Although visitors to foreign lands often communicate at a basic level by pantomiming, Americans inevitably give away their tourist status by gesturing with an accent. Pole-vault over language barriers without resorting to charades with today’s Groupon: for $99, you get five one-hour children’s language classes at The Carousel of Languages (a $224 value) on Columbus Avenue.

The Carousel of Languages instructs little ones in Italian, French, Spanish, or Mandarin, with a wide array of weekday class times that make learning convenient, unlike leap-month courses conducted on mountaintops. Students ages 6 months to 12 years brush up on their español, français, and more in the five-child maximum, full-immersion classes, using toys and games to enliven the learning process. The Carousel of Languages boasts of research that suggests foreign-language learning boosts brain development, creative thinking, and mathematical skills, rendering its classes a stepping stone for future educational advancement. Language classes also serve to enrich youngsters’ cultural experiences and augment their vocabularies, thereby undoing Junior’s habit of speaking only in hieroglyphics.

Reviews

NY Metro Parents mentioned The Carousel of Languages.