What it is all about.
by Lee Gordon
IT is early Monday morning and unusual voices ring out from a building in London’s buzzing financial district. These aren’t the voices of young bankers trading stocks and shares, although the patter is just as fast and furious. In fact they’re the voices of another kind of whiz-kid altogether – students learning English using a special fast-track teaching technique.
It’s no coincidence that St Nicholas College has its headquarters in the City, the financial centre in the heart of old London and one of the wealthiest places on earth. More business is traded and more money changes hands in the City than almost anywhere else.
So it was here that a young Russian businessman with an eye for opportunity and an ear for languages decided to pitch up and open what has become London’s most dynamic school for overseas students.
“When I came to London there were very few good quality schools that tutored people in English so they could go out and start speaking it quickly and properly,” said Mykola Adeyev, founder of the St Nicholas College. “There were plenty of other schools claiming to teach English but the proof of the problem was everywhere: people arriving from Europe, South America and Asia unable to find someone to teach them English properly and in a modern way.”
And there’s the rub: London’s always suffered from disreputable, fly-by-night language schools, cowboy operators that flourished in the twilight world of London’s back streets by making big promises and then failing to live up to their high fees. Meanwhile there has been a dearth of genuine, high-quality schools for the thousands of foreigners who arrive in London every week.
St Nicholas College has broken the mould by opening just yards from some of the world’s biggest and most important organisations and by charging some of the most competitive rates in the country. For as little as the price of a sandwich and a cup of coffee, St Nicholas offers an hour of intensive language tuition in one of four locations across London.
The secret, said Mr Adeyev, is running an efficient, streamlined business. “I learned my business skills in sales where you needed to be quick and decisive, so I know the value of hard work. But my passion has always been languages so when I arrived in London and realised there were thousands and thousands of foreign people who needed to speak English properly, I realised I could help them by doing something I love.
“The key,” he said, “is keeping my students and my teachers happy. I want them to feel satisfied and at home, not out of place like many do when they first come to a huge city like London.”
One of the ways he’s kept his teachers happy is by paying top wages. It’s no secret that in the language school industry teachers are poorly paid. According to insiders, St Nicholas pays twice the going rate however.
“It’s my way of making sure we have the best teachers. After all,” he laughed, “the English have a great saying: if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!”
Teaching is by a technique known as the Callan method, also dubbed the natural or direct method. Developed more than 50 years ago, it has become the technique of choice for businesses and governments who need results fast. The roll of businesses and foreign departments that use it to teach staff and diplomats, includes giants like IBM, Fiat and Olivetti.
Under Callan the teacher and students engage in high-speed questions and answers to develop conversational skills much faster than by old-fashioned methods. Out has gone the dusty old blackboard and learning by rote, to be replaced by a quick-fire, high-intensity technique that keeps students constantly on their toes.
“Old-fashioned teaching tended to concentrate on learning rules and grammar before students could go on to actually speak English. But English can be a complicated language full of pit-falls” said Peter Dawson, one of the teachers at St. Nicholas College. “Callan focuses on speaking English and introduces students to the grammar rules as they progress. If you think about, it that’s exactly how we all learn our mother tongue from early childhood – by immersing ourselves in the spoken language and learning to use it to communicate directly”
Students tend to agree. Some, whose first contact with English was through television or during childhood schooldays, arrive at St Nicholas either unable to speak it all or with a smattering of words and phrases. Others, including many who already live and work in London, are able to communicate comfortably but want help ironing out problems and improving weak points.
The Callan method, which concentrates on understanding spoken English and on properly pronouncing it, is perfect for those aiming to settle in London, those who just want to get on better at work or even to take full advantage of London’s shops and social life.
Polish student Elwira, 23, works as a saleswoman and most of her clients are Polish. But she said improving English helped her feel more confident at work, deal better with her boss and to shop more easily with her friends. “I could speak a little when I first arrived but I quickly found out that I couldn’t really enjoy life in London or maximise my opportunities at work without better English. I used to feel embarrassed sometimes when I was at work or in a shop. But six-months after I joined the school I feel completely at home in London. Also, English is the language of the whole world now so I can go to almost any country or speak to anyone and make myself understood.”
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