Passport to Learning Language Immersion Daycare Center: A language learning oasis for children in the city of Saint Louis, MO

Welcome! Bienvenue! Bienvenido! Bem-vindo! to Passport to Learning Language Immersion Daycare Center

Passport to Learning Language Immersion Center is a licensed daycare center specializing in language immersion in French, Spanish, and Portuguese for infants, toddlers, preschool, and after-school programming for elementary school aged children. We maximize the opportunity to expose children to multiple languages during their critical period for language acquisition, effectively raising children to be bilingual and multilingual.

Hello! Bonjour! Hola! Oi!

My name is Laura Straube Tiago, owner of Passport to Learning Language Immersion Center. I am a doctoral student at Saint Louis University in Curriculum and Instruction specializing in language immersion curriculum models, second language acquisition, and teacher education. I am a life-long learner of languages with fluency in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese and reading knowledge in Italian.

I love teaching and helping others learn languages, meeting them wherever they are in their journey. I find that after all of my experiences learning languages, I have a facility in making language learning comprehensible and demystifying the process of learning a new language. I believe that anyone can learn another language, as language learning is one of our most unique, innate abilities as humans. If a person can learn one language, they can learn two or three!

After10 years teaching primarily high school students French and Spanish and celebrating many successes along the way, I decided to open a childcare center to focus on language immersion during those early and most critical years of language development. Now in its second academic year, Passport to Learning Language Immersion Center is proving that children thrive in a structured, multilingual environment and that, without hesitation, children are ready to interact in any and all languages.

But true acquisition and fluency in two or more languages won't happen by accident; choosing how to structure our day, which languages to prioritize when and how, and which educational methodologies to practice all contribute to the preparation and success of this unique learning environment. My extensive experience in learning and teaching languages paired with my doctoral research initiatives means that the program offered at Passport to Learning Language Immersion Center is centered in research, educational science, and best educational practices.

Thanks for joining me on this blogging adventure where I will share tips, strategies, research, and perspectives on how to raise children to be bilingual and multilingual. I'll share updates on my journey of directing a multilingual daycare program with thoughts about curriculum, activities, routines, and best practices. I'll also share my personal challenges and successes in raising my own multilingual kiddos (ages 10, 8, and 2) each with their own unique journey on their path towards multilingualism.

Leave a comment with any questions or requests for future blog posts!

A bientôt, Laura

Passport to Learning Language Immersion Daycare Center: Maximize your child's natural ability to acquire multiple languages during early childhood