Lango Licensing Opportunity

Call 1.888.445.2646 or email opportunities@langokids.com for more information

• Lango Overview
• The Lango Method
• The Opportunity
• Why Me? How We Choose Our Lango Leaders
• Meet Our Team
• Contact Us

Lango Overview

Introduction

Lango was established on the belief that every child should learn a second language. Frustrated by the lack of options to teach our own kids other languages, we set out to create a program that would teach children new languages in a way that they will love. After a very positive reception from parents and children, the time has come to expand our services and offer children in new communities the opportunity to learn new languages. Lango is now available for licensing in hundreds of communities around the country.

As a Lango Leader you'll be exclusively authorized to operate a Lango program in your community. You'll also receive all the tools you need to succeed, including curriculum, materials, marketing support, operational methods, and personalized training on all of Lango's methods.

Helping children learn another language with our home-based business model is a great way to earn a steady income stream while doing something you love. With minimal start-up costs, Lango is a great opportunity for someone who is passionate about working with kids, wants to be their own boss and work according to their own schedule, and has a strong entrepreneurial spirit.

Why should you consider Lango as a business opportunity?

• Low-cost and home-based
• Excellent financial opportunity
• Generous territory and strong support
• Strong, growing demand
• Proven program and established company
• Full range of services for a range of communities

Low-Cost and Home-Based

We know there are countless business opportunities available at various prices. Lango offers a unique opportunity with a very low initial investment ($4,000-5,000 in startup costs) and strong income potential. Low costs coupled with the ability to work from home on your own schedule make Lango exceptionally appealing.

Generous Territory and Strong Support

Our goal is to put all Lango Leaders in a position to succeed. Every Lango Leader is given a large and exclusive territory of between 30,000 and 50,000 children between the ages of 18 months and 9 years whose parents are likely to be college-educated and earning middle-to-upper incomes. We also provide ongoing support through the year with intensive training, year-round site visits and call support and regularly scheduled training opportunities.

Strong, Growing Demand for a Service that Changes Lives

The demand for foreign language programs has increased dramatically over the last few years. Not only has the need grown with our increasingly interconnected world, but parents have become aware of the many studies and surveys confirming that learning a second language spurs children's cognitive development. Our proprietary Adventure Learning© curriculum is something that children love and parents appreciate and that helps children learn languages quickly.

Proven Program and Established Company

Lango is a member of Intrax Cultural Exchange, a family of organizations devoted to cultural exchange and international education, with operations in over 60 countries. Since 1980, Intrax has provided international education experiences to more than 40,000 students and families. Lango has successfully operated programs in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2006, and currently offers classes around the country.

A Range of Services for a Range of Communities

While many businesses offer one service or product, Lango provides several options to help Lango Leaders meet the needs of their unique communities. Lango offers programs for three different age levels (toddler, preschool, elementary school) and three languages – Spanish, French and Mandarin – to children in these age groups. And in addition to the in-school and after-school programs, we also offer a Spanish immersion day camp. With this range of options you'll be able to provide the right mix of programs for your community?

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The Lango Method

The Lango Approach

Lango uses a uniquely dynamic approach to ensure that kids learn a new language while having a great time in classes that are highly convenient for parents. We do this by combining the best of what we have learned from language-instruction and educational experts, as well as our own experience teaching new languages to kids—not to mention the thirty years of experience provided by our parent company Intrax Cultural Exchange.

Teaching Methods

Lango has developed a unique approach to teaching kids languages called Adventure Learning©. At the core of our classes are "challenges" that students complete in order to experience new vocabulary and grammar through art, movement, playacting and basic conversation. Initially, these challenges are quite simple, but as students are able to grasp more complex instructions given in Spanish, they become problem-solving exercises that our students feel very proud to overcome.

Lango's instructional method combines the practices of three key approaches to teaching new languages to kids: Total Physical Response (TPR), The Rassias Method and the theory of Multiple Intelligences. Employing TPR, we expose children to the target language and offer them a variety of ways to respond before actually speaking it. This mimics the way that children learn language naturally. The Rassias Method exposes learners to the language in a variety of ways, and in an active, even dramatic environment. Finally, the Multiple Intelligences theory suggests that learners acquire new information in a variety of ways, whether through quantitative, verbal, auditory, visual or other means. With this approach at the root of how we teach kids, we make sure that in every class, our students are given many different ways to acquire and understand new sounds and concepts.

Lango Characters

To ensure that kids love their Lango classes and keep coming back session after session, we introduce them to the Lango Kids©, our multi-cultural, multi-lingual cast of characters. With a puppet version of Lango's mascot Cosmo the Bulldog serving as the central character, our characters act as an effective teaching tool when working with children who often need to overcome inhibitions to acquire and articulate their new language. The Lango Kids allow us to present unfamiliar material in a child-friendly, comfortable manner.

