“That’s the key: that they share our vision. Of course, they should also want to make money doing this! “

Interview by Mike Sullivan

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Every child should learn a second language. This is the belief of Michael Fee, and this is the vision behind his company Lango. Lango teaches Spanish, Mandarin and French to children ages 18 months to 11-years-old in more than 70 communities across the United States. Classes are taught through Adventure Learning, Lango’s innovative approach that combines stories, music and movement, playacting, and game-playing.

Michael Fee told us that he learned Spanish in College and it didn’t stick. Children have a learning window when they are younger than 11l that allows them to learn a language naturally and easily, and have fun while doing so! After starting just four years ago, Lango has grown to over 250 employees in 70 communities.

MO:
First of all, I love the company, and the name. Bravo! Can you tell our readers why you believe that learning a second language is imperative for every child?

Michael:
There are many reasons to learn a new language – enough to appeal to every parent out there: practical reasons relating to travel and business, accelerated cognitive development, understanding new cultures – they’re all important aspects of learning new languages. But what excites me personally is this idea that the world is shrinking, and that to grow up as productive, successful global citizens, our kids must take steps to reach beyond their immediate spheres. Learning a language besides English is a vital step.

MO:
Lango definitely has a unique approach to learning.  What do you believe you do differently than other language classes that makes Lango truly effective?

Michael:
Lango appeals to the whole child. Rather than zero in on one aspect of language acquisition, Lango addresses the many modes through which kids take in new information – particularly the emotional mode. When kids don’t just hear or see new concepts but feel them, they’re bound to retain them.

MO:
You didn’t learn a second language until college, and claim it didn’t stick. Did you start Lango directly out of college, or can you tell us about the path you took to arrive as the founder of this company today?

Michael:
I’ve dedicated my career to education, including a stint as a Teach for America teacher, but it wasn’t until I had my own kids and began looking for opportunities for them to learn new languages that I came to understand just how important it is. I don’t believe it’s ever too late to learn a language – I’m still working on my Spanish! – but there are a few key principles to learning a language right, and starting early is the first and most important one.

MO:
Can you talk about how Lango embeds itself in the individual communities?  How do you team up with districts and individual schools looking to expand their foreign language curriculum?

Michael:
We start with a motivated entrepreneur, a licensee/franchise who shares our belief that every child can and should learn a second language. This person is engaged in their community, and they reach out to schools, PTAs and other programs to develop partnerships. This can prove challenging, because every district and school seems to make these decisions a bit differently, but a motivated community member can determine the best fit for Lango and our students.

MO:
Tell us about the licensee/franchising opportunity for entrepreneurs who are as passionate about teaching languages to children as you are!

Michael:
That’s the key: that they share our vision. Of course, they should also want to make money doing this! And we believe that our licensee/franchise opportunity holds solid income potential. We want a range of motivated individuals to be able to take this on, so we’ve developed a very reasonable fee structure.

MO:
With any service type business you must gain credibility early on, especially when dealing with teaching. How did you initially get people to trust that Lango would be effective in teaching a second language to their kids?

Michael:
From the beginning, we committed ourselves to delivering the best customer experience possible. This includes our students’ experiences in our classes, of course, but it also includes every other piece of that process.  We were very responsive to parents’ questions, made it easy for them to enroll, kept in close communication – and when we made mistakes (which of course we did!) we always made it up to them. We found that some of our most loyal customers were those to whom we demonstrated that even if we did fall short at some point, we went above and beyond to ensure that they received great value from Lango.