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Professor Arguelles’s Language Academy

 Language Learning Forum : Lessons in Polyglottery Post Reply
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BabelSushi
Newbie
United States
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7 posts - 29 votes
Speaks: English*

 
 Message 1 of 50
21 March 2012 at 3:24pm | IP Logged 
Hi all,

I'm a long-time lurker on this forum. I haven't felt the need to post until now, having been content to soak up the knowledge and advice of this incredibly passionate community.

I thought it would be a good time to let anyone who's interested know that, for the better part of a year, I have been in fairly regular contact with Professor Arguelles regarding his institute and what it would take to establish it.

We have made some progress, but it has been slow, as we turn the abstract notion of "starting a language institute" into concrete steps that need to be taken in order to make it a reality, while also honoring the obligations of busy lives. So the ball is rolling, but the gradient isn't steep (yet). :)

Anyway, I just wanted to give an update for anyone who's interested. Please let me know if I should update this thread with new information or announcements as they come.

Just to be clear:
1. Progress is particularly slow right now, due to some obligations that will be occupying the majority of the professor's time over the next few months. Thus, updates will be infrequent.
2. The professor and I have no formal arrangement, so anything I say regarding the institute is unofficial, and my words are my own.

Please refer to the following links for further information:
http://foreignlanguageexpertise.com/institute.html
http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?T ID=8345&PN=2

Regards,
BabelSushi

7 persons have voted this message useful



Ari
Heptaglot
Senior Member
Norway
Joined 6342 days ago

2314 posts - 5695 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese
Studies: Czech, Latin, German

 
 Message 2 of 50
21 March 2012 at 3:39pm | IP Logged 
This is extremely interesting stuff. I'd be very much interested in hearing any information about it. You're lucky to be involved in such an exciting project and I hope you'll let us know if there's anything we in the polyglot community can do to help (and where to send our applications!).
4 persons have voted this message useful



Michael K.
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5489 days ago

568 posts - 886 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Esperanto

 
 Message 3 of 50
21 March 2012 at 4:25pm | IP Logged 
Not to ask for private details, but is funding an issue? Does he have any business partners for this venture?
Is he going to use the abadoned seminary that was mentioned in "Babel no More" as the location?

Please keep us updated as it sounds like a fascinating idea.
2 persons have voted this message useful



BabelSushi
Newbie
United States
Joined 4391 days ago

7 posts - 29 votes
Speaks: English*

 
 Message 4 of 50
24 March 2012 at 3:28pm | IP Logged 
Ari wrote:
This is extremely interesting stuff. I'd be very much interested in hearing any information about it. You're lucky to be involved in such an exciting project and I hope you'll let us know if there's anything we in the polyglot community can do to help (and where to send our applications!).


I agree. I think this idea has tremendous value, and love playing a role in its execution.

We will be needing help at some point. I'll be sure to update the thread!

Michael K. wrote:
Not to ask for private details, but is funding an issue? Does he have any business partners for this venture?
Is he going to use the abadoned seminary that was mentioned in "Babel no More" as the location?

Please keep us updated as it sounds like a fascinating idea.


Funding is up in the air and will need to be determined relatively soon. Not all of the right people are involved just yet, and I think that has been a major factor holding up execution. Location is still very much an open question as well, and I remember the professor mentioning in a recent video a desire to move out of Singapore.

Thanks for your replies. I'll continue to update this thread for those that are as excited as I am to see this become a reality.

6 persons have voted this message useful



Michael K.
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5489 days ago

568 posts - 886 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Esperanto

 
 Message 5 of 50
24 March 2012 at 9:34pm | IP Logged 
So his academy is little more than being outside the brainstorming phase? He's just now considering what it would take to make it a reality?

Has he done (or commissioned) any studies to see if this will be commercially viable?

That's obvious the most important part, because if the market can't support it, it doesn't matter how good his idea is, it's never going to happen.
1 person has voted this message useful



Budz
Octoglot
Senior Member
Australia
languagepump.com
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118 posts - 171 votes 
Speaks: German*, English, Russian, Esperanto, Ukrainian, Mandarin, Cantonese, French
Studies: Italian, Spanish, Korean, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Persian, Hungarian, Kazakh, Swahili, Vietnamese, Polish

 
 Message 6 of 50
24 March 2012 at 11:58pm | IP Logged 
It's obviously never going to happen. A nice dream nevertheless.
1 person has voted this message useful



lichtrausch
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5720 days ago

525 posts - 1072 votes 
Speaks: English*, German, Japanese
Studies: Korean, Mandarin

 
 Message 7 of 50
25 March 2012 at 12:25am | IP Logged 
Michael K. wrote:

Has he done (or commissioned) any studies to see if this will be commercially viable?

That's obvious the most important part, because if the market can't support it, it
doesn't matter how good his idea is, it's never going to happen.

A language academy needn't be funded solely by the market.
7 persons have voted this message useful



Michael K.
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5489 days ago

568 posts - 886 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Esperanto

 
 Message 8 of 50
25 March 2012 at 1:30am | IP Logged 
Ok, but how are you going to get public funding?

It still has to be viable or no one will want to fund it, whether it's a government or private foundation grant. Money is too scarce, especially in this economy, and all the people reviewing the grants will have to say is "it's a nice idea, but what about the private language schools already in existence, like Berlitz? What unique features do you have to offer that your competitors don't?"

If he does get funding other than what the market will bear (from a grant, for instance), it will come with strings attached. He won't be able to do everything his way, which seems to be his main motivation for this venture: he knows of a way to teach people languages and make them polyglots in ways that current schools can't. In one of his videos he seemed annoyed at the notion that most schools think that students can learn one language, maybe two, but not multiple languages and learn how to be a polyglot.

Of course, if he gets private funding (from students or business partners), he'll still be held accountable for his operation, and that's the way it should be. At the moment, he seems most interested in privately funding his venture, but I'm sure he's looked into getting grants from foundations or governments.

Edited by Michael K. on 25 March 2012 at 1:32am



5 persons have voted this message useful



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