Immersion-Based Classes

While many language-instruction programs claim to be "immersion-based," Lango explicitly trains its teachers to speak only the target language to our students. Using a variety of dramatic techniques, our teachers ensure that when in a Lango class, students are truly immersed in their new language. Only in rare situations, such as when describing a complex activity or when addressing a classroom management challenge, do our teachers speak English; otherwise they work very hard using intonation, gestures and a variety of props to provide a true immersion experience.

Lango Teachers

Making all of this possible are Lango's dynamic teachers. Lango has developed a comprehensive model for recruiting, selecting and training outstanding teachers. All of our teachers fit a profile that we have developed through careful examination of the skills, characteristics and experience of the best Lango teachers. Our model takes individuals with raw potential to be great language teachers and gives them the information, tools and techniques they need to be great Lango teachers.

Convenience for Families

All of this happens in locations and at times that are convenient for families. By renting out space and establishing programs through schools, Lango keeps its costs down, thus allowing us to deliver more value to families. Lango offers fun, highly effective language instruction in a format and in locations that are perfect for busy parents who want what's best for their children.

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The Opportunity

As a Lango Leader you will receive all the necessary tools to make your franchise location a success, including the following.

• Training and support from members at Lango Headquarters experienced in all facets of the business
• Right to use Lango's trademarked curriculum, operating model and materials
• Access to our proprietary student registration and management software
• Exclusive territory to successfully operate your business
• Assistance in marketing and advertising programs to support business growth

Training

Lango's comprehensive orientation and training provides all the information, ideas and practice you need to get started. Broken into two key components, this three-day workshop trains you first in teaching Lango classes, and then in running your new business. Lango's Managing Director, Director of Curriculum Development and experienced Bay Area teachers team up to explain and demonstrate the keys to running a successful region, including:

• How to teach a dynamic, effective class
• How to find students and market your program
• How to recruit and manage teachers
• How to find instructional locations
• How to work with schools

When starting out you will also receive our Lango Regional Operating Manual, which thoroughly describes operation of a Lango region and provides answers to virtually every question you might have along the way. Additionally, you will receive ongoing support in the form of weekly conference calls with the Managing Director and your fellow Lango Leaders, as well as visits from Lango's operating staff, intended to provide hands-on guidance in running your business.

Product

As a Lango Leader you will acquire full access to the unique educational system that comprises the Lango method. This includes the extensive, proven Lango curriculum, our comprehensive teacher training model and all trademarked logos and characters. Once you have invested in this product, you will have everything you need to grow your business—with unlimited potential!

Territory

In addition, you will receive the exclusive right to offer Lango classes in your designated community. Familiarity with an established network in your community will be a key to your success, and we want you to feel that you have room to develop and expand your business without limit. As noted, your territory will be based on the population of children within our target demographic.

Support

You will also receive additional benefits in the areas of web-based advertising and marketing, technology, and creative development from our central office in San Francisco. Lango's headquarters will develop and maintain the Lango website and market Lango through centralized web-based advertising. In support of your local marketing initiatives, we will provide you with the tools you need to grow in your community, including flyer templates which can be easily tailored to suit your purposes, marketing collateral, including brochures and postcards, and advice on community outreach and cost-effective local advertising. Finally, as a Lango Leader you will enjoy access to our student registration and management database.

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Why Me? How We Choose Our Lango Leaders

Overview

In operating our own Lango region in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have learned what it takes to do so successfully. We have learned a great deal about what to do – and what not to do! Moreover, we have learned what kind of person makes a great Lango Leader, and we have based our selection of new Regional Operators on the following criteria.

Things to Consider

As you evaluate the opportunity to become a Lango Leader, please consider the following:

• Why do you want to run your own Lango business?
• What goals would you have for a business that you start and develop?
• What about the Lango opportunity is most appealing to you?
• How would you measure success in this business?
• Briefly describe your professional experience, times you have had to be resourceful, and how that background applies to running your own Lango business (Many Lango Leaders have run a business, taught children, or otherwise had experience that prepares them)
• What area would you want as a territory?
• How would you reach out to your community to make parents aware of your business? (Some of our most successful Lango Leaders are very well-connected to their communities)
• Which languages and levels would you want to offer in the beginning? How would you select those?
• What do you anticipate would be your three greatest challenges that you would need to overcome to be successful? (Broad topics such as finding schools to host classes, finding skilled teachers, business management, etc.)
• What support would you need from Lango to ensure that your business started well?
• How many hours per week do you expect to devote to this business? Do you have any personal or professional obligations that require your time?

