Lingotot is proud to announce our special offers for Christmas. The following offers are available throughout December.

Recommend a friend and receive a free copy of LingoTunes!

A must-have collection of French action songs and rhymes for young children. It is the ideal accompaniment to Lingotot language sessions. You will receive your free copy when you and your friend have both booked. Please write "recommended (name of friend)" on your booking form.

Win a Bilingual French / English toy

How about a bilingual toy under the Christmas tree? Write a lovely comment on our Facebook page and you will automatically be entered into the prize draw which will take place on 14th December so we can get your gift to you in time for the big day.

Celebrate a special day with Lingotot at your child's school or nursery

Lingotot has various dates available in 2012 where we could go along to your child's school or nursery to deliver a fantastic Lingotot session for free! We could help their school celebrate National Storytelling Week, Mother Language Day, European Day of Languages, World Book Day and many more. All you need to do is fill out this form with your request and we'll contact the school or nursery asking when they'd like us to go along - simple!

We're pleased to announce that we're ready to take bookings for classes in 2012 in Durham. All classes take place in Newton Hall Community Centre (opposite the Arnison Centre). The centre is lovely. Parking is easy and free, it has lovely facilities such as places to park your buggy and a baby change. There's also a little park outside to play in if you arrive a little early or want to run off steam after class.

We have availability for 0-3 year olds at 14:15 and for over 3s at 15:30. To book online, please visit: http://www.lingotot.com/lingotot-durham.html

In other news, please don't forget our special Christmas offer on out LingoTunes Songbook and CD. This is a great way to practise our most popular songs at home. Until the end of November you can own your copy for only £9.99 with free P&P (usual price £13.49 + P&P). To take advantage of this very special offer please visit: http://www.lingotot.com/shop.html

Hope to see you at a class in 2012!

Lingotot is expanding! We're looking for linguists to join us as Lingotot moves into franchising. How would you like to run your own Lingotot business in French, Spanish or both? Please contact us to find out more.

Here's what The Journal has to say about it. Click here to read the article online

Durham mum aiming for national roll-out of Lingotot

Angela Sterling's long-term ambition has been to teach foreign languages to young children and she has just been named Business Person of the Year in County Durham’s Star Radio awards. She said: “To win the award has been wonderful. I am delighted to have been recognised in such a short space of time.”

Ms Sterling now wants to expand Lingotot across the UK as a franchise and has been encouraged by comments from education minister Michael Gove, who recently insisted that schools should be teaching children languages from the age of five.

He vowed to “pull every lever” in order to make it happen.

Ms Sterling is keen to exploit the ability that young children have to speak any language, which is gradually lost as they get older when their brains become attuned to their mother tongue.

LingoTunes is a Songbook and CD full of action rhymes and songs young children love. The songs are beautifully recorded at an pace ideally suited for children to listen and sing along to. The CD comes with an accompanying songbook with simple to use instructions for parents, carers and non specialist teachers.

Our Christmas special offer means you can own this lovely collection for only £9.99 instead of the usual price of £13.49 with no P&P to pay. Click here to place your order. 

Here is a little article about the link between music and languages as well as practical tips on how you can use music toThose of us who work in education or have children of our own know how much they enjoy music. In fact, a love of music seems to be an inherent characteristic of babies all over the world. As children we listen, dance, sing, wiggle and jiggle to music. As parents, we instinctively sing to our children from birth. As teachers we use song for a range of tasks from forming good classroom routines to delivering a curriculum.

Music is a fantastic educational tool. Scientists say that children who are exposed to music, or those who play an instrument, do better in school than those who don't. Recent research suggests exposure to music may benefit a child's reading age, IQ and the development of certain parts of the brain. In fact, researchers say exactly the same things about language learning.

In my own experience as a languages teacher, I certainly have noticed a link between languages and music; children who are good at languages often have a talent for music. I believe that this important link should be developed and encouraged.

But how can we develop that link? When we think about language learning, most of us conjure up images of sitting in a stuffy classroom conjugating French verbs or listening to an old cassette tape and understanding nothing! The good news is that bringing languages to life with young children is easy to do and its foundations are in a shared love of music.

Very young children learn languages best when it is fun, natural and repetitive. Here are my top tips for using music with very young children.

1. Build up positive associations with the language by singing, dancing to silly songs and generally having fun! Children will be more enthusiastic about the language if they see you having fun with it too.
2. Link the language to actions. Mixing sound with kinesthetic tasks will enrich the learning experience and help the children pinpoint and learn specific vocabulary. This is why I developed my French songs to be “action” songs.
   
