Listening to the Needs of Language Learners

Luis Angel Vega was born in Puerto Rico and came to the U.S. in 1979. He worked as a Spanish-language TV journalist and freelance writer covering Hollywood and taught Spanish classes. He discovered a few years ago that most of his students wanted to speak Spanish so they could gain access to Los Angeles’ Latino culture and attract Latino clients to their businesses. Vega opened his own language school, where he aims to give his students exactly what they are looking for in a second language. He was interviewed by Karen E. Klein.

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I worked two years for a Spanish-language school, but I discovered that their methods were not relevant for today. I talked to the students and found they had needs that couldn’t be met by the traditional methods and techniques the school was using.

For the most part, when you go to a language school, they have certain vocabulary that they use with every student who walks through the door. They usually teach very sophisticated phrases for tourists visiting a foreign country.

But when I started talking to the students, I found that they did not want to learn Spanish because they planned to visit Spain, but because they wanted to enhance their lives here in Los Angeles. From actors to photographers, lawyers, real estate agents and business owners, L.A. is full of people who are taking a class, have bought a book or are trying to listen to tapes that will teach them Spanish. Everybody thinks that if they spoke Spanish, their opportunities would increase.

So I decided to become independent and start a language school geared to fill the particular niche that would provide my clients with the ability to communicate and achieve what they wanted. I teach them the words and the usage of the Latino culture right here.

Traditional textbooks teach students how to ask where a restaurant is or how to book a side trip. But my students can’t talk to their neighbors or their employees with this vocabulary. I give them words that are relevant to their daily lives and their own personal interests.

For instance, we talk about museums, actors and singers. If my students are writers or lawyers or salesmen, I give them the vocabulary they will need for the situation they are in. I try as much as I can to tailor my teaching methods to the students, so the verbs and the vocabulary differ according to the needs of my clients.

Our classes are mostly discussions triggered by group interests--whether it be in politics, art or culture. We talk about a lot of things. I have advanced students who take my classes to expand their vocabulary. They are professionals who have an interest in Latin culture and politics. We choose a topic or a country, and through the Internet we look at the newspapers of that country and talk about current events there.

I do a lot of advertising in professional journals, entertainment industry publications and the Downtown News, and I get a lot of students through the Internet. I allow potential students to come in and monitor a class for free. People don’t want to be committed to something they don’t know, but 90% of those who come in and audit a class actually sign up.

From contacts with my students I have also developed a side business interpreting and doing translations. For example, one of my students is a location manager for a television show, and he wanted to film at the house of a Mexican family. I was hired to help him explain the filming contract to them.

Another student owned a manufacturing company in South Gate, and she hired me to translate her benefits package into Spanish and explain it to her workers, who felt that the company really cared about their needs.

I believe that when you care about your clients, help them obtain their goals and identify with them, you can help each other to be successful.

If your business can provide a lesson to other entrepreneurs, contact Karen E. Klein in care of the Los Angeles Times, 1333 S. Mayflower Ave., Suite 100, Monrovia, CA 91016, or send e-mail to kklein6349@aol.com. Include your name, address and telephone number.

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AT A GLANCE

* Company: L.A. Vega

* Owner: Luis Angel Vega

* Nature of business: Spanish-language and cultural instruction

* Location: Los Angeles

* Founded: 1993

* Employees: 1

* Annual revenue: $40,000