About Us
The secret of efficient language learning is to use the language learning tools that we have forgotten since childhood. Active speaking, imitation, pronunciation and the right motivation play a central role. The VOX method lets you revive your forgotten language learning talent within a very short time and can then accompany you throughout your life and help you to learn new languages. What you did as a child when you unconsciously learned to speak, becomes a conscious part of your new linguistic reality at VOX, with a lot of joy and skill.
History of VOX
The VOX language school was founded in 1994 as VOX-Script language studio in the heart of Winterthur and has since been offering high-quality services in the areas of language classes in small groups of maximum 5 people, individual language classes, as well as specialized company classes with tailor-made language course solutions.
After a family-owned company takeover by Igor Botchkarev and the final name change to VOX-Sprachschule in March 2008, a new phase of growth and expansion was initiated at Archstrasse 6, directly at Winterthur main station. After a successful establishment and the joining of a talented IT specialist, Evaldas Taroza, as co-founder and COO, a new branch was opened at Zurich Central on September 1st, 2019 in the immediate vicinity of Zurich main station and at the gates of Zurich's Niederdorf. After an expansion phase and the first successful round of financing, the VOX language school now occupies two floors in the historic Polybahn building at Zähringerstrasse 51 / Limmatquai 144.
Since March 2020, the VOX language school has also been developing a new online-learning department with the latest technology and the best teachers with a university background and talent in linguistics. Our aim is to revolutionize online teaching in such a way that learners can benefit equally from the high quality approach of the VOX method and from the freedom of online teaching anywhere in the world.
Mission
Our mission is to help people to learn speaking correctly without wasting time. In this way, we support you individually and at a high quality level. In all lessons we use our innovative VOX-Method. It is very much focused on speaking and pronunciation and is only taught by the most talented specialists with a university background in linguistics. The learner with all his/her personal characteristics and needs is in the center of attention at VOX. No matter which goal you have, we adapt to your individual needs and bring you closer to your goal in the best possible way.
Premises
The VOX language school remains a small, cozy language school, family-run with close attention to detail and the individuality of each individual learner. The interior design of the school is designed in such a way that you don't feel like you are in an office, but rather at home, with lots of plants, wood and well thought-out design objects, so that you can concentrate on learning a new language in a relaxed and concentrated manner. Do not hesitate to have a look at our school using our virtual 360° tour and be inspired by its unique atmosphere.
Why should you choose VOX language school?
Brief overview of the values at VOX:
Small groups with max. 5 participants in offline classes and max. 5 people in online classes. Because the quality of the teaching process matters to us.
New learning method developed by us
Our courses focus on speaking, pronunciation and a fun-driven learning program that is individually tailored to each participant’s needs
Professional teachers with a university background in linguistics with a lot of love and passion for languages, with a very clear and conscious idea of how the language system works and how you can learn to speak without wasting time
Cosy, modern, stimulating and positive learning atmosphere
Perfect location - right next to Zurich Main Station and Winterthur Main Station
Wide range of languages from Arabic to Züüritüütsch
We are small, flexible and solution oriented and can adapt to your specific needs
The VOX method in detail: Focus on speaking and small groups
The biggest problem that currently exists in the field of language teaching are on the one hand, economic boundaries, which force schools to form large groups in order to be able to offer the courses at low cost, and on the other hand, a lack of understanding that one can only learn to speak a language if the learner uses it actively. Accordingly, emphasis is placed on comprehension, writing, reading and grammar in large groups, because these areas can be trained very well in large groups. As far as active speaking is concerned, it is somewhat more difficult; as soon as 15 people are sitting in a group, a student has, objectively, a maximum of 4 minutes per hour to speak. In fact, this time is much shorter, because at the beginning there is a warm-up phase, then homework is discussed and finally the teacher introduces a new topic, where the students only have a possibility to listen.
Learning to speak is similar to learning to play a musical instrument. Can you learn to play the guitar by listening to 1000 hours of guitar music or reading music notes? The answer is: -No. To learn to play the guitar, you have to train the connection between your brain and the muscles responsible for playing, and the motoric memory has to be used. It's the same with learning to speak. Only when you speak actively do you train the connection between the brain and articulatory muscles that are used for active speaking. VOX makes sure that during the lesson you stay active and speak constantly.
The group size of a maximum of 5 participants offers you a great opportunity to speak a lot and at regular intervals and this keeps your articulatory muscles warm throughout the lesson. At VOX, the teacher always looks at the fair distribution of the speaking time so that you do not have to fight for the attention of the teacher.
Concentrating on speaking does not mean that you will not learn grammar, writing, or comprehension, but only that priorities will be set in the most natural way possible, since speaking is the oldest communication type in human history and all other types of linguistic communication have arisen naturally from it. Once you learn to speak correctly, everything else will follow naturally and serve as a foundation for constructing your linguistic “house”. If you want to dive deeper into grammar, you can still do so because our teachers prepare an individual learning program for you and strive to take your personal wishes into account.
Grammar at VOX
It is a very common mistake in many institutions that grammar is simply learned for the sake of knowing grammar itself.. At VOX we understand grammar as an instrument that is supposed to facilitate your speaking skills in the first place. At VOX, you get the most important grammar for speaking in the form of short sequences of thoughts, mnemonic tricks and very simple explanations, which effortlessly lead you to speaking correctly. The VOX method puts an end to pointless memorization, you will only learn what will be useful to you in each sentence and in a way that you will not notice that you can suddenly and spontaneously say something, even though until recently you thought it was impossible.
Teachers
All teachers at VOX have a university background in linguistics and a pronounced talent in understanding and teaching their respective languages. All teachers are personally introduced and accompanied by the school director to the VOX method, so that the high quality standard of the VOX language school can be ensured from the first lesson. If something goes wrong, we have introduced several checkpoints in our process, which help understand whether the lesson is going according to the expectations of the learner and, if necessary, introduce changes to the lesson structure, so that the lessons are immediately aligned with the goals and expectations of the learner. If the chemistry between the teacher and the student isn’t good, which is also very human sometimes, you can ask VOX to change teachers at any time and the management will immediately try to find a quick and constructive solution.
