Have you heard of BilinguaSing?

BilinguaSing offers language classes for children, based around music, singing and movement. But why is teaching languages to your little ones so important? Will it confuse them? And what happens in a typical class?

The Coventry Rocks team spent some time with Joy Haley, who teaches Spanish and Italian classes in Coventry. We asked her all about BilinguaSing, including all of those questions! She then invited us to attend a class to see for ourselves!

Browse Joy's BilinguaSing classes here!

An Interview with Joy - BilinguaSing Coventry and Kenilworth (Spanish & Italian)

Tell me a bit about yourself!

Hi, i'm Joy and I'm the owner of the BilinguaSing Franchise for Coventry and Kenilworth - teaching Spanish! I used to work in HR at a well-known clothing store, but once I became a Mummy I was looking for a new challenge which could fit in with family life. I used to attend BilinguaSing with my daughter from when she was a tiny baby, and I just fell in love. Having previously studied Spanish at A'Level, this was a great fit for me, and I've never looked back!

What is BilinguaSing all about?

BilinguaSing was originally founded as ‘Baby Loves Spanish’ by Ellie Baker, an experienced languages teacher and school adviser in January 2013. Following the birth of her first child, she spotted a gap in the ‘baby class’ market having noted that there was very little on offer in terms of languages for preschool children, and what did exist didn’t offer any options for babies under the age of 18 months.

The BilinguaSing programme is predominantly a singing, music and movement class, and the class content is based on the activities that accompany the songs and how they support the development stages of the children. The fundamental purpose of the classes is for the parent and child to experience a fun, age-appropriate music class which is delivered bilingually, allowing participants to absorb the language in a natural, informal way, just as children learn their mother tongue. It is not about ‘reaching a certain level of language by a certain age’. Every child is different, and at BilinguaSing that is something to be celebrated.

What are the benefits to my child, of learning a second language so young?

Amazingly, babies are born ready to learn any language in the world! In theory therefore, a baby with English parents should have no more difficulty learning Russian than a baby with Russian heritage. In practice, it’s the experience of being immersed in a language that babies use to ‘tune in’ to their native language and gradually ‘tune out’ foreign ones. So the best time for a little one to learn a second (or even third!) language is while they are mastering their first. The classes follow the EYFS curriculum, so you can rest assured that your kids are learning in the correct way.

A study at the University of Washington showed that speaking different languages to babies and young children in their early lives can be crucial in helping them to learn new languages later in life. The research showed that American babies who were spoken to in Chinese for just one hour a week found it easier to recognise Chinese speech when they were at school.

The world is global! When the babies of today are grown, having a good grasp of additional languages is surely to be beneficial in their working lives as well as on a personal level as they may be more tolerant and accepting of different cultures.

What happens in your classes?

Our classes are 45 minutes long. We use a selection of songs to introduce a second language to the children (& adults!) All songs are sung firstly in English, followed by Spanish. Lots of children’s favourite songs are included, such as Twinkle twinkle, Horsey Horsey and Wind the Bobbin up. To accompany the songs, movement (such as hand actions) or sensory accessories (bubbles, coloured scarves) are also used which help to engage the children but more importantly can help to develop their Fine and Gross Motor Skills.

My child isn’t talking English yet, will it confuse them to learn a new language?

No definitely not! Lots of children grow up in multilingual households in the UK. If you ever see a child being spoken to in a foreign language followed by English, you will see them understand the words in both languages and transition between the languages seamlessly. They will then respond in one of the languages, and not always the language that they have been spoken in, again showing a deep understanding of the words that they are hearing and the appropriate response, regardless of language.

I’m useless at languages - do I need to know how to speak Spanish?

Not at all! The classes are designed for complete beginners but there is plenty to keep fluent speakers interested too.

With BilinguaSing baby and toddler classes the focus is on is your child as we learn the rhymes together, but we teach how to pronounce things properly which will build your confidence in the language in general. It is amazing how quickly we learn languages through music - most parents say they are singing the rhymes at home and in the car after just 3 or 4 sessions!

