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Lesson Details

Fona-original Sentence Blocks!

Sentence blocks are a fun and epoch-making approach to language study.

Fona School teaches English in a way that is completely different from anything you have ever learned in any other school. We teach English based on sentence blocks, which is exactly the real structure of the English language. Sentence blocks are the [who], [what], [where], [when], [why], [how] information blocks contained in any sentence. By splitting sentences into those blocks of information, we have literally reorganized traditional grammar into something that actually makes sense and is easy to understand. Studying English by the Fona School method will enable you actually to learn English, to read and write English, to hear and understand English, and to speak English.

With the sentence blocks, we have completely restructured the grammar of the English language. With this new structure, English actually makes sense. Trying to understand English from the perspective of the grammar currently taught in schools is merely an exercise in futility. If you genuinely want to understand English, and to speak the way a native speaker does, then learning the sentence blocks is the only solution for you. It will take time to get used to thinking in blocks, but the effort you make to use the blocks will reward you far greater than the same effort made toward any other approach.

The one point of caution would be to avoid the trap of thinking that it's too simple and you already understand it. Set aside everything you've ever heard or learned before and take your time to read and understand these materials.

Why Sentence Blocks?

Native English speakers think and speak in blocks of information, such as "who?", "did what?", "when?", "where?", "how?", and so on. Those information blocks are what we call sentence blocks. People communicate by lining up those sentence blocks. The sentence block approach to learning any language is truly the most natural approach. However, with regard to English, it is even more beneficial. Sentence blocks make the most sense for learning English for the following reasons.

Native speakers think in blocks, not traditional grammar. Right from childhood, native speaking children think and learn their native language in blocks.
In English, the exact same blocks are used for both casual conversation and full sentences. If you can make the blocks, you can make the sentences.
Thinking in blocks and understanding that the [who] and [what] blocks are the core information enables thinking the way native speakers think. Thinking the way native speakers think means that you'll talk the way native speakers talk.
While traditional grammar does almost nothing to help you use or understand English, the sentence block approach does almost everything for you.
Adhering fully to the sentence block approach will guarantee the fastest and most accurate and stable progress and improvement of your English skills.

Study Time & Practice Time

In the Fona School curriculum, we make study time and practice time very clear. Whenever you learn something new, you need to practice it right away to make it your own. For that purpose, we always follow study lessons with practice lessons. Study lessons are focused on teaching things that you didn't previously know. Practice lessons are focused on conversation, games, and so on. These practice lessons are critical for you to gain a real-life feel for what you have learned. The balance between study and practice lessons is of course critical, and the teacher therefore constantly watches the students' progress and understanding to ensure always the perfect balance between these lesson types.

Languages Used in the Lessons

At Fona, we want you to learn just as quickly and efficiently as possible, so we adjust the language we use to teach according to the skill level of the class. There's no point in going through the motions of a lesson if the students aren't understanding what the teacher says. We explain details and subtleties in Japanese to improve and enhance your understanding of those things without wasting lesson time.
For example, in a Basic Conversation class, we'll use English up to 30% of the time during the study time, and about 50% of the time during the practice time. In an Essential Conversation class, we'll use English 50% of the time during the study time. In an Advanced Conversation class, we'll use English about 95% of the time during study time and practice time, both. Thus, we adjust the language usage in the class according to the skill levels of the students to make the most of the lesson time.

Clear Explanations

At Fona, you will be able at last to understand how the English language really works, the real meanings of words, and how to use the various words and phrases. That is thanks to our clear and accurate explanations. The exclusive Fona School materials are designed and produced based on personal experiences of language study, as well as long years of experience teaching Japanese people. These comprehensive materials explain clearly the details that are most difficult for Japanese people to understand, and the things that are confusing due to Japanese-English. Indeed, these incredible materials will teach you everything about the English language.

Whether talking about English or any other subject, if the listener is unable to understand an explanation, that is not the fault of the listener. The speaker is at fault for not explaining the content in a way that the listener can understand. At Fona School, we take the responsibility of explaining things seriously. We continue to seek new and better ways to explain everything until every last individual student has been able to understand. For that reason, even though the teachers are foreign, we provide clear Japanese explanations as needed.

