Three Years of classes in Spanish, French, German and more!

We are thrilled to have reached our third birthday as a company. It has been an incredibly exciting time not only to start a small business but also to navigate the changes our society and culture went through in the last two years as a result of the global pandemic.

We are so grateful to all members of our community – students, parents, teachers, admins, business partners, and friends. Your enthusiasm and curiosity for languages and cultures is what fuels us with energy to grow a small business in a changing environment.

In the last 3 years we have taught more than 300 students. We started as a strictly in-person after school language school, focused on young children. However, we pivoted to online classes when times called for it. We virtually huddled together with over 100 students when online learning began. Our teachers learned fast and overcame their own preconceptions about teaching young children online. Our young students helped us navigate the technology setbacks with patience and quick thinking so typical for their young minds. We were all a friendly community, in it together. It was a memorable time and we were grateful to be able to help parents and children at a time when no one knew what to expect.

Our most popular classes for both children and adults continue to be Spanish, French, and German, but we have also taught Italian, Hindi, Russian, Korean, and Bulgarian. We hope to do more of that in the future.

While at this time we don’t have a dedicated physical location of our own, we are absolutely thrilled to work with local organizations to offer classes in their spaces. Community Centers like the Roudenbush in Westford, and the Prescott School in Groton, Acton Public schools, Nashoba Regional School districts, and more.

Happy third birthday to Fun World Language Academy. We can’t wait to see what the next 3 years will bring, and to celebrate all of our students’ progress in learning languages and cultures from around the world.

What we do at Fun World Language Academy and Why?

We like to think of learning a foreign language as cultivating your own personal superpower. Being bilingual can open so many doors for students of any age and at Fun World Language Academy we teach foreign languages to students ages 3 to 103!  We do focus our efforts on younger students as our goal is to bridge the gap between the time when students learn best and when foreign language is offered at most public schools. 

Our teachers are so very talented. The staff at Fun World Language Academy are bilingual themselves and some are even native speakers of the languages they teach. They all have prior experience with children both in raising their own as bilingual and as teachers in various countries and settings. These lived experiences on top of education make our instructors really special!

The methods of teaching we use and highlight involve a gentle immersion program, the TPRS method.  TPRS stands for Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling. The basic idea of it is to maximize the use of the target language and instead of translating or explaining a new word, you are acting it out, reading a story with it, doing a craft or  singing a song.  This method forces the student’s brain to engage it’s “logic muscles” so to speak. The engagement of figuring out what the teacher is saying is a proven method of increasing retention and comprehension. TPRS is a method used in public schools as well, even though as we mentioned, they start at a bit of an older age.  We teach foreign languages in a natural way instead of by using grammar drills. However, just because our methods are immersive, this doesn’t mean we don’t aim for proficiency.

Why Learn Foreign Language? 

It’s good for your brain... It is, we promise! There are numerous benefits and plenty of studies to support the benefits. They include increased flexibility of thinking, better awareness of the rest of the world, improved ability to learn more languages in the future, improved ability to understand your own language, greater self confidence, better job opportunities, more fun vacations and so much more. 

Benefits for young children:

• Increased cognitive flexibility

• Ease of learning more languages later in life

• Better listening skills

Benefits for young adults:

• Boost to self confidence

• Better looking resume

• Cultural awareness of the greater world

Benefits for adults:

• Exercise for the brain – if you don’t use it you loose it

• Delay in cognitive decline

• More stimulating vacations

• Give good example to their children and grandchildren

• Improved self esteem

We would just like to talk about some of the real life conversations we hear on a regular basis from parents who send their kids to our school. Parents often come and tell us “I wish I had learned more of my parents or grandparent’s native language. Not knowing it made my connection with my grandparents more limited. I couldn’t appreciate it when I was young, and my parents didn’t push me, but now I wish I had more of a chance to speak with my grandma before she passed. I don’t want my children to lose the language of my ancestors too so I bring them here to study.“ This is one reason why we encourage learning a language while children are young, especially if there is a language to learn within the family.

Other parents bring their children because they were dreaming of a particular country or culture when they were kids, but couldn’t get there, and now they want to give that gift to their kids. For example we have people from Asia who send their kids to us to learn French, and not their native Hindi, because French has a certain “je ne se quois” for their parents. Learning a language is not only a gift parents can give their children, but a super power!

