Language Crash Courses at our Orange County Language Door School in Irvine. Serving students in Irvine, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana and Laguna Beach California.

CRASH COURSES AT LANGUAGE DOOR School in Orange County!

Do you need to learn the basics or brush up on a language in an intensive, personalized environment but don't have weeks or months to do it?

If so, Language Door's Crash Courses are the way to go!

Our Crash courses are intensive, week-long courses perfect for students who have limited time but need concentrated, comprehensive language instruction.

Language Door's Crash courses are ideal for the international business person and international tourist alike!

Language Door School Orange County offers Crash Courses in the following Languages:

(Other languages may be available. Please call to inquire.)

Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced levels are available for all languages.

In our Crash Courses, all aspects of the target language will be covered: speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Our week-long Crash Courses meet Monday through Friday from 9:00 am until 2:30 pm. (There is a half-hour lunch break.)

Language Learning

Adult language learning requires small class sizes and interaction to be effective.  Many of the resources available to adults involve large classes or self-study (where interaction is limited) or excessively-priced language programs.

Instructors

Our team of instructors combines rich educational and linguistic backgrounds and interests. All instructors are native speakers or speak with native-level proficiency. They are carefully selected for communicative skills, talent, and enthusiasm to share their language.

Our Crash Course Program and Approach

Our crash course program will be conversation based adult learning taught by a native speaker. The program will run from 9am-2:30pm with a break for lunch. Depending on the level of the student, all teaching will be conducted either part or all in the target language. The program is designed to give each student ample time to develop verbal and written skills in the target language, with emphasis on listening and speaking.

This program is intended for adults who need language skills in a short amount of time. Many of our students who enroll in crash course classes will be traveling or relocating to another country or who need language skills for work related purposes

Adults generally learn language better when they can use their understanding of their native language and logic and reasoning capabilities to greatly aid the process of leaning an additional language. Most adults are practical learners, learning based on usability and objectives rather than based on theories or purely academic pursuits. They tend to show the most progress when presented with a practical combination of reading, writing, listening and speaking, a practical mix of English and the language being learned and a focus on useful aspects of the language that they can use from the very start.

Additionally, language learning is much more effective in small groups.  It is extremely important when learning a language that the student speak and receive appropriate guidance. For this reason, it's not practical for one language instructor to effectively help a class of thirty students.

Using our approach, adults learn language quickly through interaction in small-group classes.

Learning a Foreign Language - It's Not Easy, or Is It?

Whether "learning" a foreign language is easy or not depends on your objectives. Ordering food in a restaurant and handling basic introductions can be learned without too much difficulty. Achieving true fluency requires substantially more time.

The idea of a person who learns a foreign language fluently in almost no time with no effort is largely a myth. It generally takes time and practice, but the process can be a fun and rewarding experience.

Learning a Language can be Fun

We offer the opportunity to learn 36 different languages at our Language Door School in Orange County. Our comfortable, casual environment helps to make learning the language of your choice fun and convenient. We schedule our classes at times that work for busy adults. Enrich your life as you learn one language or learn many.

Schools of Thought

There are many schools of thought on how best to learn a foreign language. Many of these schools claim they have found the "best" way to learn. We feel that the best way to learn depends on the person. Some people learn better orally, some visually. Some learn best when they want to, others when they have to. Some prefer rules and structure, others practice and application. Nobody can tell you what works best, but teachers, books, and experience can help show you the way.

Furthermore, we also believe that a foreign language can best be learned through a combination of instruction, study, and practice. Any one of these in isolation, while still be helpful, will generally be less effective and rewarding.

For instance, consider the benefit of having a lesson each week and doing nothing else, compared to having the same lesson each week but learning the vocabulary beforehand, or reinforcing what you learned after the lesson through actual use in conversation.

Vocabulary

Some people benefit from learning vocabulary lists, while for others the effort exceeds the rewards. Regardless, vocabulary forms the building blocks of language. Whether by studying lists or learning though usage, you'll want to develop some vocabulary.

The amount of words in a language can be staggering (from twenty thousand to more than one hundred thousand depending on the language and how the words are counted). However, one hundred words can be sufficient for basic conversation, and a couple thousand for fairly normal conversation.

If you want to improve your vocabulary retention, consider trying word associations. The association can be either logical or illogical, whichever works best for you.

For instance, the Spanish word el coche can logically be associated with coach (like a carriage) which was the predecessor to the car. It may help to imagine your car as a coach, or imagine horses pulling it. The illogical approach might say el coche sounds like coach (such as a basketball coach), and try to link coach and car in the most vivid way possible. For instance, imagine your basketball coach lifting your car above his or her head, then throwing it at a basketball hoop or through a wall. You can remember that el coche is masculine in Spanish by adding to the image - in the first example, imagine male horses pulling your car, or in the second example, use a male coach.

The time it takes to create these associations can pay dividends later on through easier retention. As you practice Spanish or any language, you'll get quicker and create better associations.

Grammar

People often point out that kids learn language easily, and kids don't study grammar. Kids do learn easily in some respects (i.e., accent), but consider the amount of time they spend playing with friends, watching cartoons, or with other activities in that language. Many experts feel adults prefer to think logically, and learn better based on structure and rules such as grammar.

Comprehension

Comprehension improves with practice, whether through lessons, reading, or conversation.

The recent growth of DVD's provides a great tool to improve comprehension. The language options vary by movie, but many have audio and/or subtitle options in major languages. For instance if learning French, try watching a movie first in French audio with English subtitles, then French audio with French subtitles, then French audio with no subtitles. For better results, watch the movie with a dictionary nearby, and when you hear or see a word you still don't understand, look it up! The audio track and subtitles do not always match, but they are usually close enough to provide a very effective learning tool.

Summary

We feel there's no "secret" to learning a foreign language. We recommend you learn based on what works best for you. Discuss different methods and tools with us or with your teacher. If possible, use a combination of instruction, study, and practice. Best of luck in this fun and rewarding experience!