At the core of our classes are “challenges” that students complete in
order to experience new vocabulary and grammar through movement,
play acting, art and basic conversation. Initially, these challenges are
quite simple, but as students are able to grasp more complex exercises,
they begin to gain confidence and become proud of their growing
knowledge.
Adventure Learning
Lango has developed a unique approach to teaching kids languages called Adventure Learning™
draws on three well-regarded methods and principles: Total Physical
Response (TPR), The Rassias Method, and the theory of Multiple
Intelligences.
- Employing TPR, we expose children to the target language and
offer them a variety of ways to respond before actually speaking it.
This mimics the way that children learn language naturally.
- The
Rassias Method exposes learners to new languages through dramatic
communication full of emotion and feeling – the surest way to ensure
that students retain what they learn.
- The Multiple Intelligences
theory suggests that learners acquire new information in a variety of
ways: musical, verbal, tactile, visual, and other means.
With this approach at the root of how we teach kids, we make sure
that in every class, our students are given many different ways to
acquire and understand new sounds and concepts.
Relevant Articles:
- STUDY: A joint Study
conducted by Canadian Universities Concordia and York found that
benefits of bilingualism emerge earlier than reported in previous
research, stating that Toddlers who learn a second language from infancy
have an edge over their unilingual peers. "Exposing toddlers to a
second language early in their development provides a bilingual
advantage that enhances attention control."
- BABYCLASSROOM.COM is a good resource and has an article discussing babies learning a 2nd language
- SCIENCE DAILY: This article details the connection between learning new vocabulary and visual stimulus
- EDUCATION WEEK: A report on "No Child Left Behind" and single language abilities in children (article)
FOREIGN POLICY:
9 Reasons Foreign Language Study is Great - Some side benefits of learning both a foreign language and a foreign culture