Vital Strengths and Skills

Lango Leaders come from various backgrounds and bring various strengths and skills to their roles. There are, however, a few "must-haves" when it comes to succeeding in this position:

• A passion for teaching new languages to kids. Without this conviction, strengths and skills mean little.
• A strong interest in running and growing a business. Lango Leaders are educators, but they are also managers, marketers, salespeople, financial planners and operations coordinators as well.
• Excellent organizational skills. Scheduling and organizing teachers, classes, students and locations are crucial aspects of the Regional Operator role.
• Effective communication. Regional Operators serve as teachers, managers and salespeople. They should be not just effective communicators, but eager ones as well, interested in engaging, teaching and persuading all kinds of people.
• Committed and connected to the community. Strong communicators often are also deeply engaged in their communities. Doing so is crucial to operating a successful Lango region, as developing relationships with schools, parent groups and other organizations is one of the most important aspects to growing this business.

Other Important Skills

There are other skills that certainly help Regional Operators achieve success. These include:
• Fluency in a target language. Being able to teach your own classes helps to hold down costs, while also ensuring that you remain keenly aware of what makes a great Lango class, what challenges teachers face and how students and parents perceive their classes.
• Financial acumen. It is not necessary to be a seasoned financial manager to keep abreast of a Lango region's revenues and costs, but a working knowledge of the fundamental financial aspects of the business certainly helps.
• Being a parent! A Regional Operator need not be a parent, but being able to observe Lango classes through your own child's eyes, and being personally familiar with how kids grow and learn can make the role simpler and more enjoyable.

Again, we believe that a Lango Leader can achieve success without these more specialized attributes, and we believe that all of our Lango Leaders have what it takes to grow their business and make Lango the leader in teaching new languages to children.

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Meet Our Team

The Lango team is made up of skilled members residing in various locations, who are committed to the Lango mission. The Lango Managing Director and Director of Curriculum Development, as well as our marketing team, work out of our San Francisco office. Five Area Directors work around the San Francisco Bay Area, managing the day-to-day operations of their Lango regions; most of them also serve as Lango teachers. And then there are our teachers, fifteen native or bilingual Spanish speakers who work hard every day to deliver outstanding experiences to our students. We look forward to adding to this great team!

Michael Fee, Lango's Managing Director, has spent his entire career in education, starting as a high school English Teacher with Teach For America in rural Arkansas. Since then, he has held various leadership positions, including running after-school tutoring facilities for Score Educational Centers and leading Intrax Cultural Exchange's study abroad and English-instruction businesses. He also earned his BA from Stanford and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Most proudly, he is father to three children, all of whom are learning Spanish at Lango!

Jim Key is Director of Global Marketing for Intrax Cultural Exchange and drives the expansion of Lango's licensee network. Within Intrax Cultural Exchange, Jim has spent more than a year supporting helping to launch Intrax Internships Abroad. Prior to joining Intrax, Jim began his career in marketing with Opel (GM) in Germany and selling educational books (often selling in Spanish) for the Southwestern Company. Jim worked in sales & management with Athlon Sports Communications, where he became a partner. Jim has a BS in Economics from Virginia Tech and an International MBA from the University of South Carolina. Jim speaks German, Spanish and some Bulgarian and is the proud father of a four year-old bilingual son.

Kevin Rockmael is Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Intrax Cultural Exchange. Since 2003, Kevin has worked with all of Intrax's organizations, including AuPairCare, Intrax Study Abroad, AYUSA, Intrax International Institute and Intrax Career Development. Before that, he served as Director of Marketing for SCORE! Education Inc, a Division of Kaplan Inc., and worked in consumer-based marketing and brand management at E&J Gallo Winery and Southern California Guide. Kevin holds a BA from UC Santa Barbara in Political Science, and an MBA and an MA in Sociology from the University of Chicago.

Ashley Umbro is the Marketing Manager for Lango. Ashley helps develop Lango's national online presence, creates and manages website content, supports Lango Leader microsite development, and develops much of the collateral for Lango. A graduate of Tufts University with a B.A. in Anthropology, Ashley speaks Italian and has a passion for language learning. She started her career working at Harvard Law School with the Child Advocacy Program.

Judy Wu has been taught languages and trained language teachers throughout the country. She designed and taught language programs for such programs as 100 Families Programs Oakland: Art & Social Change, ABC Language Exchange and the Silkroad Institute. Judy began her career as an ESL teacher in New York in 2000. A native of Taiwan, Judy holds a BA in Studio Arts and Anthropology from CUNY Hunter College and an MFA in Ceramics from California College of the Arts, and she brings her artistic flair and passion to every class she teaches.

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Contact Us

Interested individuals should contact Lango at (888) 445-2646 or email opportunities@langokids.com. After an initial conversation, we will provide you with a complete packet of materials to help you begin deciding whether to take on becoming a Lango Leader. We recommend starting classes in the fall or winter, with a training and preparation period of at least two months prior to the start of operations.

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