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ABOUT ABLE

Able Language Services was started in 1999. From the first, the idea has been to provide quality language instruction to students at an affordable price. Now in our ninth year, Able has become established in Hiroshima as a school with a reputation for classes that are reasonably priced, enjoyable and effective.

As a small and flexible company that is run by a foreigner, Able has many features that other language schools cannot provide. Some of these are:

Accessible management. If you ever have a question about one of our policies, you can get a direct, native-English answer quickly.

Flexibility. This applies to every aspect of your language study program: location, times, course materials, lesson style, etc. We do not believe that one set "system" is optimal for every student. If you join up for a private lesson, the first thing that happens is that we assess your level and ask you about your language goals. Starting from that point, we then build an individualized program to fit your needs. Although we can work with a variety of texts and other materials, there is no set curriculum that we try to shoe-horn you into.

Honest advertising. The big schools don't mean to lie to you . . . it just happens that way. Why? Well, basically they're just too big. There's no way that they can deliver on all their advertising promises to thousands of students. At Able, we keep our advertising claims to a minimum (good classes at a good price) and maintain our focus on the lessons themselves.

Good teachers. All of our teachers are good, not just the one who gave you your trial lesson. I personally choose who does and does not teach at my school, and having both a linguistics background and over a decade's worth of experience myself teaching, I know that lessons have to deliver on two points: you have to learn something and you have to have a pleasant time doing it.

Non-native teachers. Why learn Japanese from a foreigner when there are millions of native speakers around? It's a common question, but think about it: A native Japanese speaker is not going to have much empathy concerning the difficulties that you, as an adult foreign learner, face. On the other hand, someone who's been through the process and developed a high degree of fluency in the target language will. That person will already have overcome the difficulties that you are currently facing. If you don't believe this, try asking your current teacher to explain the difference between wa and ga. If you get a good explanation, great. You should stay with your current teacher. If not, however, we can help you out.

Cost. While, as a business, Able needs to make a profit in order to survive, it doesn't have to be a huge profit. We have the best prices of any major school in Hiroshima. But don't take my word for it. Ask around, check the other places out. And after you've satisfied yourself that their teachers aren't any better than ours but that they're still charging you more, and (often) that they're pushing to get you to sign a long-term contract, come back to Able for a breath of fresh air.

Finally, there's no hard sell, ever. We don't need to do it that way.

Hope to see you soon.

Chris Chardon
Director, Able Language Services

©2002-2005 Able Language Services. Able Language Services is a member of the Able Group.
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