The Gonzales School of Languages, 7500 San Felipe, is preparing for its third decade of teaching English and Spanish to professionals in he greater Houston area.
Raul Gonzales said his school, which will mark its 30-year anniversary early next year, focuses on teaching everyday terminology that professionals find useful for such matters as negotiating a business deal in Spanish, or fitting in at corporate functions. "Ours is a very practical approach," said Gonzales, the school's owner and founder. "We teach 20 percent grammar and 80 percent application. As opposed to a university at offers a long-term, in-depth academic understanding of the language, our goal at the Gonzales School of Language is to teach working professionals exactly what they need to know to successfully negotiate a contract or interact both formally and informally with international clients."
Gonzales said he considers himself unconventional when it comes to language instruction.
"My philosophy is different than that of universities," he said. "I believe that what will stick in your memory - in terms of learning and mastering a foreign language - is what's practical and useful to you on regular basis. If you can't relate to and use the terminology and grammar often in on-the job situations, it won't stick."
Teaching Spanish is the primary focus of the school, but Gonzales said instructors also offer English as a second language. As Houston continues to grow and attract more international professionals, Gonzales said the demand for accurate, expedient, practical language instruction is becoming ever stronger.
"With about 90 percent of our clients, we send our instructors directly to the workplace and tailor-make the class to fit that company's exact communication needs," said Gonzales. "We also offer classes at our site."
The Key Method - a technique developed by Gonzales and used daily in the school's sessions - teaches language learners how to apply two verbs at the same time without having to conjugate the second verb, enabling students to quickly learn useful phrases such as "I want to eat," or "I need to go" that can be the starting point for many more complex, practical sentences.
Such tricks help working professionals pick up a language quickly and accurately, he said.
"In negotiating a huge business contract, there's a need to be so precise. Even one error can cause confusion and possibly disruption of a business proposal," he said.
Gonzales said there were only three language schools in Houston when he began his institution nearly three decades ago. Now more than 50 schools across the city offer Spanish and English instruction.
"We generally teach in two or three 45-minute sessions," he said. Class sizes are small - generally between five and 12 students.
"There's just such a vital importance these days of being bilingual," Gonzales said. "Otherwise, a business executive can feel very limited in the amount of successful communication he or she can accomplish both in a job situation as well as in a social environment."