Methods that will make you talk!
All of our language courses are taught in conversational style. The high quality and licensed methods we employ will guarantee a lesson based on communicating in English. The common factor is “directness”, forcing the student to speak from the very first lesson.
Common characteristics of our methods:
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Dynamics - lessons are dynamic, students must be on their toes and concentrating at 100%.
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Communicativeness – we encourage the student to speak, not the lecturer
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Practicality – we teach words and phrases which are commonly used in life and at work
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Effectiveness – all teaching is targeted on the students needs
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Clear targets – every lesson has its own target, a clear goal on what to revise and what to learn
Direct method for English.
Basic information
Direct method for English is a licensed system which entered the Slovak market on 1.9.2009. Direct method for English is based on the direct method of teaching and is built-up of general English studies. (Empire STANDARD) Methodically it targets controlled conversation and in this way simulates an English speaking environment for the student.
The lessons are performed in smaller groups, throughout the lessons students speak 5 to 6 times more often than during “traditional” lessons. Due to the fact that, the lecturer constantly asks questions and students are selected randomly to answer the questions. The lecturer always “pushes” the student to answer and the result is that students must speak from the very first lesson. Students learn the language in a natural way – like small children – at first they just repeat the words and sentences, later they begin to understand them and finally start using them by themselves.
Grammar is part of the whole educational process, but it is always explained directly in practice and with real examples. This way the student will learn how to use it directly in a practical situation. Writing dictations and readings are also part of the teachings – as additional activities.
Lessons such as these can be held only by experienced lecturers with very good teaching characteristics as well as practice. The use of the Slovak language is minimal and the lecturer explains almost everything in English. Besides this, the lecturer has to master keeping the pace of the lesson in order for students to remain constantly attentive. You will be pleased to know that the license allowing the use of this method is granted only to schools which fulfill strict quality criteria.
The result of studying by using this method you can most importantly overcome the fear of speaking. The students are encouraged to use the language from the very first lesson and constantly speaking it. This helps to overcome this barrier of fear after several lessons and the student becomes self-confident using the language. The students will gain a better understanding of spoken English. The reason for this is that student must be 100% concentrated during the lessons in order to understand.
Less stress is being put on the grammar – although students are still using it correctly and successfully attend Cambridge tests (FCE and PET). The reason is very simple – grammar is learnt in a natural way. That means, that student does not know the theoretical rules but he knows when and how to apply the correct grammar. In exactly the same way as in their mother tongue.
Study materials
We use professionally set-up books during the lessons which contain current vocabulary, easy to understand grammar, translations of every meaning of the word, phonetic transcription of the words and very practical design. The books were created on the basis of co-operation of experts and lecturers working in the area of English education.
Every student obtains a CD with lessons and exercises for better progress FREE OF CHARGE. The CD comes with every student's book. The CD contains all the important information, in order for the student to stay in touch with English either at work, in a car or whilst travelling. Most importantly it contains the lessons, dictations, readings and exercises from the course. The CDs are recorded by professionals in the area of English and are translated into Slovak.
An integrated on-line learning system, where students can exercise their knowledge in an interactive way, is also available FREE OF CHARGE. If you are interested in a free trial, please click here.
Licensed protection
Because of the high quality of the method, it can only be used by licensed language schools. The reason for this being the guarantee of results as well as market protection against lower quality language schools in order to keep the methods high quality renown. EMPIRE is the first licensed school in Slovakia to use this method.
You will find complete information regarding the Direct method for English on our official web site www.direct-english.sk
EMPIRE´s method
Our school is using an internal networking method called the “EMPIRE method” for teaching other products. It is a method that was created on the basis of several years experiences of our experienced methodologists in countries where we reside.
The method is based on controlled conversation in a way that the student is able to answer the questions with their own sentences, but at a higher speed. Answering at high speed helps them to express themselves without first having to translate from English, becoming reflexive.
The methodology is focused on practical matters. It targets on using the most important phrases, which the student needs. At first, the student acquires vocabulary, later the phrases and in the end he will exercise all of this directly in a conversation. They develop the knowledge (vocabulary, grammar etc.) but its main use practical.
This internal method is mainly used in teaching programs like Empire CONVERSATION and Empire BUSINESS. There is a special book, set-up for each of these programs, precisely set for the particular course.
Licensed protection
Because it is an internal method, it can only be used in EMPIRE subsidiaries residing in SK, CZ and PL.
The client expects results and high quality for their money that they have invested. In the EMPIRE language school we are able to guarantee you both. It is at the highest importance to us that you receive teaching and service of the highest quality. For this reason we are using several tools which we will change and reorder in order to fulfill the expectations of our students – to truly speak English.