was highbrow, intricate concert pieces, or finely arranged chamber music. There was a delicacy and thoughtfulness, which spanned the bombastic to the intimate, and was seen by many influential people as the music humans should aspire to.
But underneath all of this, among the masses, was a wide and varied movement of folk music. With different styles that varied from country to country, region to region, creed and ethnicity, these performances acted like stamps on the world. Folk music and dances were a signature to other places and peoples.
It is this culmination of dance and music styles that is thought to have given birth to Falmenco, particularly dancing competitions held between regions. These competitions would be held between Romany Gypsies and non-gypsies alike, each pushing and influencing each other’s styles. This fusion is thought to have sown the seeds of Flamenco, particularly merging the dances and music of Romany styles and Andalusia in Southern Spain.
However, it is believed that Charles I of Spain, and other Spanish nobles, often invited folk musicians to perform at court. However, these were musicians and dancers that had trained to become the best in their field, offering perhaps a more formal, sanitised version of the traditional folk dance.
Initially, Flamenco was performed with only vocal accompaniment, with the dancers themselves providing percussion with maracas or castanets. As Flamenco developed into the latter part of the 18th century and early 19th century, the Flamenco guitar became an essential element to these performances.
Today, Flamenco is seen as one of the most vibrant and richest dances in the world, taught and performed all over the world. In fact, Japan has more Flamenco academies than Spain!
There’s no denying that Flamenco has developed and grown to be even more popular than ever, continuing a noble tradition of dance and music.
Flamenco dance
If you are looking to start learning Spanish or Italian and live or work in West London, The Language Class might be able to help you.
The Language Class has been in the language teaching business for over 10 years and we know what it takes to be a language tutor. We screen potential qualified teachers according to our strict selective method in order to ensure the highest teaching standards. Our teachers are CRB screened for your peace of mind, especially if you are going to have lessons at your home or at your office. Furthermore all teachers are briefed regarding the place of where the lessons will be taking place. This is to ensure that they wearing a suitable outfit should they be visiting your place of work.
Italian is a popular language to learn due to the possibility to travel easily to Italy for holidays from the UK. You can enjoy the sun, food, architecture or the culture in a even better way if you can master the basics of the Italian language. Many of our students have an Italian partner and want to communicate with their family. Others own properties there and want to be able to communicate with the neighbours, whatever the reason learning Italian will enable you to communicate with confidence and embrace the new culture.
Spanish in great language that will open the doors to travel in many part of the world. Of course Spain is an evergreen destination for British travellers and you can reach it easily from London or other part of the UK. However South America is the trend now. These days more and more students are coming to us to learn Spanish to be able to communicate in Peru’, Mexico and Argentina. Remember that it is a misconception to believe that South American Spanish is a different language from Spain Spanish. In fact they are totally intelligible. So if your teacher is from Madrid you will be fine learning from him or her even if you are going to Lima.
Start learning Spanish or Italian with the Language class, we will be happy to send one of our qualified teachers to your home of office in West London in the Hammersmith and Fulham area.
Italian is a niche but popular language to learn in London, starting as a beginner should not be a daunting task for anyone wanting to embrace the Italian culture. Here a few tips that should help if you want to get started with this Latin language quickly and easily.
Of course the best you can do is to get a private native teacher to teach you, these days you can find a qualified teacher at pretty good rates due to the economic downturn. The Language class offer private Italian lessons for beginners in London given by qualified native speakers at competitive rates.
Sometimes the excitement might lead you to want to learn many structures as fast as possible, but the best results will be given by a steady learning pace. So it is OK to start the usual simple things such as the ABC and numbers. It takes quite a bit of practice to remember those simple and basic structures. Later you will see the benefits of mastering the basics.
Make a schedule for your learning and keep it. We all know that life in London is as busy as it can get, so make sure that you have a plan for your learning and you follow it.
Many students make a fundamental mistake when learning the language, they question why structures are different and refuse to assimilate them. Instead you should give yourself a favour and you should have an accepting attitude to the Italian grammar, and culture. Altogether this will enable you to learn faster.