Not all teachers can speak Japanese to explain the details when necessary. In cases where we determine that the Japanese explanation skill is also necessary, we provide an assistant teacher at no additional cost to you, the client. You may wonder why we think it's so important to be able to explain the details in Japanese.

In lessons based on the Fona School program and curriculum, understanding every detail of every explanation is very important. For that reason, you need to stop the lesson flow immediately whenever you don't understand anything.

Fona School teachers are imparting incredibly valuable, even precious gems of truth about the English language, and comparisons with the Japanese language, and other details that are crucial to your progress and understanding.

For that reason, you should never be satisfied with maybe understanding the gist of what the teacher said. You should ask every single detail when the teacher (or teacher team) is explaining any details about the language.

If the teacher is just talking about a movie they saw recently, or something like that, then just following the gist is okay, of course. When the teacher is actually in teaching mode, you need to ask everything until you are able to understand it completely.

Learn about Other Cultures

Learning about other cultures opens your mind to new possibilities, and helps you understand that there are more possibilities to any given situation than you had thought. As you go through life, you will experience running into walls in various endeavors. Developing the strength to face and overcome those situations is an important part of making progress. The important thing is not teaching solutions, but teaching how to find solutions.

Learning about other cultures broadens your thinking, and helps you find more possible solutions to various situations. Look at things from all angles to see all the perspectives.

Beyond Language

Even with all of the details described above, there will be no point to your English skills if you try to use English to express Japanese thinking. You also need to learn the thinking and other abilities behind the English language. To communicate with people not only in Japan, but all over the world, you need to think logically, express your own thoughts, and be able to discuss things with others to make mutual decisions. These are all important aspects of communicating in a global setting, and you will develop them all as a natural result of the Fona School program.

Put all of this together and you will have great fun at every lesson. In fact, many people tell us that lesson day is their favorite day of the week.

True Learning

With the Fona School total program, even a beginner can achieve fluency in 3 years. In the Fona School program, we do not take a lecture approach to lessons. Our program is designed to ensure that each individual student understands and takes possession of every detail we teach. The first step of that is Taking Lessons. Taking Lessons is one of the first materials we teach. It explains how to get the most benefit from lessons, by actively participating and speaking out, not simply attending passively. Come to Fona School, and take full advantage of your opportunities here.

In addition to learning how English really works, you will have abundant opportunities to use what you have learned. The Fona School curriculum is designed with a good balance of study lessons and practice lessons to ensure that you truly understand everything you learn, and that you take possession of it. In the end, English will no longer be a foreign language; it will be your language.

Teaching Materials

These materials are not provided in the form of a conventional book. They become books in time, but you will only receive a few pages at once, at any given time. Each set of materials will include an Overview, Exercises and Applications.

When you first experience the Fona lessons, you may be surprised and you may even become frustrated at not having a complete book right away. However, you will quickly get used to this approach, and you will soon learn that there is a reason for the difference. You may even discover the secret benefits of our approach.

One of the reasons for doing it this way is that we can customize the program you follow for your greatest benefit. In other words, every class gets a custom curriculum, designed just for them.

Upon entrance to Fona School, you will receive our entrance packet materials. Those materials include details about the attitude and approach that will ensure the greatest possible benefit from the lessons.

All the Fona materials you receive will be of inestimable value. They are abundant with hidden secrets and treasures of information that you cannot possibly imagine. They will answer all of your long-standing questions about English, accurately, and understandably.

A common mistake that is made in the study of languages is to sit down with a textbook, and attempt to learn the language by simply going through the textbook from beginning to end. This provides a false sense of security and success, but most likely will not provide anything real.

One of the reasons that happens is because you received a full textbook at the beginning. In that moment, your thinking, your goal and your objective naturally changed to getting through the book. However, your real goal and objective should be to understand, utilize, and take possession of what you learn. Receiving only a few pages of materials at one time prevents you from losing sight of that real and meaningful goal and objective.

That is a very simple and profound difference.