Luigi Peccenini

Last updated
Luigi Tiziano Peccenini
(PECCE)
Pecce, Luigi Tiziano Peccenini.jpg
Luigi Peccenini
Born1939
Ferrara, Italy.
Occupations
ChildrenA daughter and a son.

Luigi Tiziano "Pecce" Peccenini (born in Ferrara, Italy in 1939) is a learning innovator, entrepreneur, company advisor and educator/speaker on health, happiness and success in business. He is best known for having founded Wall Street Institute [1] in 1972 to commercialise MultiMethod, a learning methodology that he devised that is student- rather than teacher-centric.

Contents

Wall Street Institute teaches people to speak (as opposed to read or write) English as a foreign language. It has provided MultiMethod instruction to over 2 million students. [2] It operates centers in North Africa, East Asia, South East Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. [3] It is branded as Wall Street English [4] in China where it was voted the most renowned Foreign Language Teaching Brand of 2012. [5]

Early life and career

Peccenini was born, brought up and schooled in Ferrara, Italy, the only child of a modest family. [6] An early aptitude for football, and his role as team captain, helped him to hone the leadership skills that he would later come to need in business. On leaving school he eschewed a university degree because of the financial implications for his parents and instead went directly into a succession of sales-based and management jobs.

Computex

In 1968, he set up Computex to provide training for programmers operating mainframes. [7] He sourced manuals from IBM, Siemens, Honeywell and General Electric called ‘Programmed Instruction’, i.e. self-training handbooks with multiple-choice questions. They had answers at the end of the book so that trainees could check they were answering the questions correctly. He removed the answers and replaced the checking process with a teacher. Students would study a manual at home, in their own time and at their own pace. When ready, they would go to Computex to have a tutorial with a teacher. One student might need to study at home for three hours, another 10 hours, another three days, and so on.

Wall Street Institute

Whilst running Computex, Peccenini studied at the weekends and earned a BA in Foreign Languages and Literature from Bocconi University in Milan.

In 1972 he adapted his Computex learning methodology to the teaching of English as a foreign language and established Wall Street Institute in Milan to market it. He later franchised the business to fuel expansion and over the next few years over 50 centers opened in Italy.

In the early 1980s an investment in proprietary courseware for the business proved too onerous to sustain. Peccenini had invested all his money into developing English Online, a state-of-the-art multimedia language instructional program. He had also borrowed heavily from banks and individual investors, planning to meet his heavy financial exposure through high sales. But it didn't work out. As a result, his company closed down. The franchisees were able to continue their activity, but disconnected from his company. "I lost everything, including my health", he said. "But I didn't lose my desire or let go of my vision."

In 1986, Peccenini placed an advertisement in Switzerland in search of a business partner with capital to invest. He found one and together they set up Wall Street Institute Switzerland and eventually he regained control of its Italian operations.

In 1987, Peccenini expanded to Spain. In 1997 he sold the company to Sylvan Learning Systems. In 2000 he founded Wall Street English in China where he is known as Li Wenhao. In 2005 he sold Wall Street English to The Carlyle Group.

MultiMethod

MultiMethod does away with the pitfalls of adult evening or weekend classes, namely, students of unequal ability competing for the teacher's attention and a fixed timetable leading to missed classes. It permits students to choose their own hours of attendance at a learning center and follow a pace in tune with their personal requirements. They are free to use the resources of the center whenever they like. They learn new material on their own with the help of proprietary multimedia courseware. At successive trigger points they book onto a tutorial to reinforce their learning with a native-English speaker. They need never miss a tutorial since each one is repeated every few days. Tutorials are restricted to a maximum of four similarly-abled students. Students pay to achieve a certain level of ability and attend as many hours as they wish during the contract period until they achieve their objective.

Seminars on Business and Life Skills

Peccenini continues contributing to the education of younger generations through his seminars at universities and business forums where he lectures in English, Italian and Spanish on entrepreneurship, leadership, human relations and a healthy lifestyle. [8] His contribution to the education of university students has led to his appointment as guest/adjunct professor at four universities in China.

Related Research Articles

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Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction are referred to as the L1 and the L2 for each student, with L1 being the student's native language and L2 being the second language to be acquired through immersion programs and techniques. There are different types of language immersion that depend on the age of the students, the classtime spent in L2, the subjects that are taught, and the level of participation by the speakers of L1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PLATO (computer system)</span> Mainframe computer system

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wall Street English</span>

Wall Street English is an international English language learning academy for children and adults around the world. Wall Street English was established in 1972 in Italy by Italian Luigi Tiziano Peccenini. The company has over 3 million alumni with a current enrolment of 180,000 students. Using a franchise model, they currently operate over 450 centers in 28 countries in North Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Its international offices are in Hong Kong and in Barcelona, Spain.

Task-based language teaching (TBLT), also known as task-based instruction (TBI), focuses on the use of authentic language to complete meaningful tasks in the target language. Such tasks can include visiting a doctor, conducting an interview, or calling customer service for help. Assessment is primarily based on task outcome rather than on accuracy of prescribed language forms. This makes TBLT especially popular for developing target language fluency and student confidence. As such, TBLT can be considered a branch of communicative language teaching (CLT).

English-language learner is a term used in some English-speaking countries such as the United States and Canada to describe a person who is learning the English language and has a native language that is not English. Some educational advocates, especially in the United States, classify these students as non-native English speakers or emergent bilinguals. Various other terms are also used to refer to students who are not proficient in English, such as English as a second language (ESL), English as an additional language (EAL), limited English proficient (LEP), culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), non-native English speaker, bilingual students, heritage language, emergent bilingual, and language-minority students. The legal term that is used in federal legislation is 'limited English proficient'.

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EF Education First is an international education company that specializes in language training, educational travel, academic degree programs, and cultural exchange. The company was founded in 1965 by Bertil Hult in the Swedish university town of Lund. The company is privately held by the Hult family.

Frank Otto was an American educator, pioneer in computer-assisted language learning (CALL), entrepreneur, and the founding executive director of CALICO.

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Teaching English as a second (TESL) orforeign language (TEFL) and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) are terms that refer to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. The terms TEFL, TESL, and TESOL distinguish between a class's location and student population, and have become problematic due to their lack of clarity. TEFL refers to English-language programs conducted in countries where English is not the primary language, and may be taught at a language school or by a tutor. For some jobs, the minimum TEFL requirement is a 100-hour course; the 120-hour course is recommended, however, since it may lead to higher-paid teaching positions. TEFL teachers may be native or non-native speakers of English.

References

  1. ↑ "Wall Street Institute". Pearson.com. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  2. ↑ "The China aficionado teacher". Usa.chinadaily.com.cn. 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  3. ↑ "Pearson to acquire Wall Street Institute: acquisition extends Pearson's position as world leader in English language teaching". Pearson.com. 2010-07-29. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  4. ↑ "Wall Street English: Private Company Information - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. 2009-04-15. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  5. ↑ "Pearson APAC". Pearson APAC. 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  6. ↑ Chen, Rachel (2012-06-30). "Tiziano Peccenini, Wall Street International Institute Founder | Agenda - Beijing's Premier Business Magazine". Agendabeijing.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  7. ↑ Boyle, Matthew (2007-09-04). "Plugged In: Wall Street Institute looks to China for profits - Sep. 4, 2007". Money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  8. ↑ "Pecce On The Road In China on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2013-10-14.


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