Mango Languages

Meet our Newest Mango, Rachel!

We would like to introduce our newest Mango, Rachel Reardon. Rachel joined the Mango team a few weeks ago and we would like to officially welcome her to the Mango Grove.

Who better to tell you about Rachel, than … Rachel. So here she is in her own words:

“My job title here at Mango is Marketing Coordinator. I work with our consumer team to help get the word out about Mango Passport.

I first heard about Mango at an Automation Alley event two years ago in Troy. There, I met Jason Teshuba and learned a little about Mango. As a language student, it was exciting to hear about a language company doing such cool things in this area. I stayed connected with Mango for the next few years though social media and voila!

I recently graduated from Oakland University where I studied French language and literature, advertising and design. While I was in school, I completed internships in finance, marketing and design and most recently worked in social media at a marketing agency.

My favorite thing about Mango so far is the office culture! In just my first week, I experienced impromptu hula hooping Olympics and an old-fashioned game of telephone with a multi-lingual twist. You can tell that the Mangoes work hard and are passionate about what they do but also have fun doing it.

I couldn’t pick one trip in particular but my favorite travel destination is Montreal! Every time I am there, I discover amazing new places, meet fascinating people and find more reasons to love the city. While at Oakland University, I spent time as a French Research Assistant, traveling to and evaluating Francophone universities in Quebec City and Montreal. I try and go back as often as I can. I’ve learned about the province of Quebec and the immense impact that the French/English bilingualism has on education, politics, art, and culture. Plus, I love the “Franglais” perfected by French Canadian speakers (that is often hilarious to Anglophones)!

The core value I appreciate the most is innovation. It’s so exciting to join a company that is so committed to and values the importance of constantly being at the cutting edge and accepting new ideas.”

Well said! Welcome Rachel!

ALA 2011 in The Big Easy

This year the ALA Annual was held at the New Orleans Convention Center, a massive venue.  We quickly realized that a  building 1.2 miles long means a LOT of walking!  This time around, we had a better-than-ever 20′x30′ booth to showcase our product with a nice, well-lit, long smoothie bar.  Our Mango Smoothies were even more desirable for those attendees who completed the journey to our aisle.

Overall, the show was a great success. The focus this year was on the highly anticipated iPhone Application that was made available in the App Store  just hours before the show. As curious potential customers and veteran Mango fans came to our booth we passed out Mango badges, gave personal demonstrations of the unique features that each Mango course has to offer–such as the phonetic pop up, cultural notes, Organic Learning slides, and our Voice Comparison feature.  We made sure that each attendee left educated and Mangofied. Our fans came to our booth raving about Mango, and we couldn’t pass that opportunity up without getting some incredible video testimonials. We truly have the best fans!

This year the Mango VIP after party took place at The Rusty Nail on Constance Street in New Orleans. This year’s party topped all the previous ones!  With the Mango drinks flowing, the open patio, and the incredible Jazz band, the crowd of roughly 200 guests seemed to have a blast. It was so much fun to see all of our guests participate and meet the Mango staff in our traditional game of Guess that Mango. What made this year’s after-party even more unique was the announcement of Mango Mania’s 2011 winners. Five teams made up of our ultimate fans battled it out through Mango challenges to show their love for Mango and potentially win $2500 toward a Mango subscription and an iPad2 for each teammate. The winner of Mango Mania 2011… (drum roll) … was Team MO (Mango Obsessed)! Their name says it all. The two teammates, Amy and Jessica, gave it their all while completing Mango-specific challenges all the way through New Orleans. Check out their Facebook Fan page to see amazing photos and videos of their Mango Mania journey. Congratulations Team MO!

We would like to thank everyone who has made this weekend in the Big Easy amazing!

We can’t wait to see you all again at ALA Midwinter 2012 in Dallas!

What it is like to visit the Mango Grove

Check out how Lynne Pierce was welcomed to the Mango Grove by some of the coolest Mango Elves in the office: Franco, Dave and Joe!

If you are ever in the Detroit area, please stop by and visit with us. We promise to have fun!

Follow and Support the Mango Mania Teams

Mango Mania is in full throttle. Mango Mania is a road rally where teams will complete Mango-related challenges on their way to New Orleans for ALA 2011. The teams have two groups of challenges: those designed to be completed before ALA, and those that they will have to do on the way to New Orleans and while actually there. Each team should post pictures/videos on their Facebook page to show that the challenge has been completed. Each challenge is judged on creativity and completion.

Here are some of the challenges they have to do before ALA:

-Find 5 patrons who will either give a Mango testimonial or say something they learned from a Mango course.  Share video.

-Create a work of art using items found in your public library. Share pic/video.

-Record a video of you giving a Mango demo to patron(s) while making it interactive.

-Visit another Mango Library (Library with Mango subscription) and bring them a homemade gift. Share pic/video.

Also, through Mango Mania teams have Bonus activities to choose from:

-Represent Mango as much as possible by getting Mangofied in as many challenges as possible: i.e., decorating your Mango shirts, face paint, etc.

