What makes the All English program so unique?
In a word: Communication!
You won’t learn grammar. You won’t learn to simply translate random words or phrases into your own language. Instead, you learn to understand and speak English with others. You learn to share thoughts, feelings, experiences and ideas, so you can connect with others and develop relationships.
In a traditional English course you learn linguistics. You learn parts of speech (nouns, verbs, objects, etc.) and the rules for putting those parts together (grammar). But it’s impossible to remember and apply all the grammatical rules of a language (and all the exceptions to the rules) and speak fluently. Our brains don’t work that way. As a result, you can study English for many years and still find it difficult to have the simplest conversations.
By contrast, with the All English program, you don’t just learn about the language, you ACQUIRE the language. And you do it naturally, using the same process that children use to acquire a language so easily.
Everyone knows that being immersed in a language is the best way to learn. So we immerse you in the English language. You hear real authentic English that native speakers use every day, not the artificial language you are taught in typical classes.
Unfortunately, being immersed in an English speaking country does not guarantee that you’ll learn to speak English because the language concepts you encounter are random and infrequent. However, immersion provides an ideal environment for learning. With the All English program, you get a complete immersion experience, but one that is highly structured. The language is introduced progressively and the concepts are constantly reinforced through a process of structured repetition.
We know that children have the ability to acquire language extremely quickly, so we use the same methods they use to learn English, but in an accelerated way. It’s a holistic system that uses a extensive range of auditory and visual cues to help you understand the meaning of what is being said without the need for translation. The process bypasses your analytical mind. Language becomes implanted in your subconscious mind where it seems to magically reappear when you need it.
In simple terms, here’s how it works: A child easily connects sounds with concepts by observing the daily interactions that happen around them. For example, they hear the words “mama” repeatedly when they are around their mother. Without even thinking about it, they make a direct and immediate connection between the sound “ma” and the idea of a nurturing mother. This listening and connecting process is vital to learning any language and it’s a key focus of the All English course. And by using the full audiovisual capabilities of the internet, we’re able to speed up the process dramatically.
Children don’t speak immediately. They need some time to hear and understand these connections between sounds and concepts. But when they reach a certain threshold of understanding they start to speak naturally. They start with a few words and within weeks are easily able to communicate basic ideas about their wants and needs. Within months, they are surprisingly fluent. So we don’t put you under any pressure to speak. You’ll find yourself naturally repeating the sounds you’re hearing and before long you’ll find yourself speaking in sentences.
In traditional English classes, you start by learning the alphabet and spelling words. But that’s the last stage in language development. Starting with writing will actually interfere with your ability to communicate because spoken English and written English are extremely different.
Let’s look a just a few examples. With a simple written word like “banana” you’d think that all the a’s are pronounced the same: “ba-na-na”. In fact, we say “buh-na-nuh”, which is a very different sound. And the rhythm, instead of being even and regular like the spelling suggests (da-da-da) is actually very unique (da-DAA-da). Even the simplest conjugations, like “I am” and “you are” are confusing because they are actually pronounced “i yam” and “you wahr”. And how do you even begin to understand the idea of words that sound exactly the same being spelled so differently, like rain, rein and reign. Or words that are spelled the same and that sound so differently, ex. read (reed) and read (rehd).
We are not dismissing the importance of reading and writing, but for truly effective learning and communication you need to be able to understand and produce speech before you begin to focus on written language.
Most people think that learning a language is hard work, but you’ll be surprised at how easy and fun it will be. In the the All English course, you’ll follow the daily lives of English speaking Canadians through short engaging videos. You will hear the English language in contexts that facilitate your understanding and at the same time will get interesting insights into North American culture.
After each video, a lively instructor reviews the concepts introduced in the story. By using a fast-paced sequence of videos, photos and animations, you quickly make direct subconscious connections between the sounds you hear and the language concepts. You don’t need to take notes or try to memorize language rules. You just sit back, relax and enjoy.
If you’ve taken language classes before, you may find the All English method strange at first, maybe even a little overwhelming. It’s important to know that you are not expected to understand every word. You’ll be able to understand what’s going on without having to identify each word specifically because real communication involves much more than just words. Just relax as you watch and listen and you will naturally absorb the key concepts from the lesson. As you get more comfortable with the idea of not trying to learn you will understand more and more with each successive lesson.
When you hear a word or sound you recognize, say it out loud. It’s likely that you’ll find yourself doing this naturally. At some point in each lesson, you’ll get to play the role of one of the characters and will engage in a little conversation.
It’a all fun and engaging. In a short time, you’ll be able to understand and speak English without even realizing that you’re learning.
These are just a few of the features that make All English so unique. Subscribe to our newsletter to find out more.