The Stress of Learning

Learning to speak a new language with the Pars Omni® instructional approach is a relaxing and enjoyable experience, and it can be done in a fraction of the time normally required for traditional classes or costly tutoring programs, and with better results.

All formal learning gives rise to a certain amount of stress. The most effective learners are able to manage, and in some cases eliminate, this stress. Learning to speak a new language, especially in the beginning, tends to arouse discomfort and embarrassment on the part of most adults. That is why in a Pars Omni® program we give much emphasis to eliminating stress of all kinds. The reduction of anxiety allows enhanced, faster learning to take place.

"I wasn't afraid to use my Spanish", and "I can't believe how much I learned" are two of the phrases that students often use to describe their experience in our programs. And rightly so, because the students are exposed to large volumes of information in a shorter time frame.

In a Pars Omni® program we are able to present larger volumes of information, with much less stress, than is possible with conventional approaches. Instruction is based on using the brain's inherent ability to learn spontaneously through informal means. Typically, these 'informal means' are interwoven with various forms of art, music and other creative modes of expression. When applied properly, this integrated approach of formal and informal learning styles results in an accelerated curve of learning that looks like this:

3-Hour Class Sessions Experienced as Enjoyable and Engaging

With Pars Omni®, students experience the 3-hour class sessions as enjoyable and engaging. Often, if the class is in the evening after a long day's work, students report that they feel more alert and 'energized' at the end of the class than when they came in. This is an expected by-product of the whole approach. In fact, the effectiveness of learning is reduced when students feel tired and must 'fight' to pay attention. Such effects are symptoms of a teaching style that is out of synch with the way the brain functions.

Because students find themselves learning more quickly, their confidence level grows. A high level of self-confidence is needed for an effective conversational foreign language program - or students will have difficulty using the new language with strangers outside of class.

Homework Is Not Required in the Foundation Course

Outside work ('homework') is not required. In fact, extensive outside work during the early part of the Foundation course can actually be counter-productive. As the course progresses, students begin to appreciate new ways to enhance their own learning. In the beginning, any outside work we do is heavily conditioned by study habits we picked up in school. These habits, though perhaps effective in those old school contexts, often create additional stress and are generally oriented to short term memory. And in all our programs, we target long term memory.

In the Proficiency course and other higher level courses, independent outside work does begin to play a more important role in students' continued learning. Each course we offer, as well as the package of courses considered together, is designed to move students gently towards independent self-instruction.

Benefits

Besides the obvious benefits of learning more quickly, gaining confidence and enjoying the classroom experience, Pars Omni® students receive a more subtle benefit: they find that when they use their new language outside the class, they feel more relaxed about the process of communication; their attention is more on communicating with people and less on 'thinking about how to speak' or groping for the correct words, or other mental phenomena that are often inadvertently encouraged by conventional instructional approaches.