We noticed that sometimes adult students struggle to distinguish a verb from an adjective and if you are going to learn a new language you should brush up your grammar in English. Knowing what each piece of a sentence is will help you considerably when assimilating the new grammar.
Our students ask this question a lot, unfortunately we cannot answer it as everyone is different and everyone learn at different speed. On the other hand Italian share many common Latin vocabulary with the English language. If you pay enough attention you will see that you already know many words. Of course for the grammar is another story. However to get to a decent level of independently you do not need to master all tenses at once, but just few of the basic ones.
Italian might be a niche language to learn but it surprisingly popular amongst our students, many study Italian in one to one private lessons rather than taking group lessons. People in the UK learn Italian for many different reasons, many have an Italian husband or wife, someone else bought a property in the sun, or others just love to travel there in the weekend.
Students prefer to take private lessons as they like the teacher attention that they receive, so if you are either a fast learner or a slower one, you will always benefit from private lessons as you can adjust the pace of the learning as you wish. One of the main advantages of these one to one lessons is that you can always get back to your teacher from feedback about you. The teacher will oblige and give you a detailed report about how you doing during the lesson.
If you are living in London you know that life here is rather hectic and a busy day can transform your schedule. Therefore another advantage of private lessons is the ability to rearrange the class at will. In fact most teachers will be happy to reschedule your lessons with a notice of 24 hours. In most cases such a notice allows flexibility for both the teacher and the student. The teacher can take on other students or personal commitments and not charge you for the cancellation, while you will be able to get on with your own schedule.
The teachers working for The Language Class are native speakers, with a degree in modern languages such as English, French or Spanish or they have other humanities degree. Very often they also have a teaching certificate gained at a leading institution such as the International House in London. But most importantly these are people truly dedicated and passionate about teaching their language.
Very simply the teachers will come to your house or to your office in central London. It is norm here to ask the company boss to use one of the meeting room outside business hours. That will allow you to gain access to an easy to reach location for both you and the teacher at no cost. If you have problems of finding a meeting room, many teachers will happy to have lessons at the local coffee shops, however you should find a quiet one for the best lessons.
The istituto di cultura Italiana is situatedin Belgrave Square in central London. Here you will find plenty of possibilities to start learning the language or improve what you already know. They have a very well stocked Italian language library, and they run regular classes for all levels. The Italian cultural institute also runs many events related to Italy and the Italian language. In their schedule you will find movie nights, talks and speeches, poetry evenings and many other cultural gatherings. For more information you should check the website.
La dolce Vita is an exhibitions that take place every year in London. Here you will find many small food stands offering Italian street food, but also they will have famous restaurants and important chefs cooking for the crowds. It is not just about food but you will find also events related to fashions, textiles, leather, travel and holidays.
A small museum situated in the highbury and Islington area in north London. The collection was started by an american sociologist to gather modern art masterpieces from Italian artist painters, and sculptors. The art is mostly cubist and futurist from the beginning of the past century, including paintings of Modigliani. The collection has a nice cafe’ and garden
Well the name says is all. Screening of Italian movies with samples of Italian gastronomy (of course). Mostly promoted and hosted by the Italian cultural centre.
Aperitivo is in Italy such a national institution that is now possible to find it everywhere around the world, including London. Started in Milan has taken over by strom. Basically you simply purchase a drink such as glass of wine of a spritz (Aperol and wine) and the fee gives you access to a buffet of finger food, it can replace a dinner if you want. In Italy is very popular with all generations and it is especially good for those wanting an informal drink with friends without missing the opportunity to grab something nice to eat.
If you cannot travel to italy every month, you can simply hire a private language teacher who will come to your office or home for some one to one lessons. In London you will find many qualified teachers who offer reasonable rates, and the schedule is normally agreed between the student and the teacher at suitable times for both.
