Chattanoogans can retire their foreign phrase books this week as Chattanooga School of Language begins offering introductory group classes for five languages, an intermediate French course and on-demand custom adult classes.
“I feel like language opens up the world and opportunities,” said school owner Laurie Stevens. “Not only does it make you more marketable but also as a person, more globally aware of others.”
Six-week introductory classes in Spanish, Portugese, Italian, French and Chinese will be conducted from the week of Oct. 10-Nov. 21, meeting twice a week for two-hour sessions. Introductory classes will have between four and 10 students and focus on teaching an equal mix of grammar and conversation through a variety of teaching styles for $250 per six-week session, said Stevens.
Janet Geerlings, Chattanooga School of Language Portugese instructor and language teacher for more than 25 years, said language submersion through role playing and visiting sites online where students can be exposed to the language they are studying will be a huge part of her lessons at the Chattanooga School of Language.
“Moving from the mechanics of building a sentence to using language as a tool to communicate is the beginning of fluency,” she said. “Taking chunks of time where all you’re focusing on is that language can be very beneficial to making the language come alive.”
In addition to the group classes beginning this fall, Chattanooga School of Language will also begin offering private sessions, tutoring, home school group opportunities, travel preparation, workplace training and lessons for children as part of its services to the community, said Stevens.
“An adult in a job can very comfortably incorporate classes or private lessons into their schedule,” said Geerlings. “It’s very convenient for someone already working and knowing what they need.”
Stevens said she encourages anyone to call the school at 802-2040 to discuss opportunities for custom classes or to register. Registration for the fall sessions has technically closed, but special exceptions can be made and custom classes are available at any time, she said.
For more information, visit chattanoogalanguage.com or search for Chattanooga School of Language on Facebook.