Uncover the passion and purpose propelling us to redefine language education. Discover what drives Agora's commitment to empowering educators and inspiring students.
Socrates believed in asking questions to his students, teaching them through conversation. His method works best with students who think that they have answers, who are confident enough in their own ideas that they will speak up, make assertions, and openly dialogue with the instructor. ‘Agora’ is in reference to the gathering place of central Athens, where Socrates would often teach his disciples.
Confucius and Socrates both embraced conversation as a primary means of education. The Confucian perspective works best with students who assume that the instructor is right and that they, as students, have little to contribute in the way of answers. Both perspectives maintain that teaching must be interactive and instill wisdom. Agora is thus capable of taking a front or back seat, depending on the student’s learning style.
Montessori education is student-led and self-paced but guided, assessed, and enriched by knowledgeable and caring teachers, the leadership of their peers, and a nurturing environment. Individual students follow their own curiosity at their own pace, taking the time they need to fully understand each concept and meet individualized learning goals. Agora’s module design helps students progress at a rate that fits them.
Montaigne stated that children ought to have tutors to help guide them, pace them properly, and provide for them the resources they need to expand their intellectual repertoire. He believed it was necessary to educate children in a variety of ways, not strictly through books. Agora is seen not as a replacement, but as a complement to existing methods of education.
Agora was developed alongside HEC Montréal’s CFLA (Centre de Formation en Langues des Affaires, in english: center for development of language in business). Thanks to professors like Tetiana Seredynska, Sandra Paola Agudelo, Kathleen Green, Laura Josefina Pérez de Zerpa, and Angela Maria Campo Rodriguez. These educators provided a testing ground for the first version of Agora, and continue to help us improve.
Maxence Dhondt is a Polyglot speaking French, English, Swedish, German, and Spanish. In his most recent self-teaching of Swedish, he started experimenting with AI as a tutor and conversation partner. This experimentation became Agora, and Maxence still uses Agora nearly every day. He is directly responsible for the continuous evolution of the software.
Jules Lemée, a French and American citizen, experienced first-hand the power of language immersion. At 18, he spent two weeks in Spain fully immersed. Jules felt the gap between the efficacy of this short time compared to his seven years of Spanish instruction up to that point. He was left with a single question: How could we bring the power of immersion into a classroom?
Agora is a very young company dedicated to serving Educators in Independent Language Schools. Our small size enables us to respond directly to your needs. We have released major updates roughly every month, and the direction of these updates is directly dictated by our students and educators. You are the composers, we are the musicians. Agora is accommodating, as our start-up status allows us to bring you a service big companies would find impossible to match. As early customers, your input changes our future.
