So, you haven’t entered a language classroom since your last year of high school, and maybe you don’t have the best memories from those times. When you think of language courses, you might have flashbacks to tricky exams and scrambling to memorize presentations before you were graded on them. Who would choose to go back to the days of scoping out an empty seat in the classroom and trying to sit as far from the teacher as possible?
Hey, maybe you were better than us in high school, but to a lot of people the classroom can be an intimidating space. And, that’s why it’s vital to know you have a supportive community.
Here at Fluent City, we’re not just your average school. When you enter one of our classes, you won’t be taking tests, or five pages of grammar notes. Instead, we focus on real conversation, and because of that we stress the importance of having a friendly group of students and teachers to help you through your journey. Read on to see how some of our language learners created that support system while here at Fluent City.
Your classmates will support you
If you think back again to your high school or college days, you may remember classes of 30, 100, or even more students. We want you to be able to build relationships, so we keep our courses small, with no more than 10-15 students per classroom. That way, you can more easily bond with your teacher and your peers (aka potential new friends).
Here’s what some of our students, had to say:
“…classmates in class were so great! And going forward, I hope to put in the time to connect even more .”
– Rebecca Gano
Fluent City is: “Connecting these communities of people who have similar interests; I just really love it.”
– Holly Mitchell
Teacher Kat Kaneb
Your teachers are here for you
We have to say it; our teachers are amazing, They’re what Fluent city is built on, and we take major pride in that.
Just ask one of our great students, Jim, who said his “teachers—especially Anthony and Martín.” were a major support to him.
With teachers like Kat Kaneb, who believe that “Language is important because it’s all about connecting people and trying to understand other cultures that are different from your own,” you can be sure that you’re in good hands.
Andrew Olshevski‘s reason for teaching “is because there’s no other place in the world where a group of strangers come together and have the kind of interactions they have in a Fluent City language class. You’re in a room with a group of people you would almost never speak to, let alone talk to them about the things that are most important to them, which is what we talk about.”
At Fluent City, you don’t just have teachers, but friends. Student Holly Mitchell told us that “Thibault has been the most amazing teacher, he’s supported me all the way, and he’s become a really dear friend of mine. We talk about life and he knows all my secrets.”
Student Tamerra Griffin
You can establish a whole new community
Learning a new language could even help you rebuild old relationships. Take it from these students.
“I have old friends that speak Spanish so sending them random Spanish attempts in text messages or emails have been a great way to test it out!”
– Rebecca Ganon
You’ll be able to strengthen relationships you already have, like student Laura Berger who “sought a support system for learning outside my class, either with friends who also studied the same languages or my husband, who speaks Russian.”
Across all of our locations, diverse cities allow for many opportunities to use your new language skills. One of our students “found speaking with native speakers in the community to be the most rewarding. You have to be forced to speak to truly learn but once you try, native speakers are very understanding and supportive.” – Caitlin
We care about community, not just today, but every day. Language at it’s core is a means of bringing people together over a common means of communication. Whether you’re a beginner, love learning online from the comfort of home, or finishing up your Level 6 conversations course, you’ll have what you need to start building your language learning support system right away.