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We offer a topical TOP FIVE FAQ section regarding the different aspects of our products and services.
Click on any link below to go directly to the TOP FIVE FAQs for that topic.
1. Bilingual America
2. Spanish Program
3. Tutoring Program
4. Certification Program
5. Misc. Questions
Top 5 FAQ's about Bilingual America
1. How long has Bilingual America been in business?
We have been in business since 1992.
2. What does Bilingual America do?
We train language and cultural management and leadership to professional adults.
3. Why should I choose Bilingual America as my Language provider?
The answer is as simple as A,B,C!
A. Focus. We teach only one language — Spanish. Many schools attempt to teach several languages. Every serious person knows it takes focus to be the best in any given field.
B. Professionalism. Our staff is highly professional. We are punctual and committed to getting the details right. Every student is treated with the highest level of dignity and respect.
C. Results. We are fanatical about results. Our clients expect and receive great results from our training programs. Our training methods, materials and tutoring processes set the standard in the Spanish language industry.
4. Why should I choose Bilingual America for Cultural Management leadership training services?
We are proven in this area with many large organizations in consulting, conferences and writing. Ricardo is one of the nation's foremost experts in cultural management training and development.
5. Does Bilingual America offer any guarantees on services?
We offer a 45 day Risk FREE trial on our language training programs. This includes courseware, tutoring and certification programs. Guarantee period starts from date of receipt of materials, not date of purchase.
Top 5 FAQ's about our Spanish Program
1. What's the difference between the Spanish Power™ courseware and other programs I can buy?
A. Methods. Most programs use an immersion approach to training adults. Spanish Power™ uses a progressive bilingual approach in which you are taught first in English what you are doing and then how to do the same identical thing in Spanish.
You learn to put the language together for yourself rather than parroting preexisting conversations you will never use in real conversation.
B. Instructor. Ricardo González, the course creator and instructor, has been called by many America's Best Spanish Teacher. No other course you purchase can come close in matching the outstanding teaching methods Ricardo uses.
C. Results. The average person who invests 5 to 6 hours weekly is able to achieve a minimum of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages superior rating within one year. Our students are able to conduct business effectively and professionallly upon completion of this course.
2. Is Spanish Power easy to use?
Spanish Power™ is very easy to use. In the course, Ricardo shows you what to do, when, how and even how many times. If you can follow instructions, you can learn Spanish. It really is this simple!
3. Are the CD's audio CD's or CD-ROM's?
The CD's are audio CD's. Great learning takes place in multiple environments and audio CD's allow for use both on computer, as well as in the automobile, while walking, in an airplane and more. CD-ROM's require you to learn only in front of a computer. For most people this is not as effective as being able to leverage their time in other activities.
4. Can I do this course in my car?
The biggest problem with learning a language in your car is that you don't really learn well for lack of focus! There are too many things going on around you to allow you to focus well enough to master the language.
Many students do use the audio CD's in their car for review and additional practice. The course does, however, require focused sit down time as well as the use of the memory card retention system.
5. How does the Retention Card Memory System work?
The Retention Card Memory System in the course is designed to be leveraged throughout the day in bite size, manageable blocks of three to four minutes at at time.
This is great for busy people who need to leverage time while on the go. Ricardo teaches you exactly how to implement the Retention Card Memory System in the course.
Top 5 FAQ's about our Tutoring Program
1. Is my instructor a native speaker?
Yes, all Bilingual America Spanish tutors are native Spanish speakers. All instructors also speak English well enough to be able to help you with any questions or concerns until you learn to express yourself effectively in Spanish.
2. Are the tutoring sessions all in Spanish?
At the beginning of a program instructors have permission to use English when necessary for giving instructions or answering a question. Most students are able to conduct their tutoring sessions completely in Spanish within two weeks of starting the course if they are starting at zero.
3. Will I be have the same instructor throughout the entire program?
Our intention is to keep you with the same tutor throughout the learning process. You need to develop a sense of comfort and confidence as you build your language skills.
Many schools say it's good for you to have multiple teachers so you can pick up different accents. This may be true after you already speak the language relatively well, it not true for people who are just learning.
We have very little instructor turnover so it is highly likely you will have the same instructor throughout the course if you desire. We cannot 100 percent promise that you'll have the same teacher throughout the entire process, but we do everything possible for this to happen!
4. Is tutoring by telephone really more effective than in person face to face?
Absolutely or we wouldn't do it. We actually switched from doing face to face tutoring to tutoring by telephone back in 1999 because it tested much more effective with students.
Please go here to read the article, Eight Reasons Why Telephone Tutoring Is Better Than Face to Face.
5. How much tutoring should I take to have a quality tutoring program?
We have studied this carefully over the years and the answer is two half-hour tutoring sessions per lesson in the Spanish Power™ courseware. This is the best program. Very rarely does a student need more tutoring than this.
This ratio offers outstanding results. If you complete one lesson weekly, then you would have two tutoring sessions weekly. As long as you are prepared for your session, 30 minutes is more than enough with this consistency. If you do a more intensive program of two lessons weekly, you would have four tutoring sessions weekly.
