Having trouble viewing this email? Click here http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=vxu4awjab&v=0012h5dFDYJvhlezUwZ3agLs4JVs4xkjNOPqf7zo4A8qyrNjX1E2ogS8ZrYSRWv_psEQx0QmEm6Os6kQ_2UCq11aD743CZMqhIS-6XYcUnNoO0EGwg5T85pCPGKIJgFBPRD4SiawWbW-rEgXzTH_gYANPvx5GUV9y_f Newsletter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Atlas Dreams Languages, LLC www.atlasdreamslanguages.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001vWdZYgCrWhoyBA9lMjxVVH8NHkjPoZ35CZYbMVLGlkFWs...] 412-537-1525 July, 2012 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join Our Mailing List [http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1109914538741] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Client Feedback! Jackie Merranko Jackie Merranko has been receiving Arabic instructions from ADL for almost a year now. We recently asked a few questions about her experience with us, and here is what she said: ADL: Why Arabic? I chose to learn Arabic because I have always had an interest in this language and its culture since I was a teenager. I have always been curious about that part of the world, their traditions, their religion, history and language. Also, I think with the current political climate, this is a very useful language to master; it is in high demand and widely spoken in the world. As a 911 operator, I think being bilingual is a definite asset to have. So it is safe to say that I am learning Arabic for both personal and professional development. ADL: What are some of the challenges of Arabic? I grew up speaking English all my life, so I do it without thinking about it. It comes naturally to me, but when I try to communicate in another language, there is a high level of concentration that takes place. Also, it forces you to learn the technical aspect of your own language! I had to strengthen my knowledge of English grammar to keep up with the instructor when she uses words like adverb, clause, predicate... I remember learning these grammar terms in school, but that was a while ago. I forgot all specific usage of them, so learning Arabic is making me revisit the mechanics of grammar of my own language as well. Another challenge that is particular to Arabic is the pronunciation! I could handle the grammar, but definitely the pronunciation was something that required real effort on my part. This is because Arabic speakers use many parts of their throats that we simple don't. So in order to make certain sounds, I had to be familiar with the different muscles in my throat and train them to produce the sounds necessary to speak. I had to work very hard at this, because it is so easy to say the wrong thing if you are not careful!! ADL: With all these challenges, what keeps you going? Just because it is a challenge, it does not mean that it is impossible to overcome. I don't want to give up now; I have started my journey and would like to finish it, to reach a level of mastery. I love the feedback that I get from my friends, particularly the Arab speakers. They appreciate the effort when I communicate with them and they encourage me to continue. It is a challenge, but one that is worth taking. ADL: Why Atlas Dreams Languages? Prior to ADL, I took Arabic at two different universities. While the quality of instruction was acceptable, the fact that they had to complete the syllabus by a certain time put pressure on everyone. There were times when I felt that a certain topic could have been stretched over a longer period of time and I could have benefitted from more explanation. But it was not possible because the instructor had to stick to the syllabus. Also, when you are in a class with many other people, you are subject to following the pace of others. Sometimes you understand the task at hand, but others don't, so you have to sit there and just wait for them to get it before we can move to the next subject. And personally, I find easier to fade off and go to lala land when I am in class with other people. With ADL, Zineb is right there with me, one on one. I don't have time to daydream. If I don't understand something, she explains it different ways until I get it. If we need to spend more time on a particular lesson, we do. I don't feel the pressure of deadlines. It is a lot easier for me to learn that way. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join Our Mailing List [http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1109914538741] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Links Visit our website [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001vWdZYgCrWhqJs0CIB-hEU4kC9OpLkHPYwLvtwpIZzaxFd...] Our Facebook page [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001vWdZYgCrWhroV8jp3PhEwCgzaESNdRaRLa90jGlWzhdQq...] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Call us to schedule a free consultation 412-537-1525 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Highland, Zineb Outnouna At Atlas Dreams Languages, LLC, we value our clients; we tell them and show them how much we appreciate their business. But in this newsletter, I want to thank the wonderful team of instructors with whom I have been blessed. Atlas Dreams Languages, LLC takes pride in the group of dynamic, fun and knowledgeable instructors who are the driving force behind our continued success. Although scattered over the Greater Pittsburgh area, these instructors share the passion of teaching, the love of foreign languages, and the great joy that one could only get from rich cultural exchange. Our team strives to be Pittsburgh's leading foreign language organization. The purpose of our company is to promote the learning of foreign languages in and around Pittsburgh. We acknowledge the importance of such skills in our present socio-political and economic environment, and aim to equip our clients with the necessary tools to achieve success, both domestically and internationally. Our mission is to be the support structure responsible for creating more bilinguals in our region than any other enterprise. Ambitious as this goal might seem, I have all the confidence in the world that together, we will make it happen! Sincerely, Zineb Outnouna, CEO and Founder Atlas Dreams Languages, LLC 412-537-1525 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Success Story! Passion Can Make Dreams Come True! When you are a new company, your primary concern is to provide excellent services and products to your clients, to sustain the vision of the organization, to promote your areas of expertise and, overall, to remain competitive. Accolades and honors are not what drive you. But when you receive recognition for your accomplishments, all the effort, sleepless nights and the struggles seem to suddenly vanish. This was the feeling ADL's team felt when we read Joyce Kane's article "Passion Can Make Dreams Come True". This article has been published on the Pittsburgh Chapter of SCORE's website. This article made us so proud that we decided to include it in this newsletter. Enjoy! http://pittsburgh.score.org/success-stories/atlas-dreams-languages-llc [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001vWdZYgCrWhrp5G50_Fm3jiwqJB5KWjVP-wNeTcd-_oCA1...] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Community Involvement
From its humble beginnings, Atlas Dreams Languages, LLC (ADL) established its roots foremost in the community. Our first foreign language lesson was delivers at Springdale Free Public Library (Hometown of our CEO and Founder) on a voluntarily basis. The client's name was Fara and the language was French. Since then, ADL has remained faithful to its commitment to strengthening the community through volunteer work.
