There are two theorists in particular who have made lasting impressions in the world of language acquisition; they are Dr. Stephen Krashen and Lev Vygotsky. Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory indicates that language is learned through working within the language in social settings. Dr. Krashen’s theory of language development argues that language is learned through both reading and speaking in a consistent pattern of structures.

Vygotsky believed that studying a language in private did not assist a learner in acquiring a language. He believed that language was learned through social interaction, and only through social interaction in which the learner was forced to speak could the learner acquire the language. His argument is based on the study of children learning to speak, as well as children learning a second language. In both processes, the learners actively engage in producing the language and making it their own communication.

Dr. Stephen Krashen proposed that language acquisition occurs when words are learned in context of speaking, listening, reading and writing. Teaching a list of vocabulary words in isolation doesn’t teach the learner the usage of the words, just the meaning. If a learner spends time reading, as well as studying the words he doesn’t know, then he gets meaning and context combined, which leads to learning new vocabulary. It is through sharing this new vocabulary that the language becomes ingrained into one’s own language patterns.

Teaching strategies that use reading and writing activities as learning tools for second language learners encourage them to listen, read, share and respond to higher-quality literature. Collaborative work and sharing responses with another speaker play crucial roles in reading and speaking development.

At American English Tutoring Center, we maintain that learning consists of both social and academic approaches and that holistic instruction that is cognitive and affective is the most effective means to learning language. Holistic teaching strategies incorporate literacy that includes reading and writing. Students increase their awareness in language structures by focusing on pronunciation, sentence structure and fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension through reading and discussions. For visual learners, seeing the printed texts aids in the retention of the vocabulary, allows the learner time to reflect, and increases the quality of responses in discussions. Additionally, Krashen believes that students should be continually challenged, according to his Plus-One theory. For the higher-level learners, reading a text slightly above the learner’s performance level is the quickest means of learning vocabulary and improving comprehension in the foreign language. Being able to incorporate the newly acquired information into discussion helps the learner to retain the new knowledge.

Providing quality, personalized English language instruction that follows the specialized language development techniques of renowned Linguist professionals to maximize learning and time.

AETC is a resource for intermediate and advanced English-language learners who need additional training to achieve fluency in English in a personalized program of study. We are not just a conversational language training center. We focus is on communication in all of its forms.

AETC specializes in full-language development in Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing to obtain full language fluency in English. The lessons are personalized to the learners’ needs, vocabulary and grammatical skills with continual input from the learner, while incorporating the learning techniques of language development theories from top Linguists like Stephen Kashen’s Plus One, Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory, and Task-based Language Learning. We concentrate on academic and business-language proficiency to the extent of the learners’ needs.

Let’s face it! No one lives in a matrix and learns the exact same things in the exact same sequence. So why submit to a Big Box program of remedial training that doesn’t fit your time and needs and ultimately will not give you the fluent proficiency that you desire? Isn’t it time to kickstart your goals to improve your English?