Our very own Angela Sterling, Lingotot founder, was in the press this week talking about Michael Gove's plans to make languages compulsory in English primary schools. Speaking to The Journal this week she did of course welcome the plans, but here at Lingotot we think that languages should be made compulsory at an earlier age than the proposed 7 years old.....our little children pick up the language effortlessly and much like they learn their own mother tongue.

Angela also worries about the lack of funding for the scheme, "Primary school teachers do a fantastic job. However, the majority of them are not language specialists and cannot speak the language fluently. “Schools will need extra funding to train their own teachers or bring in specialist providers, like Lingotot, to fill the skills gap."

What a busy week here at Lingotot! Our wonderful and clever Lingotots have been creating some lovely crafts after following our instructions 100% in French at full speed! Quite an achievement! Here are some examples of their work: rainbows and little fish...

We're all excited her at Lingotot HQ as we've won the Netmums Preschool Class Awards!

The award is extra special too as it is completely parent-led. Our lovely LingoMums and LingoDads nominated us and then voted for us and we can't thank them enough.

MERCI!

We are very excited here at Lingotot with the news that languages are about to be made compulsory in primary schools.

According to the Telegraph, "Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, will say that subjects such as French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, Latin or Greek will be made a compulsory part of the primary school timetable for the first time.

Ministers hope the move will make pupils better-equipped to compete in a global economy while reversing the “damaging collapse” in GCSE language take-up.

Currently about one in ten state primary schools offers no language lessons at all and a further 20 per cent only offer it to some year groups, according to the most recent official figures.

The move to make languages a requirement from age seven will form part of a new primary National Curriculum, taking effect in 2014."

To read more from this article, please click here. You can also read more about it on the BBC website, "New curriculum 'to make languages compulsory from seven' "

A warm welcome to Lingotot HQ for LingoTed, our cute little language friend and mascot!

LingoTed will be going on lots of adventures over the coming weeks and we'll keep you posted on his comings and goings....he may even go for a sleepover with one of our Lingotots. Please get in touch if you'd like to volunteer to look after LingoTed for a few days and report back on his activities with photographs :D

For some people choosing a language is easy and obvious. Perhaps you are a native  or fluent speaker of a language or you have relatives who are. However,  if  you  are like many families here in the UK, perhaps your experience is limited to some basic school-level French and asking for two beers on holiday in Spanish! That makes your decision a little tricky.

You may want to consider the following as a good starting point on language choice:
  * Do you have a strong preference for or a love of a particular language?
  * Have you studied any languages or do you know them well?
  * Do you feel comfortable using this language with your child(ren)?
  * Are there any other family members with language skills?
  * How often would you or other members of your family be able to use the
    language with your little one(s)?
  * Are there any languages spoken in your local area which you could easily
    access?
  * What kind of languages classes or playgroups are available locally?
  * Is there a Lingotot class near you? If not you could contact us about
    starting one!
  * Do any local nurseries or childminders offer a second language?
  * Do you live close to a university or similar institution where you could
    easily access foreign-speaking babysitters?

Don’t forget that when you have chosen your language that dedication is they key - so stick with it!