Lingotot has been shortlisted in an impressive TWO categories for the Durham & Wearside heat of the North East Business Awards 2013, the biggest business awards in the North East of England! We are delighted to be finalists Small Business of The Year AND Newcomer of the Year categories.

The shortlist for each category consists of 3 companies, of which Lingotot is one. The winner will be crowned at the Durham & Wearside Business Awards on Thursday 7 March 2013 at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland.

The awards are organised by the Evening Gazette and The Journal in association with the North East Chamber of Commerce. NECC chief executive, James Ramsbotham, said: “We have an enormously successful business community that has achieved so much this year. The North-east Business Awards provide the perfect stage on which to recognise the ground-breaking work by companies across the region."

We are incredibly proud to have been shortlisted and are very much looking forward to the ceremony. Wish us luck!

Many highly qualified linguists toy with the idea of completing a PGCE and becoming a teacher of MFL, yet they worry about a number of issues: the cost of the course; more time away from employment to study; no guarantee of a job at the end of the course; fierce competition for teaching jobs; horror stories about paperwork, verbal abuse towards teachers and general poor behaviour in schools.

I trained as a teacher and taught in secondary, middle and primary schools in the UK and overseas before founding Lingotot. I LOVED teaching, especially the more challenging classes. Ask all my family, friends and ex-colleagues - I was about the most enthusiastic and dedicated teacher you could get! I never thought in a million years I would give up teaching in a "proper" classroom.

But then I had two little babies and everything changed. So I started my little Lingotot classes as a way to keep teaching and earn some extra money. I wasn't prepared for many things when I set sail down the self-employment route. I didn't expect the classes to be so successful, I certainly didn't expect to love the mechanics of running my own business. But the biggest surprise was that I fell totally and completely out of love of traditional classroom teaching. I do miss the pupils (well most of them!) but I certainly don't miss the politics, paperwork and power games. Oh yes, and the marking!

Instead I have a job I love, teaching really fun and relevant lessons to young children. I get to share that with their parents too, it's a lovely family affair. When I go into a school to teach, the children are excited and look forward to their very interactive classes.

Aside from the teaching I get to set my own timetable and work the hours I want to, meaning I never miss a nativity play. Don't want to work on Mondays? No problem!

So I refer back to my opening point. If you're a graduate (or maybe you're not but you speak another language fluently), why would you spend £9,000 for a year of hard graft doing a PGCE, plus all of your living costs for that year, with no guaranteed job at the end of it (and even if you get one the NQT year is even worse!)? You could come and join Lingotot as a franchisee instead. You get to teach immediately with no daft targets, marking or demanding headteacher. The fee is half the cost of a PGCE, you get to start earning straight away, you choose when and where you want to work AND your business becomes a valuable asset you can keep running or eventually sell on.

Would you like to find out more or do you know someone who might be interested? Take a look at www.lingototfranchise.co.uk and start exploring the possibility of running your own childrens language business now.

Angela, MD of Lingotot Ltd and happy mum to two little girls.

1. Effective and Fun. Language learning at school usually revolves around sitting in chairs and teachers providing grammar and structures for children to use. Our programme has been developed to focus on what kids like to do and then to do these activities in another language, with plenty of repetition and structure.

2. Learning through Play. Play is at the heart of Lingotot sessions. Babies and young children learn, grow and have fun through play. Lingotot play sessions help them understand the world and other cultures. Singing songs, reading together and having fun with friends gives them a head start to develop socially and emotionally.

3. English is Not Enough. Our global community means it is vital to be able to communicate with other communities around the world.

4. Early is Better. If it’s introduced early and well, children pick up a second language naturally, just like they learn their mother tongue, instead of learning it in “second language” mode like we do as adults - constantly translating from one language to another in our heads!

5. All Round Educational Boost. Research suggests that children who know two languages can gain an academic and social advantage over those who speak only one. Children have an amazing ability to learn language and this happens best when it is interactive, engaging, child-centered.

6. Excellent Communication Skills.  Speaking and Listening are the cornerstone to literacy development. A broad and rich language curriculum ensures such skills are developed, leading to a good start in phonic work. In fact, Lingotot can introduce young learners to foreign- language letter sounds!

7. Increased Self-Esteem.  Children love being able to communicate in another language. Our classes encourage talking, imitating, play-acting and sharing their language skills right from the first lesson. Children and adults alike make lots of new like-minded friends too!

8. Prepare Them for the Future. Competence in foreign languages is increasingly valued by universities. Languages become compulsory in English primary schools in 2014 and will form part of the new EBaac at secondary school level.

9. Acquire a Lifelong Advantage. Learning another language offers a lifetime of possibilities and adventure. In later life, knowing another language not only helps you make friends, finding jobs etc, it can also help stave off illnesses such as Alzheimer’s

10. Learn a Language Together! Lingotot sessions benefit the whole family. Parents and children learn, play and bond together. The sessions are designed for you to attend with your child so that you can be fully engaged with their learning and carry on using new language together at home.