A True Language Adventure

Archimedes Language Academy (My Language Adventure) is certainly something different. Even its appearance suggests that this is not typical school. The main area is a large open space. On the right is a kitchen with a large, high wooden table. On the other side of the room is a climbing wall, and at the far end a stage with a piano and a guillotine. The latter is merely a prop. The color scheme – lime green and exposed wood – lends a natural and relaxing mood.

Attention to space is not the only way Archimedes is different. The school offers an elaborate yet flexible study program that is far removed from textbook exercises and conversation classes. The school endeavors to make learning fun. Moreover, they make learning accessible.

While learning apps are widely available, Archimedes has the benefit of being supported by a staff of teachers. For example, the results from the dictation are sent to the school, so that a teacher can check your progress and give you feedback.

Supporting the high-tech approach are one-to-one sessions, which take place in the school’s modern classrooms. The classrooms have comfy office chairs and Fatboys, and seem far removed from typical learning environments. But it’s not just about furniture. The individual sessions are very much about building on what was learned in the apps and other services. The sessions are further integrated into the app in that phrases from the class are sent directly to the student.

An additional service is the phone calls. Depending on how many are ordered, a teacher will call the student and they will have a short conversation. Of all the ideas, this is the one which appealed the most to me because it allowed for regular practice.

Students also have direct input into their courses. They can bring materials they want to focus on, which reflect their interests. “If you’re a responsible person, and you know what you want, and you have your interests and you would like to talk about your stuff, you can build your own database of personal phrases,” said the general manager, Jiří Horák.

On top of that, the school concerns itself with the student’s study habits. “We teach students not just the subject, but give them the way to get the information in their head: how to find time for studying, how to motivate themselves,” he said.

To achieve this, the school sets a manageable study routine that shows how much time can be spent on each activity.

The seed of the idea came on a car trip to Croatia. Horák and his business partner Miroslav Pešta were discussing how they could make learning more fun and interesting. “We started to put together everything that we knew, everything that we’d tested, everything that we had found,” he said.

“I brought the dictation from Pech. Mr. Pešta brought the superlearning. He loves it. The flashcards we both new,” Horák said.

Superlearning is based on the methodology of the late Bulgarian psychologist Georgi Lazanov. In the app, superlearning means getting the learner into a relaxed state through classical music while English and Czech phrases are played. The relaxed state should make the learner more receptive to the language. Having the mother tongue played with the target language is a means of preparing the mind.

It doesn’t end there. Horák said that they are open to suggestions from students and look to incorporate those ideas. And as technology changes, the school plans to adapt.

Most of all, you have to be motivated. The Archimedes courses seem to be very much about what you bring to the lessons and how determined you are to learn.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, you can visit the school for a language audit. Based on your oral skills, Archimedes works out which module to put you in. The emphasis here is on active ability – which is reflected and supported in the methodology.