-Race to get to the Mango Booth and toast with Mango smoothies in a foreign language.

-Team with most social media activity. We will monitor/count number of teams’ retweets and other people tweeting with your team’s hashtag. Also, number of fans  on your Facebook page as well as  comments from your fans.

-Get a person/representative from another language learning company to say “mango” in some way.  Share video.

-Get a story about “Mango Mania” and your experience published in a credible news outlet, like a local newspaper. Share link.

The Mango Mania teams have been so awesome and creative while showing their true Mango colors! Follow your favorite teams on Facebook and Twitter! (Remember they get judged on how many people “like” their Facebook fan page and how many people follow them on twitter). Here are the teams:

Team MO (Mango Obsessed) #goteammo

Team Mang(eauxs) #TeamMangeaux

Team Energy = Mango C2 #EMC2

Team ALA Think Tank #alatt

Team Fluent Five #FluentFive

The winning team will be announced at Mango’s VIP Party on Sunday June 26th at the Rusty Nail. The grand prize is a $2,500 Mango subscription for the team to split and an iPad for each team member.

Feeling left out of the fun? If anyone else wants to complete any of these challenges feel free to get creative and post a photo/video on our Facebook fan page. If your pic/video stands out you might receive a Mango prize!

Good luck and have fun!

Meet Our Newest Mango, Kevin!

We would like to extend an official welcome to our newest Mango, Kevin Winconek. Kevin has joined the Mango team a couple of weeks ago as our Project Software Coordinator.

Let’s learn more about Kevin:

How did you hear about Mango Languages? I heard about Mango Languages at a U of M career fair back in January of this year.

What is your official title and job description here at Mango? My official job title is a Project Coordinator in the technology department. As for my job description, I’m responsible for running Mango’s software QA (Quality Assurance) which involves testing of the company’s web-site, admin tool, MAP, course software, and the iPhone app. I’m also hoping to get more involved in project management and later business analysis.

Where did you study/work before this? I graduated this year from the University of Michigan-Dearborn earning my Bachelors in Business Administration in Information Technology Management. I was previously a personal assistant during college before coming to Mango Languages.

Any international travel stories? I actually was a trip assistant to one of U of M’s lead art historians for four years and have traveled to The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic on art and architecture tours.  I have had an amazing experience seeing some of the most famous works of art and architecture in the world.

What do you love most about working at Mango? For me that’s a hard question because I love a lot of things about working at Mango! Whether it’s the awesome work environment, the wonderful “Mangoes,” the empowerment that we are given as employees, or the positive attitude of the company, I feel very honored to be working for such a great company!

What core value describes you best? Definitely integrity. Having a high standard of ethics and morals I feel has gotten me to where I am in my life today and here at Mango.

Such cool facts!

Welcome to the Mango Team!

United in Strength

Armed Forces Day is celebrated this Saturday, May 21, 2011, in the U.S.

It was on August 31, 1949, that Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force Days.  President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.  The single-day celebration stemmed from the merger of the Armed Forces under one department — the Department of Defense.

Mango Languages supports thousands of members of the Armed Forces, via base libraries, government agencies and armed forces units in the area of Language Learning resources.  It is through programs such as the recently released Mango Military, Mango assists the armed forces in their peacekeeping missions.  Mango Military courses focus on speaking skills and conversations for common military interactions. These conversations are critical to the success and safety of military members around the world, and are designed to meet standards and criteria set by the federal government.

This Saturday, if you get the chance, remember to say thank you to military members of your family, your community and our Nation for their service. Mango Languages says thank you as well to its Military and Government Clients and all of those “United in Strength” that support the United States Armed Forces.

Meet Our Newest Mango, Pamela!

We would like to introduce our newest HR Coordinator, Pamela Kendall. Pamela has been with us for a couple of weeks now. Let’s learn a little bit about our newest Mango!

How did you hear about Mango Languages? I was introduced to Mango Languages from my friend Kari. We met through another set of friends, eventually I took Kari up on her offer to try Jazzercise and that’s when we realized we have a lot in common, both of our significant others are named Trevor (her’s is Trever) and we have lots of sisters. Kari told me bits and pieces about Mango over time. It always sounded like a great place to work, and after viewing the website, blog, and videos I knew that I wanted to be a part of the passionate group of creative individuals!

What is your official title and job description here at Mango? I am the newest member of the Human Resources team and will help Alan out as a Recruiting/HR Coordinator. My focus will be on developing relationships with organizations, universities, and potential future Mangoes to build a strong network to help with continued hiring needs as the company grows.

Where did you study/work before coming to Mango Languages? I just completed my B.S. in Human Resources Development at Oakland University in Rochester, MI. While I completed my degree I maintained a full time work schedule. My background is in Human Resources based in the Automotive and Consulting industries. I’ve worked for great companies like Volkswagen, Bentley, BCG, and P3 North America, Inc., and have met amazing people along the way, but I’m excited to be a part of Mango Languages and make an impact in the e-learning language software industry!

