Language Classes for Children

Are you a parent, grandparent, or bilingual family looking for the best children’s language classes in the area?

Are you looking for:

• Language classes for your children or grandchildren to prepare them for a multilingual future?
• Enrichment activities for your preschooler?
• Group learning activities for your home schooled child?
• Classes to prepare your child for a bilingual school?
• Classes that reinforce or introduce your child to a language that is "in your family"?
• Classes for children in Spanish or French or Portuguese or Swedish or English ... ?
• Tutoring for high schoolers who want some extra help with their language study?
• Summer language camps?

What CHICLE can offer you:

• A strong program for children that has been going since 2001. We teach children from age 3 to 12.
• Teachers that speak as little English as possible during classes (excepting, of course, our English classes).
• Classes that are fun! They incorporate music, movement, vocabulary, and conversation.
• Small classes with no more than eight students in a class.
• Classes for 3-4 year olds that are all play. Classes are more structured, covering specific topics, for the 5-7 year old students. We use more formalized methods for the older children, but games, crafts, and movement are still central in their classes.
• Week-long half-day summer camps in several different languages.
• You may come and observe a class, with or without your child.

Our teachers:

Alicia Vila Tornero is our Children's Program Coordinator and teaches both Spanish and French at CHICLE. A native of Barcelona, Spain, she has taught Spanish,French, and German in the Chapel Hill area since 1994. Her students have ranged from children as young as 2 to high school students and even teachers studying abroad. She has taught in France and Spain and holds a K-12 teaching license. Alicia takes her cues from the Montessori philosophy and enjoys teaching children through songs, stories, and poetry. She is raising two bilingual sons in addition to performing and teaching Flamenco with the group Flamenco Carolina.

Stela Regis McWhorter comes to CHICLE from Brazil. She has taught with us for 2 years and keeps her classes lively by including the Samba and other gems of Brazilian culture. She is welcoming and fun, and her students speak almost no English in class. Stela holds an Elementary School Teaching Certificate as well as a degree in Interior Design.

Irene Testa teaches Swedish. She comes to us from Karlskoga, Sweden by way of Chicago, where she and her American husband raised 3 children. She began her career teaching English and Swedish in Sweden before venturing into art and antiques during her time in Chicago. She is passionate about travel and languages; we discovered her when she came in to sign up for Italian classes. Since then, she has enriched our program with her fresh ideas and her facility with children. She has been in the U.S. since 1973 and is interested in antique collecting, art, travel, yoga, and languages. She has studied French and German and now, Italian here at CHICLE. She is a certified Swedish to English translator as well. Irene is also a very experienced teacher with students of all ages. We are fortunate to have found her.

Testimonials:

"This place is great and our teacher is awesome!" Says Aaron."The teacher is very friendly and the environment is very learning inspiring. My son has been stuyding Spanish here for several years now. He has learned a lot and loves to go there every week." Says Aaron's Mom (also know as Holly Wei).

"Hello. We are seven years old and were born in Guatemala. Our parents adopted us when we were babies. We are not twins (everyone asks that). Our parents taught us English, We started taking Spanish classes at CHICLE so we could continue to learn Spanish when we left Mi Escuelita and started kindergarten at Glenwood where we are in Mandarin bilingual classes. Both of our parents have also taken classes at CHICLE - one of our parents is trying to learn Mandarin and the other is trying to learn Spanish. We help them as much as we can. We also go to Spanish summer camps at CHICLE and really love playing games in Spanish. We also like going to get Italian Ice at Carr Mill Mall. We have had great teachers at CHICLE. We love CHICLE!!!!!"

About us:

CHICLE opened in 1999 and is a full-service, locally owned language institute located in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, North Carolina. We benefit from our location near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and are able to teach a wide variety of languages, as well as some advanced classes that combine language and literature. We have an excellent program for both children and adults. and offer a wide variety of services to businesses and professionals. We are located above the Weaver Street Market in Carrboro with parking available. The office is open from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm Monday-Thursday and 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on Friday. We often have Saturday and Sunday classes as well.