Our Mission

The Language Conservatory was founded to help American students learn to speak languages more fluently. TLC has four main goals.

• To give students of all ages the choice of a wider range of languages to study
• To allow students to start learning languages at an early age
• To help parents raise their children to speak two or more languages fluently
• To improve the way that languages are learned and taught in America

To accomplish these goals, TLC conducts individual language instruction, language classes, and summer camps for children and teenagers. TLC also provides after-school programs in elementary schools throughout the DFW area.

Raising Children To Speak More than One Language

Research has repeatedly shown that the best way for someone to learn a language fluently is to learn to speak it as a child (the younger the child is exposed to another language, the better). Some children may resist having their parents or nannies speak to them in a foreign language. Others may learn to understand the language passively but be reluctant or unable to speak more than a few simple phrases. Still others may learn to speak a language but still be unable to read it or write it. Each of these potential roadblocks to fluency can be overcome. Often, students need only a safe, structured environment, in which they can gain confidence in their ability to communicate in the new language.

The Conservatory instructors, who are native or native-like speakers of the language, can help your children enjoy speaking a new language. The fun, interactive Conservatory teaching methods aim at promoting your children's linguistic fluency. During games, free play, and mini-lessons, children engage in age-appropriate, semi-structured conversations designed to teach them to express themselves in another language in a natural and spontaneous way. You will be surprised at how quickly children, even with no language background, begin speaking complete sentences in the new language. However, learning a foreign language in an exclusively Anglophone environment devoid of cultural and linguistic reinforcers can be a challenge. In order to maximize the effectiveness of language sessions, exposure of students to foreign language material (personal interaction, audiovisual, textual, multimedia, etc.) is highly recommended. As with any topic, foreign language education continues outside the language session and would benefit from as much reinforcement and parents' involvement as possible.

A Wide Range of Languages

Most public and even private schools offer a limited number of languages, usually the main European ones: Spanish, German, and French. Regrettably, some of the world's most widely spoken tongues-Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Russian-or less known ones, like Slavic, African or South East Asian languages are less available to students. Yet, in today's climate of globalizing economy and multicultural awareness, language education is increasingly important in every field of endeavor including business, politics, sports, and entertainment, to name a few.

The Language Conservatory offers a variety of language tutoring to students starting at preschool age or even earlier. In our aim to make foreign language education accessible to all students, we offer competitive rates, flexible schedules and programs, and a limited number of scholarships for junior-high and high school students. Scholarships are awarded upon assessment of students' merit and means.

Early Age

Although it is well understood that young children are primed to learn languages efficiently, regrettably, it is uncommon for elementary schools to offer much foreign-language education. One reason is that elementary school aged children need to focus on academic basics such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Secondly, children learn languages inductively (by hearing patterns over and over again), a time- and patience-consuming method that differs from the deductive (rule-first) language teaching approach traditionally employed in school classrooms.

Yet, young children are excellent candidates for foreign language learning, because they can reproduce rather effortlessly the unfamiliar sounds and pronunciations of a different tongue, and they can memorize more easily new words. With a continuous effort and involvement in the language session and outside it, native or near-native fluency can be achieved. Through our after school program, TLC makes effective foreign-language education available to thousands of children. The Conservatory also offers children of various ages private tutorials and semi-private instruction in most languages.

The Conservatory instructors are trained to teach languages inductively and in a fun, interactive method that appeals to young children. By providing private and semi-private tutoring (with class sizes ranging between one and five students), we are able to tailor our courses to meet each child's individual needs, abilities, and desires. We also encourage siblings and parents to participate in the language-learning process.

Better Teaching Methods

The Language Conservatory Method consists of fun, intense, interactive language instruction. Our goal is to help students enjoy speaking (and reading and writing, as needed) in the target language. Why? Because we believe that languages are learned primarily through speaking. That's the reason that in a Conservatory course you will never sit and listen to a teacher lecture. Instead, you will be continuously encouraged and invited to speak. You will yell, you will chant, you might even be asked to sing. You will play memory games and act out role-playing exercises that stretch your language abilities and help build fluency. This intense, interactive method is the number one reason our courses are so fun and effective. Fun, interactive, intensely effective.

Our Faculty

We're very proud of our distinguished faculty. When we recruit new faculty members, we look for several things. Most importantly, we want dynamic individuals who can help their students have fun speaking a new language. We also look for exceptional linguists who know what it takes to learn a new language. Indeed, most of our faculty members speak three or more languages. Most of them also have college degrees, a variety of international experiences to share, and many years of language teaching experience.

We are confident that you'll enjoy participating in The Language Conservatory courses as much as we enjoy teaching them.