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Welcome to the Academia de las Américas
The Academia de las Américas was founded in 2001 by owner Kent Johnson to provide the Treasure Valley community with an excellent, results-oriented language school that helps students achieve true fluency, all the while in an environment that fosters understanding of the diverse cultures that share our Treasure Valley and the greater world at large.
The Academia Difference
Traditional foreign language instruction in the United States is based on translation, memorization of vocabulary lists, and verb conjugation drills. This is actually the least effective way to learn language. In fact, very few people learn another language through traditional instruction. That's why most people in the US remain monolingual.
Does any of the following sound familiar?
• You've tried learning Spanish from books, but with few results.
• You took Spanish in high school/college, but still don't understand a thing.
• You've listened to CD's and still can't have an actual conversation with a Spanish speaker.
The Academia is not your typical language school. We know that understanding must always come first, before speaking, just as it did when we learned our first language. The fact is that anyone who speaks his or her native language can learn to speak another language.
The instructors at the Academia take advantage of what your brain already knows how to do--it's hard-wired to learn languages--so we create the best possible learning environment to make that happen.
Learning Environment
Both the physical surroundings and the sense of community in the classroom are important parts of the Academia experience.
Comfort is an often overlooked concept when designing the optimal classroom. At the Academia, we have gone to great lengths to ensure that every detail makes our location feel less like a school and more like a social gathering place, because we know that the greatest learning occurs when students are relaxed. It is no accident that our learning environments are inviting and comfortable. People often comment that they feel like they are somewhere in Latin America.
Students quickly come to feel part of the Academia community because our classes are a safe and supportive environment in which to learn. The emphasis placed on communication rather than perfect grammar means that it's OK for students to make mistakes. And because mutual respect is a critical aspect of the Academia classroom, the students feel supported by their fellow classmates who are all on the same journey of learning to speak another language.
Mission Statement
Our mission at Academia de las Américas is to provide the community with language instruction that duplicates the way we naturally learned our mother tongue, through a variety of experiences and activities in a fun, non-threatening environment that will foster and enhance our students' understanding of the target language, and its cultures and traditions. As our students integrate themselves in the target language, they will gain, at the same time, a deeper appreciation for the world's languages and cultures.
Objective
Our objective at Academia de las Americas is to empower all students from varying backgrounds by providing the appropriate tools to navigate within the target language, its cultures and traditions through the use of hands-on activities, food, music, dance, and authentic, context-specific language instruction.
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