14 reasons to study with the Callan Method

A2Z is the only school in Manchester exclusively using the Callan Method. There are many good reasons to study English with the Callan Method. Here are just a few;

1. ¼ of the time
2. ¼ of the cost
3. More words per minute
4. It is fun and easy
5. Research shows the best way to learn is to speak
6. The Method is used all over the world
7. A variety of teachers
8. Guaranteed Free lessons if you fail
9. A 95% pass rate
10. 3 hours of free trial lessons
11. No homework except socialising!
12. Used by international companies and well known people
13. Small classes, no more than 14
14. All 4 language skills used in each session

1. ¼ of the time

According to the University of Cambridge, the average student studying at the average school throughout the world takes about 350 hours (about four academic years) to reach the level of the internationally famous Cambridge Preliminary English Test. The Callan Method gets him (or her) there in about 80 hours (about one academic year), and to the more advanced Cambridge First Certificate in about 160 hours.

2. ¼ of the cost

Because students learn in a quarter of the normal time they naturally only have to pay for a quarter of the normal lesson time.

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3. More words per minute (From the Callan Method Handbook)

19 words an hour compared to 4¼ 
Learning a language can be compared to building a house - the words are the bricks, and the grammar the girders. In order to reach the level of the Cambridge Preliminary, the student has to acquire a mastery of about 1,500 words (3,000 for the First Certificate). He not only has to know the meaning of these words, but must also know the grammar that goes with them, and be able to use them quickly and correctly in any sentence. As the average Callan student masters these words in about 80 hours, it means he learns at the rate of about 19 words an hour. With other forms of teaching taking 350 hours, students learn at the rate of only 4¼ words an hour. In one month, at five hours a week, the Callan student masters 380 words whilst the non-Callan student masters only 85. 

Cambridge University bases its Preliminary examination on a vocabulary of about 2,200 words. The Callan student, however, needs only about 1,500 words. This is because he has complete mastery of these words (and the grammar that goes with them) and can use them to communicate as effectively as a student who has a knowledge, but not necessarily a complete mastery, of 2,200 words.

Even if the non-Callan student had a complete mastery of the 2,200 words, he would still have learnt at a rate of only 6¼ words an hour, which is only about a third of the Callan student’s 19. For the average non-Callan student to have a complete mastery of the 2,200 words, he would have to study for more than the 350 hours. 

27 pence a word compared to £1.17 
The cost of lessons at a private school varies from school to school, town to town, country to country, and, of course, from year to year; but if, for example, a lesson costs £5 (by London 1995 rates), it is seen that a Callan student pays £400 for his 80 hours of preparation for the Cambridge Preliminary compared with the non-Callan student's £1,750 for his 350 hours. This means that to master 1,500 words the Callan student pays 27 pence a word compared with the non-Callan student's £1.17. Even if the non-Callan student mastered 2,200 words, he would still be paying 80p a word, which is still treble the Callan student's 27p.
The student should learn to think in terms of "cost per word taught" and "cost for a complete preparation" rather than in terms of "cost per lesson". The number of words he learns per lesson does not depend so much upon himself, or on his teacher, as upon the method the teacher employs. 

12,600 words an hour
Because the Callan teacher speaks to his students at about 240 words a minute (about twice as fast as teachers using other methods), and both teacher and students speak the whole time throughout the lesson at a combined speed of about 210 words a minute, the Callan student has about 12,600 words an hour going into his ears, either spoken by the teacher or by the other students. With other methods, he has only about 3,000 words. By hearing more words per hour spoken in the classroom and using more words himself, the student naturally learns much faster - four times faster, in fact.

4. It is fun and easy

Students usually find the Callan Method easy, interesting and pleasant. If they found it boring, they would be unable to learn in a quarter of the normal time - as a bored student is a slow learner - and a school using the Callan Method would be unable to guarantee every student success in the Cambridge exams. Not only is the Callan Method not boring, it can even be quite exhilarating, especially when taught by a dynamic expert teacher. 

5. Research shows the best way to learn is to speak

More and more research shows that the best way to learn a language is to speak it, and that traditional methods sometimes slow learning down. An article in the Economist Magazine's Intelligent life edition has described how research in America shows conversation is the best way to learn

6. The Method is used all over the world

The Callan Method is used all over the world. You can see a current list of such schools at the Callan Method Organisations web page

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7. A variety of teachers

In most schools the students are taught by the same teacher for 2 to 3 hours a day and for many days or weeks. If the students dislike the teacher for any reason they are unfortunately stuck with this teacher. In the Callan Method, however, the teacher is different every hour. This also adds variety and interest to lesson and allows the student to meet a range of native English speakers.

8. Guaranteed Free lessons if you fail

Soon after you start your studies you will be issued a guarantee of the number of hours it will take you to reach the Cambridge first certificate level. If you do not pass the exam after studying the stated number of hours you will receive free lessons until you pass the exam. For more information click here.

9. A 95% pass rate

For the Cambridge exams, most schools using the Callan Method have a pass rate of about 95%, compared with the international average of around 70%, as shown in the statistics published by Cambridge University.

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10. 3 hours of free trial lessons

All new students are entitled to 3 free trial lessons. See here for more details.

11. No homework except socialising!

With the Callan Method, there is almost no homework, whereas with other forms of teaching, for every hour the student spends in the classroom, he spends about 15 minutes outside on homework, thus adding 25% (87 hours) to his studying time, turning the 350 hours previously mentioned into 437 hours. Because there is no homework the student can spend his/her extra time working or socialising, both environments more conducive to natural language learning.

12. Used by international companies and well known people

Many large international companies, such as IBM, HONEYWELL, FIAT, OLIVETTI, PHILLIPS etc, use the Callan Method for teaching their employees English. 

Several well-known people have attended the Callan School in London, including Gabriel Garcia Marquez the Colombian Nobel Prize winner for literature; the wife of Dario Fo (another Nobel laureate) and Paolo Volponi an Italian novelist. 

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13. Small classes, no more than 14

Some schools have more than 30 students in a class at once! At A2Z we have a maximum class size of 14. If more students than this attend a class it is split into 2 seperate classes taught by 2 different teachers.

14. All 4 language skills used in each session

In many schools students who do not like to talk never do so. Instead louder students monopolise converstion time. Conversely, some schools rarely include some of the basic elements of language learning, prefering one or two. For example, some students who are shy become extremely well practiced in writing and reading but cannot speak or listen because the teacher has only chosen to teach them what they like. Other students never read or write. The Callan Method, however, includes Reading, Listening and Speaking in every lesson, and writing in every 2 hour session. The student cannot escape any of the different skills.

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