MEMBERS' VOICES

Eva

LEX believes in learning 7 languages at once. At first, I thought, "that is crazy" but then after I spoke to a staff person at LEX their system made a lot more sense. I guess when you add dancing and movement to learning language it more solidly sets languages in the brain (do not quote me on this, it was really technical and that is what I thought she said). One of the big components during the club that we attended is vocab development in numerous languages combined with music and dancing - perfect for little ones, and even at 11 months - my son made it through the whole 75 minute club just fine. I had a great time and walked out with being able to say hello, goodbye and thank you in Japanese. The truly amazing thing is that there was a 10 year old girl who knew about 8 or 9 languages: Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, and then did Swahili and German (and a bunch of other languages that I did not know). She wrote a story in Japanese, then did the same story in another 2nd language. I was totally blown away. Her sister who was about 12 was also extremely impressive ... I was sold. Anyway, after my conversations with the staff, I walked out of there with their language kit with three different stories and the music. Right now, we're only listening to the music, which is songs in the 7 languages (English, French, Mandarin, German, Spanish, Korean, Japanese), even only after hearing the songs a couple of times, I'm finding that I can sing along with some of the parts. We're big music fans so we're always dancing around to music so that's normal for us. The people at LEX are AWESOME! Super nice and friendly. The space is clean and the club was fun.

Patricia

When I told my two children that we were going to a language club, they were deeply unenthusiastic. Michael had just finished a year of Spanish that had made him hate the idea of language-learning, and Elizabeth is always shy to meet a new group. We entered the LEX meeting space and everyone was wonderfully welcoming. The fun was so irresistible that it only took about fifteen minutes for my children to warm up to the songs and games. It has been refreshing for the three of us that SADA and the language-imitation sessions and talking time all put adults and children at the same level. Both Michael and Elizabeth were reluctant to leave that first session, begged to go back for the next; after the second session they both decided that they wanted to learn Russian (and I am joining them), and we've been coming back every week since. It is one of the highlights of our week. LEX showed the children within the first session that languages are mediums to enjoy and experiment with, not lessons to dread, and that is a great gift.

Sarah and Morgan

My daughter, Morgan, entered kindergarten this year. Unlike most of her peers, she had no formal pre-school experience. What Morgan had was LEX. My goal for her in LEX was that she develop a confidence and familiarity with the sounds of many languages so that later in life, if she wishes, she will be able to learn them with ease. But what she accomplished with LEX was so much more. Through the singing, dancing, and listening to the sounds, Morgan has developed musical, physical, and listening abilities even beyond my own. Her accent in the basic seven languages is better than mine. Even more importantly, through the acceptance and encouragement of people of all ages and abilities, Morgan has learned tolerance. This will guide her through her entire life. Morgan loves school and all the children and teachers love her. I am sure LEX had a lot to do with it.

Linda

“The LEX activities were great! I loved all the active games. I was impressed by everyone’s language abilities. But the most impressive aspect of the LEX activities was the atmosphere – it was like a loving family in which everyone was welcomed and encouraged. The safe environment made it easy for individuals to play with language. What a natural way to acquire other languages!


John

Language learning through LEX turns on many lights, yet it can be easy to forget that the purpose of learning languages is to allow us to communicate and relate to people who would otherwise be closed off to us. LEX is a way of turning on the lights; the light of recognition when we can first distinguish Korean from French or Russian from Arabic and the light of comprehension when, through listening, mimicking and speaking, we understand first small pieces, then progressively larger chunks of a language. Since the homestay in Japan, I also know that, for people who otherwise would have remained strangers, or who, if they met under other circumstances, perhaps would have felt divided by differences in language, culture and nationality, LEX is a way of opening the doors to our common humanity and turning on the lights of friendship and affection.