Online Lanuage Schools

A Brief History of Power-Glide

The unique story behind Power-Glide International began in the 1950's when Dr. Robert Blair was a linguistics student at Indiana University. During his 35 years of study, teaching and experimenting with over 48 languages, he began to see a disturbing pattern with traditional teaching methods. Even students who had studied a language for years, in the end, remembered very little. Subsequently, Dr. Blair set about studying the best teaching methods for foreign language from around the world. Through his study of best practices and the development of his own methodologies, the Power-Glide method was born. Once developed, Dr. Blair knew he had created something special.

The Power-Glide concept had little market value until an entrepreneur could find a way to turn the ideas into something tangible and salable. James Blair, one of Dr. Blair's sons, started such a company in 1992.

Power-Glide's financial beginnings were truly humble. The company started in a file cabinet, moved to one room in a basement, then two, and now occupies 5,000 sq. feet of office and warehouse space, complete with multi-division offices and a communication center. In the summer of 1996, James Blair began working on the business full-time during college, and in the first full year turned a profit. The company has since grown to become an Inc. 500 Fastest Growth in America Company and the winner of many state and local business awards for growth, profitability, and good business practices.

Accreditation:

Being an accredited foreign language company/school through the Northwest Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities makes Power-Glide unique. Accreditation gives the assurance of quality and ease of credit transfer among educational institutions. The ability to provide learning support with board-certified foreign language teachers, as well as to grant credit through our school, has greatly enhanced the Power-Glide offering to all types of learners.

The Methodology:

Why are Power-Glide Programs so Effective?

They are a Blend of the Best Innovations Based on Up-To-Date Understanding of Linguistics and Learning Psychology.

With few exceptions, language-learning methods have not changed much in the past 50 years. What you typically find today is the old "listen-and-repeat" methods done with new technology: tapes, CDs, computers, etc., packaged and worded to make them seem new. But they usually aren't new at all. They are the same old "uglies" of language learning repackaged to look new. The essence hasn't changed.

Occasionally a few creative geniuses have made breakthroughs in language learning.