3. Have fun using the language as part of your daily routines. For example, sing songs in the language at the same time every day. I sing French songs with my children after naptime as it cheers up my particularly grumpy eldest daughter! Sing a numbers song as you walk up the stairs or sing a French lullaby at bedtime.
   
4. Read stories in the foreign language. Children’s books often have a singsong rhythm, which aids language learning.
   
5. Encourage family, friends, childminders, babysitter, siblings and other visitors to join in with a foreign language song. Not only is it fun, but young children value the language more when they use it with a wide range of people. A song will make adults more comfortable with a language they may otherwise find difficult or embarrassing.
6. Find opportunities for children to share the language with other youngsters. Children learn a lot from each other and singing together will boost the language’s prestige and make it more enjoyable for all!
   
7. As well as listening to music at home, play foreign language songs on long car journeys or through headphones on public transport.
   
8. We know that children love watching themselves in the mirror or looking at photographs. They also love technology. Why not mix the two together by shooting a short video of a foreign language singing performance and sharing it with family, friends and their peers? Perhaps make an audio recording and use it as your ringtone!
   
   

Did you know that we have a special Achievement Log in all sessions? Here at Lingotot we believe that every child should be rewarded for using to responding to the language. But we don't do pre-determined certificates as everyone's learning journey is different. Instead we have an Achievement Log in class for mums, dads and grannies to fill in to let us know what our lovely Lingotots have been up to. Maybe they've used a French word while they've been playing or responded to a foreign language instruction (remember that many of our Lingotots can't yet talk!). Here are some examples of what out lovely children achieved only last week.

Under 3s:

• George can count to 7 in French (he sometimes misses out 6!) He also uses the words bouche, bavardez and voici.
• Amelia pointed to the following in a French picture book: gâteau, banane, orange, petits-pois, nounours.
• Hannah played “où est le bébé?” with her little brother Oliver at Lingotot today. She pulled the scarf from his head when mummy said “Coucou!”.

Over 3s:

• Violet can count up to ten in French. She knows the parts of her face in French and uses lots of colour words too.
• Arnaud is a little translator! He heard the song “Savez-vous planter les choux?” on the TV and said “I do that in French class.”
• Camille can count from 1 to 10 in French. She can say the parts of her face and uses lots of colour words in French.
• Jessica says the names of her colours in French when she colours in at home.

Félicitations! Bravo! What clever Lingotots!

If you'd like to know more about Lingotot classes please click here. If you'd like to purchase a copy of our songbook and CD, LingoTunes, please click here. Or perhaps you'd like to run sessions of your own? Please email for more details.

Angela Sterling, who founded Lingotot in 2010 to help babies, toddlers, young children and their families to learn languages received a prestigious award last night at a wonderful gala dinner. She was named Business Person of the Year 2011 at the Star Radio Business Awards, sponsored by Durham County Council and Proctor's Coaches.

She initially set up Lingotot to provide lessons to schools, playgroups and nurseries – but then launched a CD and book to allow parents and teachers to continue learning languages outside her classes. Angela, who spent 12 years as a language teacher, said: “It’s phenominal to be named winner in this category, I really can't believe it! I’ve been in business for less than two years, so to be named the winner in such a pretigious category is a real honour."

She won the award for the inspirational way she runs her business, juggling the roles of businesswoman, educator and mum to two very young children. "The last two years have seen dramatic changes in my life. I have had three babies in those two years; Annalise, Eleanor and Lingotot! And they're all hard work but wonderful."

She plans to grow Lingotot next year by offering Spanish classes and is currently looking for franchisees across the UK, offering teaching in languages as well as the Lingotot resources.

For Angela, it has been a lifelong ambition to start teaching children languages at a young age. She explained: “I went to Paris to be an au pair when I was 18 and I noticed that all the children could speak another language. In this country we tend not to start teaching languages until children reached secondary school, and we should really be starting it earlier than that, preferably from birth but certainly from Key Stage 1.”

Angela, from Stanley, always believed the UK should also start teaching young children languages and decided that while taking time out from teaching to have her two daughters she would set up Lingotot. And her feelings have been backed up by Education Minister Michael Gove, who recently insisted that schools should be teaching children different languages from the age of five. Earlier this month he said that every child from that age should be learning a foreign language, and promised to "pull every lever", including encouraging longer school days, to make it happen.

