The origins of the Berlitz method

The Berlitz school of languages was founded in 1878 (Eighteen seventy

eight) by Maximilian Berlitz, who was an immigrant from Germany that
came from a family of teachers. In the late eighteen hundreds there
were many immigrants in the USA, and language instruction was
becoming very important. At the time, the only method of teaching
available was the grammar translation method.
Berlitz was hired as a teacher by the Warned University, and was put on
charge of language instruction. He became the president of the
university and change its name to the Berlitz School of language. When
Berlitz was hiring teachers for his newly named school, he hired Nicholas
Yolí to teach French; although problems arose when Nicholas arrived
and Berlitz found out that he couldn’t speak a word of English.
As Berlitz couldn’t teach the six week French course himself, he had no
choice but to hire Nicholas. He told him that instead of teaching using
the grammar translation method, he could teach pointing at objects and
reciting their names, and using gestures and corporal expressions to
teach verbs.
When Berlitz reviewed the advance of the course, he was surprised to
see that the students could talk and answer questions in fluent French,
as they had advanced faster than the other students that were being
taught with the traditional method. With that, he found a new method
and began its implementation: The Berlitz method. Today, the Berlitz
method is used to help adults and children alike to learn the language
skill they need in more than 500+ centers around the world spread
across 70 countries.

History of the method, and how has it changed: a timeline

 1880s: In the 1880s languages were taught in a similar way to
Latin; presenting grammar rules and structures, while students
completed exercises of translation. Berlitz revolutionized the
teaching of languages by introducing the direct method; with class
that took place exclusively in the target language, with mime and
gestures to make language clear. Speaking skills became the
priority.
 1950s: Between the 1940s and the 1960 behavioral psychology
began to influence the development of language learning,
beginning to seen speech as another habit to be acquired and
learned. Dialogues and drills became the basis of classrooms
activities. The role of frequency in language learning is an
important aspect of Berlitz lessons.
 1960s: Noam Chomsky influenced greatly the approach of Berlitz
toward language learning, making it more focused on fully
understanding the learning process; it also has influenced its
approach when teaching kids.
 1970s: The interlanguage theory is one of the foundations of
Berlitz’ understanding of second language acquisition. Some of the
key elements of this theory includes: overgeneralization of
patterns in the language, transfer of patterns between languages
and the danger of the student stopping to develop their first
language.

 1970s:
 1970s:

 1980S:

 1990s:
  2010:
Teaching principles in Berlitz
 Goal oriented: Goal oriented instruction based on the students’
needs and interests. Each lesson will help the student function in
real life situations that he or she experiences.
 Speaking and listening: Learning through speaking and listening
supported by Reading and writing. Every lesson focuses on helping
students communicate confidently and correctly.
 Student participation: We try to ensure that the clients will be
speaking as much as possible during the lessons – with a
minimum of 50% of the lesson time and aiming for 90% during
certain phases of the lesson.
 Target language: Customers are to be immersed in the language
they are learning during their lessons. This matches the situations
they experience when they need to communicate in English.
 Grammar: We see grammar as a means of communication – not
spending precious class time explaining theory and rules but
helping the students to actively use and understand grammar
while they communicate.

The why of the Berlitz method

In the lessons there’s the necessity of providing as much exposure to
the target language as possible. However, just being exposed is not
enough for adult learners. They need to understand the context of what
they’re being exposed to. In the lessons, special presentation techniques
are used to make exposure to the language understandable for the
learners.
When learners get to use new language multiple times they are more
likely to notice and remember. In our lessons we use practice and
correction to help them learn faster.
Everything we currently understand about language learning supports
the notion that the best way for students to learn is through free
communication – in every lesson, then, we set up free communication
activities and follow up with focus on the language students can use.
Learning language is not a passive process. It’s an active process
consisting of:

Motivation:
Motivation is one of the most powerful influences of whether the student
is successful at learning the target language.
Some of the factors that may influence student’s learning while in the
program are:
 Instrumental motivation: When people learn language as a means
to an end. It’s the most common type of motivation. For example,
if a meeting ends up being embarrassing because of your lack of
domination of the target language and you feel you need to
improve your skills in it. It has the most effect at the start and
when someone is signing up on a course. When classes start, the
 successes and environment the students experience in them will
be very important when keeping their motivation up.
Adults dislike make mistakes, but mistakes are an important part
of the process. That’s why it’s important to create a good,
supportive environment for them. Instrumental motivation does
not just mean learning to get a promotion or a job, it can also has
personal causes, like helping the kids with their homework.
Adults always want to know why they are learning something, why
the activity is relevant to them.
 Intrinsic motivation: It’s basically the enjoyment of learning for its
own sake; like when an interesting or fun activity makes the
student actively want to participate in it. It is the better kind of
motivation. A sense of success is one of the greatest motivators,
so it’s important to create that in every lesson.
External factors will influence how the students feel about the
lessons. We cannot change these factors, but we can take into
account that they exist.
In group lessons, we aim to create a supportive, kind, fun
environment instead of a competitive one; only when the dynamic
is right, we encourage competition, since it can also be motivating
and enjoyable. Motivation will fluctuate during a long course, so
it’s important to provide milestones.

