Member Spotlight - Lingotot Drogheda East Meath -
Q. Tell us about your business and what you do
Our core service is teaching languages to children up to age 13 in the community, preschool and primary school settings. Lingotot Drogheda & East Meath (“Lingotot”) is part of an award winning franchise, currently offering interactive, engaging and motivating classes in Spanish and French.
Lingotot also offers languages assemblies, theme days or workshops in schools, language holiday camps as well as conversational languages sessions for adults (LingoChat)
We consider ourselves as specialist providers of a skill set parents increasingly recognise as key for their social and cultural awareness as well as academic achievements. The ‘halo effect’ or
‘growth mindset’ of children learning languages has spill-over benefits for their wider education.
Through our methodology of early language acquisition, we are changing the way children under 13 years old perceive the learning of a new language.
Q. What makes your business different from other similar service providers?
Our main competitors are stand - alone language teachers and the official language and
cultural centres such as Instituto Cervantes, Alliance Française or Goethe Institut.
However, stand - alone teachers often concentrate their teaching efforts in children
sitting Junior and Leaving certificate exams in one - to - one classes and official language and cultural centres are based in Dublin. Parents in the Drogheda area often prefer to bring their children to local activities, rather than having to travel long distances while juggling several children’s busy schedules!
Lingotot offers the only Primary Languages qualifications for children in the UK, available in Spanish, French,German, Mandarin and Arabic. The programme is of the highest quality as we
are fully accredited by NCFE CACHE, an OfQual regulated awarding body.
In Ireland, modern foreign languages are not yet part of the curriculum at primary level but they will be from 2025. This means that we have access to the same gold standard resources and
curricula but can apply them to the informal setting of an after school club without compromising on quality. With many schools experiencing a skills gap, Lingotot will be in a great position to help with our multi award-winning programmes which are fully aligned with Early Year Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 1 & 2 (7 to 12 year olds ) when modern languages are introduced
again in the primary school curriculum.
Children learn the language through activities they enjoy in their day - to - day life like interactive games, music, crafts and stories rather than following the more traditional “rota style” of learning.
For the term fee, we offer a different student booklet every term, documenting the progress student make from week to week. We also include an end of term certificate and all other resources including craft materials.
Q. Where did the idea come from?
I grew up in Spain, where like in most European countries, most children learn other language(s) from pre - primary or primary school, and being trilingual myself as a result, when I moved to Ireland I was very surprised no languages, other than Irish, were taught in Irish primary schools.
When the opportunity presented itself to set up my own business, I decided to buy a franchise with a track record of continuing success, bringing languages to young children in Drogheda in a fun and motivating way, to give them the opportunities I had growing up.
Q. What do you think has been your biggest achievement with the business?
Achieving 95% customer loyalty is our biggest achievement and the one we are most proud of.
Q. Tell us one thing people might not know about the business
People might not know that it is possible to have an informal adult conversational class, while having a lovely glass of wine and a great chat, in a fantastic location like DVine restaurant in Drogheda.
In our Lingochat classes, students learn the basics needed when travelling on holidays like how to order in a restaurant, understanding directions or how to manage in an emergency.
Q. What’s next for the business in Drogheda?
We have already agreed to be the preferred provider for after school activities from September 2023 in a number of additional school so we are really looking forward to expanding our services to more children in the Drogheda area.
For a second year, Lingotot is languages facilitator in a number of primary schools who were given an 8 week grant for a language module to be offered tochildren from 3rd to 6th classes. This Department of Education initiative gives pupils an early experience of a foreign language and further expands their awareness of the diverse languages and cultures. From the next academic year, we will be doubling the number of schools we will be supporting for the delivery of this module in the Drogheda area, becoming the largest provider in the area.
We will also be expanding our services to mid and large size companies, offering Spanish and French classes as part employee wellness programmes/team building events from September 2023.
Our language summer camps, hosted in St. Fechins GAA Community centre this August will also be available in multiple locations from the summer of 2024.
We are also partnering with the Drogheda Institute of Further Education (“DIFE”) to bring Adult French beginners conversational classes as part of its adult night classes from next September.
As a result of all these exciting growth plans,we are currently actively recruiting to fill multiple Spanish and French tutor positions so I can’t wait to grow the team!
Q. What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given?
Quote in Irish: “Más cam nó díreach an ród, 's é an bóthar mór ant-aicearra”
Translation into English: “The longest road out is the shorter road home”
It can be hard to stay positive when progress is slow, but we should not get discouraged and remember that people who inspire us have all been in the same position. If we stay focussed on our goals, we will start to see things moving in the right direction. As a start - up business, I often
have to remind myself!