Have you always wanted to learn a foreign language to make the most of your travels, to interact with others or simply to learn more about the cultures that have always attracted you?

Bilingual Kids offers language courses “at home” with “immersion in the language” with native speakers of the languages taught and with a teaching method that is adapted to seniors.

With regards to Western populations, the ability to speak a foreign language is often necessary. In fact, the shrinking of distance thanks to the internet, the cinema or the television, the ability to travel, as well as the need to stay in good shape, encourages those of over 50 years old to learn foreign languages.

The latest research shows that the progression in the learning of a foreign language is possible for people 50 years old or older and that they can succeed in mastering the studied language. As such, the learning of foreign languages after the age of 50 presents many advantages including motivation (the main driving force behind learning), increased ability and a new state of mind. Furthermore, studies also claim that the learning of a foreign language stimulates the development of the brain at any age, and contributes to better resisting the Alzheimer’s disease, delaying its eventual apparition.

For this reason and given the ever increasing demand of seniors interested in the learning of foreign languages, Liliana Sampedro and her team of teachers and psycholinguists have focused on the topic of the teaching of foreign languages specifically tailored to seniors.

The teaching of Bilingual Senior thus begins with what characterizes the seniors and with the factors that can render their cognitive abilities more efficient.

Therefore our approach is based on four essential aspects

Our pedagogical approach encourages situations of “positive emotion” during the exchange and oral communication and bears in mind the fact that a longer amount of time may be needed to complete exercises or activities. It is proven that the fear of making a mistake can create stress, which in turn, will have a negative impact on one’s memory and ones capacity to learn

A relationship of trust in a relaxed atmosphere must be established between the “native” speaker and the learner in order to encourage cultural and intergenerational exchange.

Attention is directly related to the motivation to learn among the seniors therefore it is essential to create a programme of learning based around their motivation (work, travel, pleasure of learning, the knowledge of another culture).

For this, Bilingual Kids integrates paired cultural trips and activities (museum and exhibition visits, preparing a meal, a walk around Toulouse, a visit to the “Jardin des Plantes”…) into the Seniors programme.

Learning a foreign language « in immersion » is only possible if the learner has the chance to hear and speak the foreign language on a regular and constant basis.