Individual Language Courses for Children and Teens

We provide private language tuition for children and teens aged from 6 to 17 yrs. As every course is tailored to the individual needs of the younger learner, we will discuss your requirements for your child in order to devise the best language training solution for them. This will take into account their age, any previous experience of learning a language they may have, the time you feel they can dedicate to it, your expectations for them and your budget.

Why Learn?

Expose your child to a second language at an early age and they will soak it up like a sponge.

It’s well known that learning something when you’re young is the secret to learning it well, and for life. No more so is this relevant than in learning a foreign language, which – as any adult learner will testify – is infinitely more difficult later in life. Kids, on the other hand, their brain growing rapidly and eager to absorb new things, will soak up a new language without even realizing it. Expose a child to a second language at an early age and he or she will show an innate ability to learn new words and develop a natural pronunciation, whilst free from the inhibitions that so often hinder us later in life. It is thanks to the flexibility of the brain and the intuitive way in which a child learns a language that makes language learning in the early years a true gift. Even by adolescence the brain is less open to language acquisition; the first years of life, from birth to 10 years, are the optimum time to introduce a second language, which will be learnt – and then stored – in the same way as the mother tongue.

The benefits of growing up with more than one language:

A greater appreciation of the world and other cultures
The ability to learn additional languages more easily
Increased cognitive skills that enhance abilities in other areas
Increased employment potential
A competitive edge in the global marketplace

Course Content

All our language courses are academically sound and promote long-term aims with the language. Our tuition is communicative, challenging and interactive, and will engage and stretch your child. The key focus will often be to develop communicative fluency, accuracy and confidence. The communicative work will also be underpinned by a systematic approach to grammar, vocabulary development and skills work.
The sample syllabi below are designed to provide you with a good idea of what we might cover over a typical course, and include possible themes, grammar and vocabulary fields. They are flexible rather than prescriptive, in that they will be adapted to your specific level, aims and interests.

Cactus Trainers – who will teach your child?

For our courses for younger learners we have a selected number of Cactus trainers who are qualified, experienced, native-speakers, all of whom have had previous experience teaching kids and teens. We do our best to match the appropriate trainer to your child. Please see below for a selected number of trainer biographies and profiles.

When can we teach your child?

Our trainers can teach your child before or after school, or at the weekends (subject to availability).

Our Prices

$55 per hour for Spanish, French, Italian, German and English [course materials are $40 per course]
$65 per hour for all other languages [course materials are $50 per course]

Case Studies :: Our previous clients

Paul Caruso, Cambridge, Massachusetts – French & Italian classes
Paul Caruso, from Cambridge in Massachusetts, contacted us as he wanted French and Italian classes for his two children, aged 8 and 12. They already spoke some French and a little Italian. With this in mind, we agreed that our teachers would build on their knowledge and provide fun, interesting classes to keep their attention and expand their interest in the languages. Tuition would be dynamic, with different games and activities incorporated to help language retention and develop language awareness. Classes took place once a week from 5.00 to 6.00pm, alternating between a French class one week and an Italian class the following week.

Lena Nicklasson, Glendale, Arizona - English classes
Lena Nicklasson was one of the first clients interested in enrolling her son in our Private Junior Courses back in September. The pair had recently moved to Arizona from Sweden for her work, and six-year-old Joel was beginning new life in a new school. As one might imagine, the move was quite difficult for young Joel, who had little knowledge of the English language or its American customs. Making friends and assimilating into a new country can be difficult for anyone, and Joel’s inability to understand his teachers only added to his mother’s concern. That was when Lena decided that English tuition for young Joel might ease both of their predicaments.
It has been about 3 months since the start of Joel’s English lessons with trainer Pamela. The trainer has seen significant improvement, both in his language skills as well as his level of confidence. Joel’s mother has said “[Joel] is making progress every week and we are very pleased with Pamela who is GREAT!!! Joel likes her very much and I think she is perfect in the way she [is helping] him to understand more. We would love to continue with the lessons after the first 30 so he can have help further on….can we take 70 more hours to start with?” Joel takes classes of 1 hour in duration each time.

