1. How does an e-mail lesson work ?
2. What are the different levels you offer in your courses ?
3. What format do you use ?
4. Will it demand a lot of work ?
5. Is it possible to subscribe only to e-mail lessons without the revision lesson ?
6. How can I pay ?
7. What happens if I have to go away for a few days, or I take a holiday ?
8. Do you also send lessons during the weekend ?
9. What do I do If I don't receive a lesson regularly ?

Answers

1. How is the lesson presented ?

All the lessons have an identical structure: the first part is a conversational extract which contains the objectives of the course. This objective (grammar point, typical everyday/business expressions, vocabulary, questions etc) are couched in the context of practical everyday situations.

The second part is reserved for the explanation, and this explanation has to be as simple as possible. Each Staccato lesson is independent of the other and concentrates on only one language element ( expressions or sentence structure, exceptions, specific points etc.)

This only takes half an A4 page. The Allegro and Vivace lessons are longer ( two thirds to three quarters of an A4 page) and are written in a structurally progressive way. Each week therefore constitutes a coherent package, with a main objective, and scenarios where realistic conversations take place.

All the elements that we have outlined are reviewed and used once more in subsequent lessons in order to consolidate everything.
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2.  What are the different levels you offer in your courses ?

1. Programmes Allegro :	beginner,  intermediate 1,  intermediate 2,  advanced.
   These levels are flexible.  If you've got one student with a particular problem area we can offer him appropriate lessons which focus on specific points where he might be having difficulty. For example, if someone wants to improve in a particular area (e.g. how to follow/give directions) we can give him lessons which home in on these particular things.

 

2. Programme Mercato :

   intermediate,  advanced.

    

3. Programme Helpdesk :

   intermediate,  advanced.

    

4. Programme Staccato :	intermediate,  advanced.
   Only one level : the course allows people with a good command of the language to enhance and improve the degree of subtlety in their speech, or even target specific difficulties.

 

5. Programme Scripto :

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3.  What format do you use when you send these lessons ?

Lessons are sent in HTML as a message text and the files are attached to the DOC
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4.  Will it demand a lot of work ?

Learning a foreign language always demands a lot of effort. There is no magic formula. However, our method allows us to spread the student’s study load more conveniently throughout the week. Normally it only takes 5 to 10 minutes to read through the day’s lesson and to therefore get maximum benefit from the time you give.
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5. Is it possible to subscribe to the course without having any revision lessons ?

Yes, it is possible, though we don't normally recommend this.

Our experience shows that the contact you have with one teacher, however limited (30 mins per week for example), is extremely useful for fixing what's been seen. However, an e-mail has the disadvantage of being mute. If you learn a language it is normally to be able to speak it. (This does not refer to the scripto programme, naturally.) Obviously therefore, interaction with the teacher helps you to gain valuable speaking and listening practise.

The teacher is there as well to answer any questions.

A third reason : the fact that you know that you are soon going to have a lesson forces you to maintain a certain kind of working discipline.

This is important for us because our main concern is that you succeed.
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6. How can I pay ?

At the moment payments must be made by standing order. It is not yet possible to pay by credit card, but we're working on it.
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7.  What happens when I'm away ?  Do you carry on sending lessons ?

We stop sending lessons if you say so; but you have to tell us 48 hours before. Any temporary suspension is always done for a whole week : Monday to Friday. In fact, each course week forms a coherent whole and it it's not possible to split it up. You can postpone your course for one, two or three weeks, but not for two or three days.
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8.  Do you also send lessons on the weekend ?

No. There's no lesson on Saturday and Sunday. 

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9.  What do I do if I don't get my e-mail ?

Obviously someone is sending the lessons everyday, not a machine, so errors are possible from time to time; but you don't have to wait to contact us. Send us a message straightaway to let us know the problem and we will sort it out as soon as possible.
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