Fayetteville — In an age of ubiquitous Internet access, easy and affordable travel and booming international business opportunities, being multi-lingual is an asset not just professionally, but also personally. Many people who may be interested in learning a new language may feel they do not have the skills or time to do it, but a new language learning center has recently opened in Fayetteville seeking to help them overcome those obstacles.
InterAct Language Center, located at 7153 E. Genesee St. in Fayetteville, provides lessons in a wide array of languages to help those who want to learn a language.
Engracia Schuster and Ana Guerrero, both natives of Barcelona, Spain, and co-owners of the center, teamed up and opened this center about a month ago with the hopes of providing a language and cultural learning center, something Schuster said is lacking in the greater Syracuse area.
“Syracuse is rapidly becoming a more culturally diverse place, but there really aren’t any centers for people to go to learn a new language and the culture that surrounds it,” said Schuster.
InterAct Language Center offers private and group language instruction for all ages in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and many other languages. The center also offers after-school tutoring, professional workshops, editing and translation.
Free initial consultations are provided to gain a sense of what level a student is in the language they wish to learn. Instructors at InterAct can meet with students at the center, but can also use FaceTime, Skype, phone calls or meet a student in an agreed upon place.
Schuster explains that when people in the area want to learn a language, they have to rely on expensive computer programs or pay to take a language course at a local college or university. And while learning a language through an online program may be helpful, Schuster said having in-person conversations and gaining feedback is very beneficial, which is something that is stressed at InterAct.
continued — “Anyone can learn a new language. Learning a new language can improve brain function and exercise the mind,” said Schuster. “It also opens up job opportunities both globally and locally. And it helps people connect with relatives and friends around the world … Today our world is so interconnected it’s so valuable to be able to speak another language.”
Schuster stresses that the instructional programs are designed to be flexible so people can learn at their own pace, and lessons are tailored for each student’s purpose for wanting instruction — which can include travel, work, learning about your background or just for fun.
“We want people to feel comfortable and be able to learn in their own way,” said Schuster. “We hope this provides a flexible and affordable option for those who want to learn another language.”
In the future, Schuster said she hopes the center is able to expand to offer cultural events to produce a greater interest and understanding between people of different cultures in the Syracuse area. Schuster said the center is also interested in training and hiring those fluent in another language to become language instructors.
Prices for adult private sessions are $45 per hour, and $25 per hour for group sessions. Children 13 and younger are $20 per 45 minutes private session.
An open house for InterAct Language Center will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 5 at the center on 7153 E. Genesee St., Suite 3 in Fayetteville.
To learn more about the center and the services that are offered, call 391-6652, email [email protected] or go to interactlanguagecenter.com.