To find out more about Lingotot, classes or franchising opportunities, please visit www.lingotot.com, email info@lingotot.com or telephone 0845 680 8148

Business Award

Our very own Angela Sterling is a finalist in the Star Radio Business Awards 2011 in the category of "Business Person of the Year"!

Business Person of the Year finalists have proven that their role has been instrumental in the growth and success of the company. We will find out how she did on 3rd November at a special gala dinner for finalists....fingers crossed!

Read more here.

Would you like to work for us?

Lingotot is looking to expand and is looking for fabulous franchisees. You don't need to be a qualified teacher as we train you and you don't need pots of cash as for a limited time we're offering our franchises on a "try before you buy" basis. You will need bags of enthusiasm, be fluent in French and/or Spanish and love working with kids! Please contact us to find out more.

Here at Lingotot we hear very little children say foreign language words all the time, but we thought we would share some of our recent stories with you. These have been taken from our Achievement Log which parents fill in every time their child uses or responds to some language. Their achievements are very special, especially as some of them aren't even 2 yet!

• George now says Bonjour and Au Revoir
• Amelia pointed to a picture of a bird when we asked her "où est l'oiseau?" She also responds to lots of French instruction words
• Joshua wrote some French words for the first time this week. He copied the word for rainbow.
• Miles can do sums in French
• Harvey can count to 6 in French
• Jessica told her off mum and dad for talking by saying "No mummy, no daddy, no bavardez!

We also work in schools and nurseries. Year 1 pupils at Catchgate Primary School have been learning how to describe themselves. After their usual Lingotot session, they listened very carefully to some craft activity instructions in French and then went away to make their own paper plate face. Here are some pictures of their work. I'm sure you'll agree that it's very impressive!

...so why not combine it with language learning and sing in a foreign language?!

Parents should sing to their children every day to avoid language problems developing in later life, according to a consultant. Too much emphasis in the early years is placed on reading, writing and numeracy, and not enough on the benefits of singing, according to Sally Goddard Blythe, a consultant in neuro-developmental education and director of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology.

Singing traditional lullabies and nursery rhymes to babies and infants before they learn to speak, is "an essential precursor to later educational success and emotional wellbeing", argues Blythe in a book. "Song is a special type of speech. Lullabies, songs and rhymes of every culture carry the 'signature' melodies and inflections of a mother tongue, preparing a child's ear, voice and brain for language."

LingoTunes CD and Songbook is the perfect way to introduce your child to such songs in French. Here's what parents are saying about the songs;
"Loooooving your CD!! lovely singing and very well sung words so we can hear them :) Too exciting to listen to and sing along to :) and the songbook is helpful to be able to look at too. Well done" Hannah, mum to Joshua
Please click here if you'd like to hear a s

Sharing foreign language books is a wonderful way to help your child learn to talk in that language. Plus it’s the ideal opportunity to share a cuddle at the same time! Here are our quick tips.

• Find a quiet place. Turn off the TV or radio so there are no distractions.
• As well as reading the story, look at the pictures together. This is a great way to share a book even if your own language skills are quite basic. Sharing a simple picture book, pointing and naming the pictures is a great way for you both to pick up new words.
• Don't put any pressure on your child to name the pictures, but if they your words, praise them and repeat the words again.
• Don’t read for too long. Young children get bored quickly so little and often is best.
• Let other grown-ups – grandparents, carers and older brothers and sisters – join in too.
• It’s good to share favourite books again and again. Repetition helps children to understand and remember the language they hear.
• Remember, you’re not teaching your child to read in the foreign language. You learn to talk a long time before you learn to read, and book sharing is a wonderful way to help your child’s language development.
• Even sharing foreign language books with babies is a good idea. It helps “tune in” their ear to the sounds of the new language.
• You can find foreign language books easily on the internet on Amazon or specialist suppliers such as Little Linguist. Don't forget you can save 10% on your purchases with Little Linguist with our exclusive discount code. Simply ask at your class for the code.
  

About Lingotot and Storytelling…

Lingotot sessions always include a story and it's surprising just how much the children enjoy it. The room is usually silent! We can help parents with their foreign language storytelling skills too! We run short courses for parents entitled “Phonics for Singing and Storytelling”. The aim is to make you more confident to share bedtime stories, silly songs and rhymes with your children. Children learn a language best when they are surrounded by people who speak that language and this is an ideal way for you to develop your skills to support their learning. Please contact us to register your interest in forthcoming courses.