Some people take less or no tutoring and the results then depend primarily on two factors;
1. The ability of the person to learn independently.
2. Whether or not the student has other outside practice opportunities with helpful Spanish-speaking people.
For assured business class results we highly recommend two half-hour sessions for each lesson in the courseware.
This is ample tutoring to get great results, especially when you consider that one hour of one on one tutoring properly done is equivalent in result to eight to ten hours of a group class administered properly!
Top 5 FAQ's about our Certification Program
1. Do I have to take the Certification Exams to do the program?
We do not obligate you to take the Certificate Program to enroll in the program.
2. What are the benefits of taking the Certification Exams?
A. Taking the Certification Exam requires you to do proper reviews and preparation upon completion of a Level.
B. The exam process allows both you and us to objectively know how you are doing in the program and to make any adjustments at critical intervals.
C. Some people need a letter or number grade to qualify for a company reimbursement.
D. You will receive a very professional and attractive Certficate of Accomplishment you can present to future employees or possible vocational opportunities.
We highly encourage taking the exams for optimal results in the program.
3. Do the exams qualify for college credit?
Bilingual America is not a college, rather a private Spanish training institute so the course does not qualify for college credit.
Most students prefer to actually learn to communicate well in Spanish over having college credits in Spanish. Many people people have taken two to three years of college Spanish and still cannot speak the language well.
Many of our students have tested out of several College level Spanish courses upon completing this course.
Several students have tested successfully on such verbal exams as The Foreign Services Institute Exam for the US State Department, The Praxis II exam for Spanish instructors, Airline Proficiency Exams for Flight Attendants, and others.
4. How do Spanish Power™ students rank on nationally recognized proficiency standards?
Upon completion of our Expert Level students consistently achieve a minimum rating of superior as described by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Students who are applied and follow instructions to the letter many times reach the distinguished rating.
For a complete comparison between
Spanish Power™ and both the ACTFL and IRL (FSI) scales, go to this page.
5. How do I take the Certification Exam and how long does it last?
The exam is one hour in length. It is 30 minutes verbal and 30 minutes written. The verbal part is administered by a Bilingual America instructor and the written part is administered by a proctor.
A proctor is a person in a professional position who is willing to sign an affidavit of authenticity regarding your exam. The written exam is sent directly to the proctor who then gives you the written exam to take. The proctor insures that you finish the exam within the 30 minute time period as well as have no additional helps with you during the exam.
Top 5 FAQ's about our Misc. Areas
1. What is the Bilingual World Student Center?
This is a student only area that contains additional support and reporting features for our students. Students who purchase either Courseware or Courseware and Tutoring together gain admission.
In the Student Center you get course updates and additional helps, an open forum with Ricardo and Cecilia González where you can ask questions regarding the course and cultural areas, a monthly article from Ricardo specifically for students, scheduling capabilities, tutoring session progress reports from your Instructor and more.
2. If I have a Spanish-speaking friend or relative, can they help me learn?
They can, but normally this is not the best choice for you from a learning standpoint. Simply because a person drives a car does not make him or her a mechanic!
Many well intentioned native Spanish speakers have severely hindered motivated Spanish learners from learning the language well due to not properly understanding learning methods and processes.
If you have a friend who would like to help you, we will provide you with an instruction sheet for him or her to follow. This way you can get the most of your time together. These times must be consistent and focused in order to be effective.
3. I tried to learn in the past but was unsuccessful, why do you believe I will be successful this time?
Because 95 percent of all people have more than adequate second language acquisition skills. They just need the right guidance and process.
Our Spanish Power™ learning process is proven to work for people who will simply follow the teaching and instructions Ricardo gives.
The people who struggle are those who want to set their own agenda and do all kinds of different things rather than stay with one proven and comprehensive process.
As Ricardo so frequently says, "Most people who try to learn Spanish are like peopel who try to put together a 1000 piece puzzle using pieces from 10 different boxes. These pieces are simply not designed to fit together. You must put the pieces together from one box if you want to learn Spanish within a reasonable period of time."
Spanish Power™ will allow you to put this puzzle together much more easily than any other Spanish course on the market. Yes, you can learn! By the way, you already learned one language — English. You can certainly learn another.
4. I've heard that the only way to really learn the language is to go and immerse myself in a Latin American country. Is this true?
This is not even close to true.
Learning is not about where you are, it is about what you are doing! To read a full discussion about the immersion method and its limitations go here.
5. Why should I learn Spanish?
a. U.S. population growth for over the last 10 years has been 45% Hispanic. Growth will continue.
b. Latino purchasing power is over $700 Billion Annually in the United States.
c.
The United States is the third largest Spanish-speaking country in the world.
d. Expand your personal and vocational horizons.
e. Delay dementia. Studies now show that bilingual people (especially those from youth) have greater likelyhood to keep their minds. On average, studies are showing, four years of additional mental dexterity. Now, that's a good thing!
You can add your own reasons and surely you have them or you wouldn't have made it to this point.
Learn about SpanishPower™ here.
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