Learning English language in London
English language has become the language of science, business, global communications, stock markets, Forex markets, and so on. It is the need of the hour for many people, and, this is why, many institutions are providing English language services to the people who need this facility. There are many colleges, learning centers, and institutions where people can learn this language.
There are numerous institutions that are providing English language learning facilities to people, and these English language centers include the following:
The selection of college for students should rest upon many points of consideration in this regard. A student interested in learning English language must contact institutions by having a thorough research in this regard.
Following are the top ten considerations that must be there in the mind of a prospective candidate for learning English.
As the English language centers are available in great number, people must be aware of the situation that they have to get admission in an institution that is suitable for them according to their customized needs. This is the only criteria, along with the above mentioned points, that must be in their minds when they are thinking about getting admission in a particular learning center in London, England.
After the hype of the Olympic games The Language class publish the new dates for the next round of courses commencing in September 2012 and also in October 2012. The have the usual evening French, Spanish, German and Italian courses for 10 weeks from 7 pm till 9 pm. Of course we have the beginner courses in those language for those who want to start learning a language from scratch. In fact no previous knowledge is required when enrolling on a Beginner course. We call this level A1 according to the European Framework for language it will cover the most basic elements of a language such as greetings, the alphabet and numbers, along with some basic verbs and the present tense.
For those interested in a new language we have beginner course during the weekend, the semi intensive course on Saturday is particularly suitable for those who do not have time during the evening the attend the classes in Liverpool street. The weekend course lasts 6 weeks and each meeting it is set at 10.30 am and lasts until 1.30 pm.
If you would like to learn Spanish or German and you have no time, you can take advantage of our lunch time classes that start at 12.00 noon and last for one hour. These are ideal if you want to escape your office during lunch break and do something with your time.
Some people just had their holidays and have been to Spain or for those really lucky in South America. So why not continuing practising Spanish while you are back in London. This is the right time to learn while motivation is high. September, October and November are great months away from other commitments such as Christmas and other holidays. So this time frame will ensure continuity in your learning.
In the UK Spanish is always the most popular language to learn due to the fact that many young people have interest in travelling to South America. However due to the vicinity to France, Italy and German the countries respective languages are also popular.
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Each of us has a different learning style. Some learn better with visual aids while others like listening to lectures and hearing what is being taught. There are those who like to read and analyze before they figure something out while there are those who prefer to apply concepts taught in order to remember them. No matter what the learning style and the topic of the discussion, a real teacher is definitely an advantage to any type of learner.
Real teachers make learning for a student more interesting by the utilization of facilitation skills instead of spoon-feeding information that can be readily learned in online courses or modules. They can make the lessons more personalized depending on the type of learner and inject activities that allow application of the lesson learned. They can also adjust the pace of the lessons and just cover the ‘need-to-know’ topics if required. Also, if your teacher happens to be a native speaker, he or she can show you how to speak the language the native way. This way, the learner is able to appreciate the language even more and is able to understand why speaking another language is not just combining words and phrases.
The downside of audio CDs and language learning programs such as those offered in www.pimsleur.com and www.rosettastone.com is the fact that they only target specific types of learners, specifically the auditory or visual learners. Even if these software have speech recognition and provide feedback on pronunciation or intonation, nothing can compare to the comments of a real teacher. You are also able to immediately correct your mistakes and get more ideas on how to grasp and remember the topic better based on feedback from your teacher.
When you feel that you have acquired everything that you can from your self-paced lessons, the final test is for you to apply what you’ve learned by striking an actual conversation with someone who speaks your newly learned language. Most language learning software is not built for this purpose. Practicing what you’ve learned through interaction with your teacher is something that technology cannot replace, without a doubt.
Cost may also be a factor when choosing between self-directed learning and instructor-led learning. One good suggestion would be for you to invest in a school that offers lessons conducted by a real teacher and supplemented with online courses or self-paced topics. In this way you get to address all your learning needs.
In conclusion, learning a new language on your own using available resources can be beneficial, but when combined with interaction provided by a live teacher, you can definitely have the best possible learning experience.