We want the opportunity to help as many children as possible learn the foreign language of their choice while immersing them in a truly unique and fun experience. At Fun World Language Academy, we truly value each student that comes through our doors or takes our lessons online whether Spanish, French, German or more. Every student becomes a part of our family.

Top 5 Language Learning Tools for adults

At Fun World Language Academy,  the majority of us are multilingual. Between us, we have years of combined experience speaking, teaching and learning foreign languages. This means that we know first-hand what it’s like to be a foreign language learner in need of a variety of ways to build and maintain your knowledge.

We thought that we would put our knowledge to good use and recommend some of our favorite online resources for learning and practicing a new language.

1. Language Learning on Netflix

We think this is an amazing idea for adult language learners. Language Learning with Neflix is a Chrome browser extension that allows you to learn your language of choice while watching Netflix movies. You are able to select subtitles in your target language and even adjust the speed of the movie as well as stop to review vocabulary. We think this is a great way to practice listening skills while also indulging in some guilt free TV!

https://languagelearningwithnetflix.com/

2. Duolingo

Duolingo is a free app that offers game-like instruction in many different languages. It allows you to set up daily goals, participate in friendly competitions, and receive reminders. It is widely used and well reviewed. In addition to being educational, the app is equally entertaining and therefore motivating for both adult learners and children.

https://www.duolingo.com/

3. News in Slow – Spanish, French, German, and Italian

Linguistica360 offers podcasts,  created by linguists, that are designed to keep you informed about current events, while helping you learn a foreign language. You can learn contemporary and relevant vocabulary in each of the podcasts. We love this app for the multitasking opportunities it provides!  At this time they only offer four languages but we hope they add more soon.

https://www.linguistica360.com/

4. InnovativeLanguage.com

InnovativeLanguage.com offers quick and affordable language lessons that come in various forms – you get daily emails, access to short lessons with audio, video, and lesson notes in your choice of over 40 languages. For an additional fee, you can get connected with a tutor who would check your progress and give advice. One of our favorite features is the online dictionary for your target language! This company offers a really impressive variety of languages, even our owner’s native Bulgarian.

https://www.innovativelanguage.com/

5. Mango Languages

Mango Languages is a paid app but make sure to check with your local library  as they can sometimes offer free access to it. We find this app to be a bit of an upgrade compared to the aforementioned Duolingo. It’s like a combination of Duolingo and Rosetta Stone. This is a great app for those looking to learn a language as a beginner or even if you want a refresher on what you’ve already learning. You can take a placement test for the more popular languages so that you don’t have to start from scratch if your goal is to refresh prior knowledge. It’s really a great language tool!

https://mangolanguages.com/

In addition to these excellent online tools, we also encourage local conversation groups and meetups. If you don’t have one, start one! Go to meetup.com and start a meetup, or go to your local library, facebook group, or another local forum and search for language learning groups in your area. Better yet, send us an email, we may have a group going on already, and if not we can help you start one. We’d love to help enable you to learn a foreign language with those in your community!

We hope that our list of learning tools gives you a great place to start when looking for the best apps and websites that you can use to help learn a language or practice some of what you already know. We love teaching foreign languages but we also love learning, too. Let us know if you have any language tools you’d recommend as we’d love to add to our list!

Interested in learning a language with us? We would love to help - see our classes for adults here.

Even though we are in the middle of summer, it won’t be long before many parents are planning their children’s upcoming activities for the new school year.  Among the typical extracurricular programs, such as math, sports, or music lessons,  it is important to also consider enrolling your child in a foreign language program.  Apart from learning a new skill, exposure to learning a foreign language has far-reaching benefits, including enhanced cognitive flexibility, improved listening skills, curiosity and awareness of the wider world, and improved ability to learn more languages in the future. 

Enhanced cognitive flexibility

The process of learning a new language requires frequent switching between languages as a child is acquiring new vocabulary. This forming of new neuron connections is also an exercise for the brain and like any other exercise it has proven benefits for the developing mind. As scientists point out, the switch is assumed to be sustained by functional and anatomical changes in the brain, suggesting that there are structural and functional differences in bilingual individuals. 

