Working

1. Where did the original idea come from?

The original idea behind Languages4Life has been quite a few years in the making. It is to combine experience in teaching with technology to jump start the learning process. Oséas Andrade has much experience in this sector having taught many years in Barcelona after moving here in 2003. Previously he had founded his own Language School in Petrópolis Brazil, his hometown. He joined with John MacPeek, a Computer Science Engineer from Cornell University and native of New York State, to create a school with high quality teaching standards and the latest technology available to make the classes interactive and dynamic.

2. How long did it take to get your business off the ground?

The business plan took about four months to put together and polish. That was after John had studied a Director Development Program at IESE, a business school here in Barcelona. So we created Languages4Life in January 2011, at which point we began looking for a suitable place to house it. We wanted a very central location and a building with charm. Although it was not easy, we finally did find some beautiful office space in a Modernista building of the Eixample very close to the metro Passeig de Gràcia in February 2011. After that, a bit of remodelling, installing all the equipment and getting it all up and running took us another four months. We opened our doors and started giving classes in July 2011.

3. What are the key advantages or innovations you are bringing to the market?

Languages4Life is in the unique position of having an experienced entrepreneur in Language Schools as its Director of Studies, and a Computer Science Engineer as an Administrator. This combination of experience in the sector along with experience in technology represents Languages4Life’s differential advantage. We have paid very close attention to detail. Every classroom is equipped with an Apple computer on a high-speed network. The computers' display is not simply a projector on a screen but on an interactive, tactile whiteboard. The projectors are very close to the screens preventing shadows created by the teacher. Teachers use these resources in every class as a whiteboard with many additional features, such as never needing to erase or simply opening a new page. They can easily go back to previous pages or lessons on the whiteboard. You can project an e-book on the screen and allow teachers as well as students to interact with it, doing exercises or listening to audio/video clips. Teachers can instantly pull up examples or exercises from the Internet, to explain a concept or answer a very specific question on any topic. Languages4Life has full stereo audio in each classroom, and all audio content from the books is instantly available on the network with crisp sound quality.