Our Services
We help individuals realize many of the benefits that learning a foreign language can provide. With our committed team of teachers and staff, we strive to provide the most optimal learning experience possible.
FwFL Program
There are many benefits for children that learn a second language. For starters, it is easier to learn the younger you are. Also, research shows that creativity and problem solving skills can be enhanced. Learn more about the benefits here. So, why are Spanish and Chinese so important? According to many sources, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese are the 2 of the 3 most spoken languages in the world (Third is English). Here are more specific reasons for Spanish and Mandarin.
According to U.S. Travel Association, direct expenses on leisure travel by domestic and international travelers totaled $526 billion in 2010. The statistics show that nowadays people are willing to travel abroad. Spanish-speaking countries are popular travel destinations for many Americans. And, wouldn’t our experiences be that much better if we could communicate even basics in Spanish? Spanish is one of the easiest foreign languages for English speakers to learn. Much of the Spanish vocabulary is similar to English and Spanish is a phonetic language, meaning words are pronounced as they are written.
China has become the second largest economy in the world, and Mandarin Chinese is the language spoken by over 1 billion people in the world. Learning Mandarin Chinese at an early age helps children to be competitive in the future. The US Government has identified Mandarin Chinese as a critical language, meaning it is critical for US national security and for economic competitiveness. The Chinese culture is over 5000 years old. Teaching children Mandarin Chinese exposes children to another culture that is rich in history. US school administrators are recognizing the importance of teaching Mandarin Chinese to American children.
The proprietary FwFL curriculum for group classes is divided into 3 sessions: Fall(10 weeks), Winter (8 weeks), and Spring (10 weeks). In each session, the curriculum is based on thematic 3-week units that are designed to provide new instruction for the first 2 weeks of the unit and then a week of review. This gives our students an opportunity to reinforce vocabulary and/or sentence structures before moving onto a new theme. While each theme, such as “At the Ranch??? changes over the course of our school year, we will continue to reinforce similar vocabulary and sentence structures and introduce new ones as well. Our curriculum is not progressive such as a traditional school where concepts continue to build on each other, making it more difficult for students that join in the middle of a school year to acclimate themselves to the lessons. Rather, by using our thematic 3-week structure, students can join at any time and be easily be integrated into the program and its teachings. As part of the FwFL curriculum, we provide activity sheets for home reinforcement that correspond to each new topic taught. Parents also have access through our website to the audio files associated with the activity sheets. For those families that want to have the flexibility of listening to the audio files in other places, such as in a car, families can purchase a CD of the audio files for each session for an additional cost of $5.00.
Classes and Costs
Depending on how much the child is exposed to the foreign language, the child’s age, learning pace, and skill level, the child can learn the cultural aspects of the foreign language and the basic skills of listening, comprehension, and oral expression of a foreign language. At the conclusion of the Fall and Spring sessions, each parent/guardian will receive a brief progress report that indicates how their child did during the session.
The Parent/Toddler class is available in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese and is for children aged 2-3 years old. For 45 minutes toddlers, along with a parent or caregiver, actively participate in activities designed to familiarize all with the second language. The class focuses on basic listening, comprehension, and speaking skills of simple words in Spanish or Mandarin Chinese. Students are exposed to second language by playing games, and by using materials such as pictures, small art projects, hand-held objects, and songs. Class follows a theme-based curriculum that includes greetings, colors, animals, and much more. Class size can be between 4 to 6 children. There are 2 payment plans: Plan A: the entire session must be paid in full prior to the start of classes. There will be no credits provided for missed classes. The tuition for a 10-week class once a week is $213 ($193 tuition +20 annual registration fee). Plan B: pay $29 per class + $20 annual registration fee (paid once per year). Sibling and referral discounts available! Please click here to learn about group class policies. Register today.
We offer three age group classes for Kids Only class: 3-5 years, 5-8 years, and 8-10 years old. For 60 minutes, students are exposed to the second language through games and by learning tools such as pictures, songs, small art projects, hand-held objects, stuffed animals/dolls, and much more! Class follows a theme-based curriculum that includes such themes as “At the Supermarket” and “Mirror/Mirror”. There are 2 payment plans: Plan A: the entire session must be paid in full prior to the start of classes. There will be no credits provided for missed classes. The tuition for a 10-week session once a week is $243 ($223 tuition + $20 annual registration fee). Plan B: pay $32 per class+ $20 annual registration fee (paid once per year). As much exposure to the second language as possible is always recommended. Families that want additional reinforcement of the language are encouraged to consider our twice a week option. Plan A: The cost for a 10-week session twice a week is $429 ($409 tuition + $20 annual registration fee). Plan B: pay $30 per class + $20 annual registration fee (paid once per year). Sibling and referral discounts available! Please click here to learn about group class policies. Register today. 3-5 years old/5-8 years old: The focus in these age groups is basic listening, comprehension, and speaking skills of words, phrases, and sentences. Students will not only learn vocabulary, but will also learn simple sentence structures such as “I have/want ____.” “He/she feels ____.”The class size can be between 4 to 8 children. 8-10 years old: The emphasis is this age group is basic listening, comprehension, and speaking skills. These students will also be introduced to reading and writing of simple words, phrases, and/or sentences. Students in this group are encouraged to have simple conversations (related to theme) with their teacher/classmates. The class size can be between 4 to 10 children.