Learning strengths
Multiple intelligences:
This is a concept that’s very important in Berlitz’ approach on the
classes. The multiple type of intelligences that exist are:

 Musical: The capacity to think in music – to be able to hear patters

and recognize them, to remember them.
 Bodily kinesthetic: Capacity to use your whole body or parts to
solve a problem, make something, etc.
 Interpersonal: Understanding other people.
 Verbal-linguistic: Capacity to use language – to express what’s on
your mind and to understand other people.
 Logical mathematical: Understanding the underlying principles of a
casual system. Manipulate numbers, quantities.
 Naturalistic: ability to discriminate among living things, as well as
sensitivity towards features of the natural world.
  Intrapersonal: Knowing who you are, what you can do, what you
want to do and how you react.
 Visual spatial: The ability to represent the spatial world internally
in your mind.
According to the research each person has a unique profile of
intelligences; this profile is not fixed, it changes and develops over time.

Learning style preferences

We know that people have different abilities, so we can also assume that
people like to learn new things in different ways. There are over twenty
different learning style preferences, but we’ll focus on the ones most
relevant to language learning.
 Visual Vera: she writes down everything you say and asks you to
write new works and terms on the board. She reads instructions
very carefully. She likes activities involving pictures or videos.
 Auditory Alex: He rarely writes things down. He asks you to repeat
instructions or he’ll repeat them back to you to communicate he
understood. He likes to tell the class jokes and stories. He likes
listening activities the most.
 Tactile Tony: he’s very fidgety in class, playing with his pen and
doodles during it. He likes to get up and move around during role
play activities. He enjoys doing activities where you reassemble
texts or sentences.
 Introverted Ines: the quietest person in the group, who prefers to
listen to others. Pays very close attention in class and asks
questions during the breaks. You noticed she speaks more and
better when speaking to you alone in the classroom. She likes
more individual or pair work activities rather than group
discussions.
 Extroverted Eric: He loves to talk, jump in and frequently
interrupts others when they are speaking. His fluency is better
than his accuracy. He likes discussion activities the most.
Learning strategies
How do we bring our principles to life on the classroom?
First of all, through our values:
 Confidence: Berlitz enables people to communicate with
confidence in a global environment in order to achieve their goals
in life. This is our misión statement. For this reason, our tagline is:
speak with confidence.
 Interaction: We believe that the most effective way of learning is
learning from people and with people. Because of that, the lessons
are primarily base don human interaction and instructor led
learning.
 Results: Inmediate results and a continual sense progress drive
motivation and self confidence. This is the cornerstone of our
teaching approach.
 Relevance: We believe that only by acquiring erlevant skills
peoplea re able to become confident and develop their full
potential. We value giving our learners great skills to their every
day life.
  Passion: We create trust and long term relationships through our
passion and commitmet to supporting our students. Our clients’
goal-achievement is at the heart of our corporative culture.

Questions to think about:

• Why is our objective to prepare learners for communication in the real
world?
• Why do we focus on speaking skills?
• Why is it important that we focus on students’ goals?
• Why are we always aiming to maximize student talking time?
1. Why is our objective to prepare learners for communication
in the real world?
The objective of preparing learners for communication in the real world
is important because the ultimate goal of learning a language is to be
able to use it effectively and interact with others in practical situations.
By emphasizing real-world communication, learners gain the skills and
confidence necessary to engage in conversations, understand native
speakers, and express themselves in authentic contexts.

2. Why do we focus on speaking skills?

Focusing on speaking skills is crucial because spoken language is the
primary mode of communication in most social and professional
settings. By prioritizing speaking, learners develop the ability to
articulate their thoughts, engage in conversations, and express
themselves fluently and accurately. Speaking skills also enhance
listening comprehension, as learners actively engage in real-time
exchanges and become more attuned to the nuances of the language.

3. Why is it important that we focus on students' goals?

Focusing on students' goals is essential because learners have diverse
motivations and objectives for learning a language. By understanding
and aligning with their goals, we can provide customized instruction that
caters to their specific needs and interests. This approach fosters
greater engagement, motivation, and satisfaction, as learners see the
direct relevance of what they are learning to their personal objectives.

4. Why are we always aiming to maximize student talking

time?
Maximizing student talking time is crucial for language acquisition
because language learning is an active process that requires practice
and application. By creating a classroom environment that encourages
and facilitates student participation, learners have more opportunities to
actively use the language, reinforce their understanding, and build their
fluency and confidence. The more they speak, the more they can
develop their communication skills and overcome any potential barriers
or fears associated with speaking a new language.