Do you speak another language(s)? If so, which one(s)? I speak some German (usually to my cat), it’s rusty but I plan to change that soon!

Any international travel stories? My favorite trip was a Eastern Caribbean trip a few years ago. I’ll never forget getting lost in the rain-forest, swimming in waterfalls in Dominica, and meeting Wilbur the giant pig from St. Kitts.

What do you love most about working at Mango? I’m big on employee development. Although I’ve only been here for a few weeks I remember how great I felt leaving the office after my first and second interviews. The HR Manager and other leadership team members were great. I could clearly see the dedication they have to making Mango a great place to work. I feel very lucky to feel great at the end of a work day and look forward to finding more talented professionals for this organization!

What core value describes you best? I think it’s a toss up between quality and integrity. I strive to produce the highest quality work at all times in my professional and personal life but I couldn’t do this without Integrity. Honesty and good moral character are so important, I choose to surround myself in people who feel the same in doing what is right for the right reasons. Like my mom, Sherri, has always said, “What is popular isn’t always right and what is right isn’t always popular.” And let’s face it, mom’s are usually right!

Thank you Pamela for sharing. Welcome to the Mango Team!

Learn to Speak Pirate

We are so excited to announce that the Mango Pirate Language Course is here!

Ahoy mateys! If it’s pirate chatter ye be after, you’ve come to the right place. Mango’s Pirate Language Course will teach you everything you need to know to “parley” in perfect Pirate. It’s available for a limited time, and right now, it’s FREE!

In just a few minutes, you’ll learn:

• The appropriate way to hail your fellow gentlemen o’ fortune.
• A few choice names to call your lazy excuse of a crew.
• The finer points of swashbuckling.
• A bit about Pirate history, and the part it played in forming modern democracy.
• All sorts of practical Pirate lingo!

We had so much fun creating this course and along the way, got a little caught up in the life of a Pirate. Watch the footage of what the Mango Grove looked like when were were creating this course.

Looking forward for the Pirates of the Caribbean movie to come out later this month? Well now you can ACTUALLY understand everything that Johnny will be saying!

Just go to http://www.mangolanguages.com/store/pirate-day.html to start your Pirate Course for free!

Enjoy Mateys!

Public Service Recognition Week

Since 2007 Mango Languages has supported public servants across many sectors of government, military, and law enforcement in their foreign language learning (and ESL) needs. Mango believes, as President John Kennedy envisioned, public service is a noble calling and we are grateful to all those who serve. The First Lady, Michelle Obama has declared the week of May 1^st PUBLIC SERVICE RECOGNITION WEEK.  Mango Languages supports hundreds of people in the public service sector everyday by providing language learning resources.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/public-service-recognition-week

Public servants do a million things we take for granted every day.  These are the people who pick up the phone when you call 911; the police and firefighters who come to your door; the teachers in your schools; and the people who maintain your local parks. Public servants are not always visible. They focus on national security and law enforcement tasks like protecting our borders; they pursue criminals who cross state lines; and they care for our veterans.  Some fifty years ago, in his state of the union address, President John F. Kennedy declared, “Let the public service be a proud and lively career.”

Mango thanks each and every public servant for keeping our homeland and shores secure and safe.

Meet Our Newest Mango, Jeff!

We are very excited to introduce our newest Mango staff member, Jeff Letson. Jeff joined the Mango team on Monday, April 18th.

Here’s a little bit about Jeff:

“You could call me an analytic strategist. I went from graduate work in psychology, to higher education sales, to analytic and business intelligence roles, all in the educational publishing industry. I am a Spartan at heart, but also hold an MA in psychology from Long Island University, and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan (marketing and strategy). I’ve also spent time with New York University’s Digital Media Marketing program. That sounds like a ridiculous amount of education but I think we are living at a fascinating moment in which the technological tools have become so robust that our ability to solve problems is bounded only by our ability to form interesting questions. The broader your domain knowledge, the more interesting questions you can pose.

How did you hear about Mango? A Michigan classmate told me about a Mango event at Melange in Ann Arbor. From there I hounded Mango’s Marketing and HR Directors on LinkedIn until they agreed to meet with me!

What made you want to work for Mango? It is exciting to see companies that think beyond products. Mango’s leadership team has done something that most companies never think to do: they have thought about what their products mean in the contexts of peoples’ lives and re-imagined what language learning can entail. When you get an opportunity to work with people like that, you jump on it!

Do you like to travel? If so, what was your favorite trip? Alas, I am one of the least well-traveled folks at Mango. However, I would have to say that hiking through the rain-forests of Dominica and repelling in its gorgeous canyons would be at the top of the list.

What are your hobbies? As a father of three, I find that they increasingly relate to light saber battles, the zoo, and similar fare. When I have a moment, I usually reach for a guitar and rock some 90s grunge.

Which Mango core value(s) do you think you represent the most? I would say innovation. My hope is that my analytics role at Mango will feed our discussion about how we can deliver new forms of value to our customers that surprise them, enrich their lives, and establish lasting connections with them.”

Welcome Jeff!