Remember those painful, frustrating foreign-language classes in college?
So does Craig Snyder. He almost ended up teaching them as a career, in fact, before devising a better way to help adults learn a second language.
Five years ago he launched the Language Academy of the Carolinas, located near Mallard Creek Road. His small-group-focused teaching method has helped hundreds of adults and kids speak and understand new languages in just a few months.
"It can be done," Snyder says, "and it will be fun doing it."
Snyder says he has always enjoyed learning languages. He majored in Spanish at the University of Richmond, lived in Spain for three years and earned a master's degree in Romance languages at UNC Chapel Hill with the goal of becoming a Latin American literature professor.
That's where he first discovered the power of small-group language instruction. Snyder had started working with small groups of people to help them become fluent in Spanish. The students learned more quickly and eagerly than in his typical university courses, he says.
"When you work with a small group of adults that are paying to be with you and learn a language, the results are so much better," Snyder says.
Snyder drew on those experiences to create the Language Academy's instructional program. The school currently offers classes in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian and Mandarin Chinese.
Groups of four to eight people meet for two hours each week with an instructor. They read, write and speak the study language almost exclusively while in class.
Instructors give no tests or grades, but they do assign homework - an hour a week minimum, longer if you want to learn faster.
And within six months the typical student is proficient in the new language - able to both convey and understand complex ideas. (The exception is Mandarin, which can take up to a year, Snyder says.)
A long list of testimonials posted on the academy website offers evidence that Snyder's program does deliver.
"The Language Academy’s class format is ideal for the adult learner – using a combination of teaching techniques, they reach out to different learning types, and make learning Spanish fun," wrote the human-resources director for an area company.
A Charlotte business leader wrote that she had enrolled at the academy for both personal and professional reasons. "All the teachers I've experienced are engaged and committed and — best of all — entertaining!" she said in her testimonial. "Every class is full of laughter and thoughtful learning."
Snyder encourages people interested in learning more to sit in on a class. The school attempts to measure each new student's skills and place him or her in a group at a similar level.
Snyder says that several new classes usually start in September as people return from summer vacations. On a typical night, the academy will have small groups meeting in each classroom. Snyder says it can sound like the United Nations, as people seek to converse in Spanish or Mandarin, and laugh about their efforts in a universal tongue.
"What we do is fun," Snyder says once more. "When I hear laughter coming from a classroom, that is what makes me smile."
TO LEARN MORE
The Language Academy of the Carolinas is located at 2110 Ben Craig Drive, Suite 200, in an office condo building at the corner of Ben Craig and J.N. Pease Place. The academy also offers classes at the International House, 322 Hawthorne Lane near downtown, and at the Jewish Community Center at 5007 Providence Road. Call the academy weekdays at 704-548-0048 for information and to arrange a visit. The academy website, www.carolinalanguage.com, also has extensive information.
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