School
Philosophy
Competence could
accurately be defined as merely taking the time to do a proper
job. Most trained Spanish teachers rush through each lesson as if
on a high speed train, whether they are being pushed by
supervisors or simply out of habit. At Don Guillermo's the goal
is to learn each lesson competently before moving to the next
lesson.
Since the goal of most people is to
learn
fast,
we are invariably tricked into
the illusion that "going fast" is the same as
"learning fast", and that cramming is quite normal. So
how is one to answer the common question "How long does it
take?" On one hand, any number of lessons is helpful. On the other
hand, it may take years to learn a language properly. So,
for most people the answer is somewhere in between. It depends on one's
level of need and
interest. Discard the gimmicks of the impersonal "factory
schools", and think of learning Spanish as a little
like having a garden.
At Don Guillermo's the students work interactively with the teacher. There is a small amount of homework to make the classwork more effective. Most like the approach very much and show great progress. The lessons and classes here are a mixture of work and fun!
Guillermo Salazar