Kidslingo classes – a franchisee point of view by Ruth Hinds

April 15, 2019

As I sit on my yoga mat accompanied by Osito Pedro, ready for the start of my Monday morning Kidslingo Spanish class, I start hearing chattering voices coming down the corridor and I smile.

I’ve been running Kidslingo classes for three months, and over the past couple of weeks I have come to realise that the baby and preschool classes are about so much more than the benefits they bring to the children.

The benefits of learning a language at a young age are well known. One of the reasons I decided to run Kidslingo classes, was to make language learning available to children could benefit from this experience from a very young age. Research shows that the benefits of learning a language from a young age (the younger the better!) include:

• Increased cognitive development (such as reasoning, problem-solving, critical-thinking, and listening skills).
• Increased likelihood of reaching native-like pronunciation. Young brains are primed to learn languages and are more likely to identify the nuance differences in a new language’s sounds and intuitively understand its rules.
• Gives children a more positive attitude to other cultures and a deeper understanding of how big and varied the world is.
• Gives children a head-start on the languages they will be learning at school.

However, before I started teaching, I hadn’t realised the wider benefits that my classes would bring to parents and carers as well.

You see, the children are not the only ones learning! Mums, dads, grandparents and carers attending my classes are learning a new skill as well. They are excited to develop their vocabulary and are keen to ensure their pronunciation is correct. It’s lovely to see their skills and confidence develop week-upon-week.

As families grow, there is less and less time for the adults to explore their own interests and ambitions. Its wonderful to know that through my classes parents and carers are also able to fulfill lifelong ambitions of learning a new language, challenge themselves and keep their brains active. How may will suddenly feel confident to order a meal in Spanish during a holiday or will impress their boss by greeting a client in their native language?

I also delight in hearing how families incorporate language learning into their daily life. It becomes a shared adventure of exploration and growth that creates a great bond with the children. Parents have told me that they use the songs learnt in class to sooth their babies, that they listen and learn new children’s Spanish music between classes, or that during a walk or outing they will try to name, count and say the colours in Spanish of everything they see.

Last but not least our classes are also an opportunity to make new friends. Kidslingo classes all have limited spaces in order to enable each child to have the opportunity to speak and practice at their own pace. The limited group sizes also enable parents to get to know each other and for friendships to blossom.