Lango Pittsburgh: Foreign Language Instruction for Kids

businesswoman Kyndra King doesn’t speak a second language, but she wishes she did.

Like most folks reared through school before Clark and Seacrest counted down the final moments of the last millennium, King was introduced to another language late in her academic career, rather than at an earlier age when pedagogical studies suggest the human brain is more receptive to language learning.

Though King had a successful career as an insurance claims adjuster prior to taking the past six years off to raise her children, she said she wonders what academic advantages, professional opportunities and culturally-rich experiences she missed out on because of her limited tongue.

That’s why King introduced her children (ages 14, 13, 11 and 3) to language studies at a young age. And, that’s why she made her most recent career change from stay-at-home mom to businesswoman.

In September, King purchased the Pittsburgh territory franchise rights to Lango, a national foreign language program for children aged 18 months to 11 years old. Under King’s management, parent-toddler, preschool and elementary classes will each be taught in 10-week sessions at several locations throughout the south hills.

Classes start on Jan. 7, and each class lasts 45 minutes. The current curriculum includes Spanish and Mandarin. King said French will be offered in the future, once she finds a suitable instructor.

Wondering what these classes are gonna be like? We chatted with King to discuss her classroom model and sat in on a demo class to see that model in action.

King explained that the classes are unlike what happens behind a desk in the typical classroom.

High-impact activities, like singing, dancing and playing games, are followed by low-impact activities like circle time and interactive work with course materials such as an activity book and flashcards.

“I like to think of it as a really fun playgroup—only conducted in a different language,” she said.

Whenever possible, instruction is provided by persons of the curriculum’s native tongue, or by instructors who have passed a fluency test administered by Lango’s national headquarters.

Lango Pittsburgh’s instructors include Danni Lin, who came to the United States from China five years ago, and Maria Snow, who hails from the Dominican Republic. Both ladies were interviewed and selected by King and trained by an East Coast senior regional instructor.

One of the most noteworthy things about Lango classes, King said, is that they are full immersion, which means that, but for goal plans discussed at the start of the class and review at the end, the classes are conducted entirely in the curriculum language.

When asked how she expected kids to respond to a full immersion atmosphere, King said: “That’s how we learn our first language, so it only makes sense that we should learn a second, or third, language that way.

“There’s a window of time when a child is young and can soak up languages like a sponge. It’s my goal to reach them before that window closes, and to do so in a natural and fun way.”

While King did a great job of describing her ideals, instructor Lin did an even better job of exemplifying them in her . Here’s what went down:

Lin introduced herself to the group of students, who ranged in age from 3 to 11, set out the ground rules for the class, and outlined the lesson goals.

The topic of the class was colors. Lin told the kids that once she put on her “magic glasses” she would speak only in Mandarin. But, before she spoke it, she sang it—she and the kids got down to an upbeat tune with Mandarin lyrics.

With the help of a dog puppet named Cosmo (which is Lango’s mascot), Lin held up beanbags of various colors, repeatedly cycling through them, naming the colors in Mandarin and prompting the children to join her in her recitation.

After the beanbags, Lin employed colorful cones. Next up, she shouted out colors and the kids jumped into hoops of those colors which were placed on the floor.

All the while, Lin encouraged her students and praised them, doling out high-fives and clapping with each correct answer.

And there were plenty of correct answers. The majority of the kids in the demo class picked up most of the colors within the first 20 minutes of the class—even the tiny 3-year-old.

Another Mandarin-versed song closed out the class, after which Lin removed her magic glasses and reviewed the lesson in English.

If this sounds like something you’d like your kids to be involved in, check out the Lango Pittsburgh website, where you can find community classroom locations in Canonsburg, Upper St. Clair, Mt. Lebanon, Coraopolis and Sewickley, as well as schedule and fee information.

King invites interested families to try a full Lango class for free before signing up and encourages parents to enroll students prior to the Jan. 7 start of the first 2012 session. Late registrations will be accepted at a pro-rated fee.