If your child is learning programming, you know the importance of learning languages and preparing for a future career. But did you know that 54% of the Internet’s content is written in English? Or that more than half the world’s scientific and technical periodicals are produced in English?
Spoken by 1,121 million people, English is the world’s most-used language. It’s the language of politics, of business, and of technology, and it’s important for any child who dreams of an international career to have at least a working knowledge of the language.
That’s why we are excited to announce Tekkie Uni’s sister school: Langaroo, an online English school for kids.
Aimed at kids aged 5 to 11, Langaroo is taught in much the same way as Tekkie Uni. The course is taught live and online by qualified teachers and each course lasts 32 weeks. There are no quizzes, tests or homework.
There’s one major difference from Tekkie Uni, however: rather than being a part of a class, Langaroo students learn one-on-one with a private English teacher, who will assess your child’s language abilities throughout the lessons and adjust the material and the pace to your child’s needs.
How does it work?
At Langaroo, we use stories to teach language. Why? People of all ages learn better when they learn information through stories: stories build trust between the storyteller and the student, and because stories activate many different parts of the brain (language, experience, cause and effect) they help students become more open to learning.
Stories are also engaging; a student may not remember a lesson about grammar or vocabulary, but they will probably remember a story where a new word or language structure was used in context. And as an added bonus, storytelling works for many different learning styles.
For these reasons, each of our courses is built around a series of eight stories — four classes to a unit. Each unit kicks off with a game that introduces your child to pictures and words from the lesson’s story. Then your child will read the story and talk about it with their teacher. They’ll wrap up the unit by singing a song related to the story.
The entire experience will be guided by their instructor, a native English speaker and a professional teacher.
We hire teachers with certificates and degrees in education
It’s important for kids to learn English from native speakers, but Langaroo believes young kids need more than native speakers to succeed. That’s why our teachers are all highly-qualified, trained teachers.
Everyone on our teaching staff has been trained to teach. Our teachers hold bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and certifications in teaching English as a Second Language. They have classroom experience in a traditional class and online. And of course, they’re all native English speakers.
The reason we’ve invested in such a qualified teaching staff is simple — professional teachers can assess your child’s abilities without using tests and they can modify a curriculum or lesson plan so that it meets your child’s learning needs.
Kids learn well from native speakers, but they do best when they’re working with an educational expert.
When should kids start learning English?
The brains of small children are naturally receptive to new languages; they pick up words, grammar and accents easily and quickly. However, that ability diminishes over time. In fact, research suggests there’s a critical window for learning languages: while kids may be able to pick up new grammar until they are 17 or 18, they need to start learning that new language by the age of 10 in order to master it.
This means that if you want your child to speak English accent-free, your child should start learning English as soon as possible so that you can take advantage of their natural language-learning abilities.
How can I get my child started?
To get your child started with Langaroo, simply sign them up, either by scheduling through our website, or by speaking directly with one of our advisers. You’ll only pay a nominal fee for that first class.
Once we’ve matched your child with a teacher that meets their unique learning needs, you’ll receive an introductory email directly from the teacher, to confirm your first class. During that first session, your child will log in, meet their teacher and learn how to use our learning platform. Once they’re comfortable, the teacher will assess your child’s language ability and their journey with the English language will begin.
If you want to discontinue the course for any reason, let us know and you won’t be charged past the first lesson. If your child wants to continue past the first lesson, you don’t need to do anything. Just continue coming to class and enjoy your child’s newfound English skills.