FwFL provides private tutoring services for older students interested in Spanish or Mandarin Chinese. Students in upper elementary to high school can now take advantage of our expertise in teaching foreign languages. Private, one-on-one sessions can be held at either your home or in a public area such as a local library. For those more advanced students looking for more conversational classes, online conversational classes are available as stand alone classes or as a complement to the in-person textbook instruction. All tutors have received clean Maryland state background checks. Private session rates begin at $42 for each 60 minute session and can range from 60-90 minutes long. Tutors will utilize student’s textbooks if they are available. If textbooks are not available, tutors will provide suggestions of books to use. Rates do not include the cost of suggested books. Please click here to learn more about private class policies. Ready to register? Please click here .
Interested in having your child learn Spanish or Mandarin Chinese at preschool or in an afterschool elementary school program? Contact us at info@funwithforeignlanguage.com or 443-616-7343 to learn how the program named one of the “Best Language Programs in Baltimore” by WJZ Channel 13 news can come to your child’s learning institution. If you lead the effort to get FwFL at school and we are able to launch a foreign language program, your child(ren) can enroll in the program tuition free for the child’s 1st year! Contact us if you are interested!
Purchase a FwFL t-shirt for $14 or do what many FwFL families already do… tell a friend to help spread the word about our program and get referral credits! Families with children enrolled in our program will receive $25 in referral credits that can be applied towards tuition for each family that enrolls their child. Siblings enrolled in the program receive a sibling discount. The first child pays the regular tuition; each additional sibling will receive a 10% discount off of the tuition. Each child from the same family will have a $15 registration fee (the registration fee only applies to group classes).
FunProgram Extras!
Visit our FwFL Amazon store for a broad range of language products for our Spanish and Mandarin Chinese language learners. In addition, we have partnered with Scholastic to provide our families with Club Leo, a Spanish book club with bilingual and Spanish only books for children of all ages. To see the Club Leo selections, please register your account and use DKR7Q for the class code. You will then be prompted to create your own login information.
FwFL makes it easy for you to share your love of language with someone else! FwFL e-gift cards for classes are available for purchase with a minimum amount of $25. Recipients can use the e-gift cards towards classes anytime…they never expire. You can choose from 2 delivery options:
- FwFL emails an e-gift card on your behalf to recipient.
- FwFL emails an e-gift card to the purchaser so that purchaser can print gift and provide to recipient.
E-gift cards cannot be refunded or transferred to a recipient different from the recipient listed on the order form once purchase is made Cash or checks only. Referral credits cannot be used to purchase e-gift cards. E-gift cards do not expire. Click here to order your e-gift card.
FwFL has created this program to show our sincerest thanks for entrusting us with your child’s foreign language needs. Thank You rewards are given for families that have been enrolled for at least 9 sessions, 15 sessions, or 21+ sessions. We will keep track of the number of sessions that you have completed and let you know when you are approaching a reward level. The rewards are as follows: Country Explorers: Children that have been enrolled in 9 sessions (3 FwFL school years) can choose from predetermined cultural gifts. Continent Explorers: Children enrolled in 15 sessions (5 FwFL school years) can choose from predetermined cultural gifts. World Explorers: Children enrolled in at least 21 sessions (7 FwFL school years!) will receive 1 free session per FwFL school year.
Part of learning any foreign language should include the opportunity to travel to a country in which the target language is spoken. It provides a full immersion experience where the students are not only immersed in the language, but also the people, the culture, and a different way of life. FwFL families can take advantage of this opportunity of traveling to a foreign country and learning as a family the country’s native language and its culture through the FunAbroad Program. Fun with Foreign Language (FwFL) has partnered with a local language company to provide families an adventure in Costa Rica full of Spanish language learning, Costa Rican culture, and nature. Click here to see what one of our families has to say about the adventure! To learn more about the program, please contact us at info@funwithforeignlanguage.com.
