Do you want your child to become bilingual? Multilingual? Well, LangoKids is a great place to start for families looking to have their children become well known with the language, Spanish! LangoKids is a learning place based in Irvine for younger and older kids. It is filled with kind and loving teachers, amazing ways of learning and a positive, safe environment. The owner of LangoKids, Cristiana G. Versteegh was interviewed this past week, answering some questions:
What was your Inspiration to begin this program?
It’s wonderful to get to raise bilingual and multilingual kids. As a teacher and mom, I saw the need of doing it in a way that made sense to kids through games and Total Physical Response (TPR) activities. I understand how kids’ minds develop, and I know that language is one of the best things you can provide a child ideally between 0 and 8 years old. This is known as the acquisition period. This is an open window of possibilities and new skills in the kids’ minds. The community also needed something like this. There are many Hispanic families that haven’t been able to preserve the language, or just many curious English only speaking families out there, as well as families that are already bilingual looking to add a third or fourth language. We serve them all and meet the kids exactly where they are at.
How has your program impacted Kids and Parents?
The impact is quite big. Hundreds of families have been able to preserve and pass down the language to their kids thanks to us. Hundred more have learned to be bilingual or multilingual even if the language isn’t supported at home. We also provide summer camps that are a great way to achieve fluency and an appreciation for other languages and cultures in a very short period of time. The kids grow up being mindful about others and with their own knowledge of the language. They go on to colleges being bilingual, their language requirements are waived and those are kids that will continue communication in that other language and making a difference in their communities. Those are kids who in the future will change the world and be our future leaders.
What is a usual day like at Langokids?
We are an after-school program. Kids come here after their regular school. They are brought by parents, nannies, grandparents, friends and relatives who rally together to educate a more grounded child. First classes for little ones start at 3:30pm and the next set of classes start at 5pm. Classes are 1.5 hours long. My teachers teach their assigned classes, and I support them, the kids and the parents in the journey towards language acquisition and learning.
What aspects of running a language education program do you find most rewarding?
That I am serving the community and contributing to the formation of multilingual students who one day will be in positions of leadership.
How has Lango Kids Irvine evolved since it’s inception?
We started with only 5 kids 15 years ago. They are now in their first and second year of college. Now we have about 150 students every 10 weeks and hundreds of them come to our summer camps. We have added more programs and activities, but always stayed true to our essence and to the idea that every child should and can learn a foreign language.
What do you believe sets Lango Kids apart from other language programs in the area?
It’s a program ran by professionals and it’s a true labor of love and passion. I am a credentialed teacher who decided to impact the community from the private sector with my knowledge and expertise. When families come to us, parents feel captivated by the warmth and how welcomed they are. I believe that the best teachers and only the best need to be teaching here, so my teachers go through a rigorous process of selection and training with me directly. Parents can feel assured I have people that are moms of bilingual kids and that they are experienced in the field. We are very flexible and provide scholarships, makeup classes, and my old students come back as counselors to help the little ones in camps. We also support an organization called Corazon de Vida in Tijuana that houses, feeds and educates orphan kids. It’s very dear to my heart. I have worked directly with them for 9 years and a percentage of our proceeds go to them monthly. Our clients also come together to donate things that the homes need, and we organize trips to go spend a day with the kids in Tijuana.
Do you have any goals for the future for Langokids?Continue in our mission to offer excellent foreign language instruction for children ages 2 to 12 in an effective and fun immersion environment. We strongly believe that every child can and should acquire a language, and we do it holistically, not as a mere instrument. We don’t give them bits and pieces of language; we give it all: We play, dance, interact, and learn words and expressions using the target language 100% of the time. Kids become very versed in Spanish speaking, listening, reading and writing with us.We also want to stay relevant by improving our methods and by reaching more people that need to know another language. We all need it in the globalized world we live in.
What impact do you hope to be making within our community?We aim to change minds. To turn a monolingual child into a bilingual child that is able to become a bridge between cultures and an ambassador of his/her own in other places. We want to improve our community by bringing awareness of the importance of effective stimuli to the child in their most crucial years, things like music, play, free and guided play is what the kids need to keep their imagination and creativity alive. Our method targets that. I don’t believe in overexposing the kids to screens and things they don’t need but using the things they have and were born with to find their max potential.
We are proud to Spotlight our Community Partner
LangoKids Irvine
www.langokidsirvine.com
714-864-4680
714-864-4680
“At LangoKids Irvine, we believe every child can and should acquire a foreign language!”
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