Feedback & Monitoring of Courses

We believe course monitoring to be essential to the success of your course. Our courses are monitored throughout using online questionnaires, and are acted upon by Cactus wherever appropriate.

Teacher Profiles

Pamela Berthiaume – English Teacher
Education: University of Phoenix, Associate in Psychology
Experience: Pamela’s experience has been in working with children from grades Pre-K - Jr.High. Has worked as a Resource Teacher in a private school for 12 years and has continued to teach privately up to the current time. Her emphasis has been targeting language and reading gaps in most grade levels. Many of the students she has worked with have had reading challenges. She has used remedial methods for much of her teaching with goals and expectations for each student to accomplish beyond their assumed potential. She have found that most underachievers are able to reach a higher standard than is expected.
From Pamela: “I do have experience in teaching English to young learners and enjoy it very much…. I am very interested in the progress of kids in their learning abilities and I am always open to progressive means to help them to meet the need that is at hand.”

Silke Carpenter – German Teacher
Education: San Diego State University & California Western School of Law Teaching
Experience: Silke teaches private, semi-private and small group German lessons. The lessons are geared toward each individual student’s needs and goals as well as learning style. Students learn the proper pronunciation, conversation, grammar, and vocabulary, as well as reading and writing. I teach all ages, my current students’ ages range from 1 – 82 years, and levels. I currently teach many 4 through 12 year old children. I also provide tutoring services to high school and college level students.
From Silke: “I would love to teach Junior Courses for Cactus. I have extensive experience teaching children German. I have taught kids as young as 1 year old through teenagers for many years now and I absolutely love teaching children as they are so much fun to work with and learn the language so quickly.”

Cinta González – Spanish Teacher
Education: 2001 – Vigo University, 2004 Bachelor Degree in Teaching; Santiago de Compostela University, Masters Degree in Psychology
Experience: Cinta’s training includes teaching babies (from 6 months to 2 years) in a language exposure program focused on the development of linguistic skills with play-based learning activities for early childhood development. She has also completed a substitution program in a private primary school with 1st graders in their first contact with a foreign language, where she focused on pronunciation, listening and vocabulary learning, through music, art and games. And she also taught in an after-school program for elementary and middle-school students with multi-sensory foreign language activities to develop linguistic skills through verbal-visual-tactile association.

FAQs

What kind of activities will Cactus trainers use in the classes?

Cactus trainers will tailor the lessons according to your child’s specific needs, using materials and props such as pictures, flash cards, videos and cultural songs to spark your child’s interest and keep him or her engaged in learning and understanding the new language.

My child has only just begun learning a first language at school. Will learning another language cause confusion?

No, it will not cause confusion. Children raised in bilingual families or who have a second introduced at an early age do not have a problem distinguishing between the two languages and knowing which one to use with whom. As they grow up knowing no different, and as their young brains easily absorb new information, they will naturally take command of a second language without it causing confusion with the first.

How soon will my child be fluent?

Given that your child will take several years to master his or her own native language, it is important to be realistic as to how long it will take to become fluent in a second language. Yet if it is approached in the same way as the mother tongue, with constant exposure to the language through direct dialogue, indirect speech, reading, music, activities and more, your child will happily adopt a second language during the early years of life. It is important to introduce the second language as early as possible if this is to be achieved effectively and in the shortest amount of time. Outside face-to-face language classes, you can assist in the process by increasing your child’s exposure to the language through bilingual playgroups, vacations to a country where the language is spoken, and at home by simply reading books, cooking recipes and listening to music in the target language.

10 ways to help your kids learn a language
Ways to support your children in their language learning
It is never too early to learn a second language
How can I make language learning fun for my children?
Cactus Junior / Under 18s Courses

Individual Language Courses for Children and Teens