ADL has supported various programs and initiatives throughout Pittsburgh and its surrounding environs. One of our proudest initiatives was the support we provided to the Refugee Career Mentoring Program, a program of Allegheny County Department of Human Services. ADL, represented by Zineb Outnouna, was able to assist with providing mock interviews to program participants. This program was put in place to connect refugees with advanced education, as well as connect them with local professionals who can provide insight into their fields and share their experiences and their networks. We were able to assist the refugees in becoming more comfortable with the interview process, a process that in many ways is so different from the one they experience in their homelands. At the same time, we provided assessments to the committee in charge and gave them feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of participants' skills. Our volunteer work is not focused only on adults; we have a great interest in serving our youth as well. When we were invited to provide a talk at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild (MCG), we immediately accepted. For more than 25 years, MCG has been a champion for youth, art and education in Pittsburgh. We were proud to contribute to the invaluable services they provide. At the end of the school year, Jeff Guerrero contacted our CEO Zineb Outnouna and shared with her the feedback from his students. He stated that "... Overwhelmingly, the #1 thing named as the students' favorite aspect of the class was your visit". In addition to providing language instruction, ADL jumps at every opportunity to promote cultural diversity in our region. We were extremely proud to participate in the 2012 Nellie Leadership Awards Gala organized by Three Rivers Youth. Founded in 1880, Three Rivers Youth works with abused, neglected, at-risk homeless and runaway youth and their families to overcome the history of poverty and despair and to gain hope for the future. The theme for this year's gala was: A Moroccan Experience. To make the atmosphere as authentic as possible, the CEO and President of Three Rivers Youth, Peggy Harris, contacted Zineb Outnouna and asked her to participate in the committee that was in charge of creating that ambiance. The night was a great success; people were impressed, everyone enjoyed themselves and the organization was able to raise funds that will permit them to continue doing the noble work for which they are known. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ADL now offers Japanese! Many have experienced the Near East through studying Arabic...now come with us to the Far East! The Japanese language is truly unique-although it has borrowed words freely from many languages throughout its history, there is no other language to which it is related! This makes it a fascinating tongue to study, and an experience like no other. To welcome the newest language in Atlas Dreams Languages' selection, we will be offering an introductory course to the Japanese language. Presented to a group, or by individual instruction, Introductory Japanese has flexible lessons to suit our clients' needs-from travel and tourism phrases to profession-specific vocabulary and conversations. Learning Japanese is an exotic experience, full of exciting details and fascinating history to explore. This ancient language and culture is sure to surprise and delight you with many new things. Please join Atlas Dreams' newest adventure-to the Far East! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forward this email http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=vxu4awjab&m=1109914538741&ea=neighborhood@highlandparkpa.com&a=1110595177599 This email was sent to neighborhood@highlandparkpa.com by zineb@atlasdreamslanguages.com. Update Profile/Email Address http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&mse=001fNotreotIkthMu9hcQ1QQMiKIF0PIajm&t=0019SaPHnbtI_p8qiFKIlxttw%3D%3D&llr=vxu4awjab Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe(TM) http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&mse=001fNotreotIkthMu9hcQ1QQMiKIF0PIajm&t=0019SaPHnbtI_p8qiFKIlxttw%3D%3D&llr=vxu4awjab Privacy Policy: http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp Online Marketing by Constant Contact(R) www.constantcontact.com Atlas Dreams Languages, LLC | 715 Pittsburgh street | #8 | Springdale | PA | 15144