Moreover, learning in an environment that isn’t strictly from a textbook, but rather in a more interactive, vocal, and hands-on setting, makes the learning process fun and enjoyable.   Kids remember better while their whole body is involved in the learning process via games, songs, and crafts.  As with participation in other scholastic activities, such as joining the math team or playing an instrument in the school band, exposure to learning a new language increases brain flexibility. The effort of switching between languages and realizing new grammatical structures involves a level of mental discipline, which will serve them well with challenging pursuits throughout their academic career.  

Acquiring a Broadened World-View

When learning to speak, read, write, and think in a foreign language in a fun and animated setting, our students become familiar with the culture of the language’s host country, such as customs, holidays, and the history that has shaped its citizens.  Kids have a natural curiosity and our instructors – who are native speakers  --  are eager to share their knowledge of a culture they come from.  This exposure to another culture via language instruction fosters open-mindedness and stimulates  adaptability. Awareness, appreciation, and respect for other people and their traditions, beliefs, and behaviors are important and fun  side effects to learning a new language.

Improved ability to learn more languages in the future

Studies suggest that by acquiring a second language at a young age, more parts of the brain are utilized than in a monolingual brain. As a result, even if a child doesn’t become fluent or doesn’t use their second language after a while, they still have the benefit of developing the language learning area of their brain. In addition, this will make the process of learning new languages easier for them in the future. It is worth noting that learning a second language also naturally focuses the attention on the structure of any language. This has the effect of making students be more attentive to the structure and usage of both their native and their new languages. 

With the enhanced skills of learning – and mastering – a new language, students  translate these aptitudes into strong suits, such as managing priorities and attention to detail.  Multi-tasking becomes second nature as does the ability to exercise patience and tolerate ambiguity.  

In addition to sharpened mental development, a broadened view of the world, and the potential for better performance in language classes in school , the long-term bonuses of mastering a foreign language also include enriched travel experiences and a heightened self-confidence.

The goal of our teachers at the Fun World Language Academy is to bring to your child all that is fun and interesting about learning a foreign language, with the added premium of the skills described above. 

Additional reading

Articles

The 5 cognitive benefits, by Bilingual Kidspot

https://bilingualkidspot.com/2019/05/25/cognitive-benefits-of-bilingualism/?fbclid=IwAR0Z6IJ8YbC9mRCeIjll-D-Eg5irhjL2W6hQXDL91NDW662Z6HIQ-BSTaPU

Influence of Bilingualism on Cognitive Ageing:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4320748/?fbclid=IwAR1Ly_DnDWK0QRN2G7l4H7_K-9IKV3eGCX7xzRY9Nav_ttMfPfAqXLQSlRg

US Employers bilingualism expectations are getting higher: US Employers bilingualism expectations are getting higher:

https://www.leadwithlanguages.org/language-advocacy/publications/?fbclid=IwAR0ej7qGDAv7V75a7JVy58lUADjbk3hAKNcqu6mtZlLOA6TBMi7WzrQt0fc

Books

Raising a Bilingual Child, by Barbara Zurer Pearson

Short Video:

Edutopia, 2 min, Why students should learn a second language:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10157120290894917

German is a language spoken by 129 million people in several European countries – Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Lichtenstein, Holland, Denmark, and Luxembourg.  It is similar to Dutch and Afrikaans.

German also has many vocabulary similarities to English, because English is a Germanic language with Latin influences. While the vocabulary may be easier to guess for English speakers, the grammar is much more complicated, and is a perfect challenge for language nerds. German has three genders and lots of declinations you have to wrap your head around.

Don’t forget to think of this as a good thing – learning a new language is like an exercise for the brain. The more strenuous the exercise, the better shape you will be in. Clearly then, learning German will keep your brain young and healthy while allowing you to make new friends and impress everyone while you travel. 😊

All joking aside, learning German can be surprisingly practical decision for a young person. Germany is the biggest economy in Europe. Its stability and robust growth even during the recent recession is famous and that has attracted employees from all around the world. If you want to work in Europe, knowing English is taken for granted, but knowing German in addition will immediately make you stand out in a job interview.

Even before you get to the job interview though, German can be very useful, as Germany offers more scholarships for international students than any other country (according to the Goethe Institute). Even without the scholarship, many excellent universities in Germany have no tuition.

This could be a great opportunity if you (or your child) would like to study Kant, Nietzsche, or Goethe in original form, while excelling in their business career working for world famous German companies like Siemens, Porsche and Adidas.