Can we also practise at home?

Absolutely! You can support your child's learning by singing the songs at home. There are CD's available to purchase which have a parent guide inside the booklet. We see a marked difference when children get to listen to the songs between lessons, and it’s even better when the whole family is on board (you’ll probably be surprised at how much you learn too)!

Once you have signed up for the class, you can also sign up to be a BilinguaSing member. It is just £19 to sign up for membership, and you'll receive a membership pack with a book, cd, and sound chart. You'll also get 5% off any future class fees or any other purchases!

Where and when are your classes?

Browse Joy's BilinguaSing classes here!

How do i sign up?

Customers can sign up for local classes via the BilinguaSing website or by contacting the relevant Franchisee directly who can help with registering for a class.

Say hello!

Follow BilinguaSing Coventry and Kenilworth on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with all the latest BilinguaSing news!

BilinguaSing Spanish Class at The Cube - A Review!

When my daughter Grace and I first arrived at the BilinguaSing Spanish Class, we were greeted by a super smiley Joy and her daughter Eleanor. The room at The Cube was lovely and big, with a huge Spanish flag on the floor, and cushions to sit on. There were around 9 children in the class, of all ages from tiny babies to 3 year olds. The overall vibe was relaxed and upbeat, and we felt very comfortable from the very start.

The class started with the "Hola" song, where all the children were welcomed one by one by the rest of the group. The words were projected onto the wall as a reminder for parents, but the song was so simple and catchy that Grace and I soon picked it up!

The class was completely music-led, and we worked our way through a number of catchy tunes - Mr Sun, Row Row Row the Boat, Happy and You Know It, 3 Little Ducks... All of the songs were first sung in English and then Spanish. For each, the words were available on the screen so parents could keep up.

Joy regularly brought out different props to relate to each of the songs:

For 'Row Row Row the Boat', the children sat in a circle holding onto a ring with little boats attached. The kids seemed to love this, everybody joined in (even the tiny babies on their parents laps).

'A Sailor Went to Sea' was a real hit with all the children, as Joy brought out the Fish Parachute! This large shiny blue parachute had fish dangling from the inside, and all of the children enjoyed playing underneath and reaching for the fishies.

The class finished with Bubbles, which of course was a huge hit with all of the kids! Then the final Goodbye song, where the children all waved Spanish Flags. Each child received a BilinguaSing Sticker at the end, which my daughter proudly wore for the rest of the day.

So - what was the verdict?

We had a whale of a time! It was really nice to do something a bit 'different' and I felt like I had learnt something too. Bearing in mind this was our first time, we quickly felt very welcomed, and Joy was extremely warm and upbeat throughout.

The fact that the class had such a range of ages wasn't a problem, and Grace enjoyed 'helping' the little babies aswell as playing with her new toddler friends. Since the class was music-led, with lots of sensory activities thrown in, it was perfectly suitable for all of the ages.

So if you're looking for something a little bit different, then why not see for yourself and sign up for a class near you? Or if you have any further questions then get in touch with Joy, she would be delighted to chat with you!

Join a BilinguaSing class today!

You can join Joy at the following locations, days and times:

Across the week classes are also held in a number of nurseries and school clubs in & around the City.

How do i sign up?

Customers can sign up for local classes via the BilinguaSing website or by contacting the relevant Franchisee directly who can help with registering for a class.

Say hello!

Follow BilinguaSing Coventry and Kenilworth on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with all the latest BilinguaSing news!

There are heaps of Baby and Toddler Groups, Activities and Events available on Coventry Rocks for you to browse at your leisure. If you know of any groups that we're not shouting about, or if you would like to invite us to review one of your classes, then email hello@coventryrocks.co.uk.

Don't forget you can search the website for things to do in Coventry any time. Just visit the home page and start browsing!