Mango Languages

Core Value: Innovation

Mango Languages’ core values define our work culture. I have to admit we have a pretty fun culture, and our core values come in to play in just about everything we do.  Our six core values are:

1. Entrepreneurial Spirit
2. Quality
3. Innovation
4. Integrity
5. Fundipline (hybrid of fun and discipline)
6. Positive Attitude

This post is all about #3: innovation.  According to Wikipedia innovation is a change in the thought process for doing something, or the useful application of new inventions or discoveries.

This core value is really important to keep things fresh and to add new ideas on the product development side of the business.  We work hard to keep the ideas flowing.  Having brain storming sessions. Working on cross-departmental teams. Coming up with crazy out of the box ideas and trying to find ways to make it happen.

Lots of creative juices flow around here. The only challenge… we are still only three years old and don’t have a ton of resources like the big guys. So, we have to be innovative in how we implement our ideas.

I think this is what makes us different than many other language learning companies. We are always looking at what is the next big thing and how do we get there. A truly great equation for success.

How do you keep innovating in your job?

"Do you speak-a my language?"

I love that line in the Men at Work song “Land Down Under.”   Probably dates me a bit though!

Did you know that 85% of Mangoes in our Headquarters speak a foreign language and several of them do not speak English at home? All of our 150 developers and editors are 100% bi-lingual.   Language is more than just what we do for a living, it is an important part of who we are as individuals.   Many of us have lived abroad, were raised by multilingual families, and/or studied foreign languages formally in secondary school and college.

Many of the staff members are tri-lingual and some can even speak four or five languages.  I am always impressed by all the foreign languages I hear around the office.  For example, at lunch today about 10 of us were discussing slang Russian/Ukrainian terms.   We often times discuss cultural norms and language nuances.

I am always learning something new about the world around me, and for that I am very grateful.

Do you know of any other companies that are so linguistically diverse?

Mango Summer Fiesta Friday Fun

Last Friday after work, we got together and played on the new Mango Languages’ Patio at our new office.

We love Stephen’s laugh!  Can’t help but smile too!

Did you know? Things you didn't know about Mango the Fruit

We love our name Mango Languages and most of us in the office love Mangoes. Here are a few reasons why!

What else do you know about Mangoes?

Moving the Mango Orchard

Mango Languages is happy to announce that we are moving our office! With all the new additions to our staff as of late, it has become more and more necessary to accommodate additional desk space, work areas, and even extra rooms to compensate for our growing promotional item requests.

The new office will be only about a mile away from where we are located at the moment, but it’s still a great deal of work getting everything into the new building. With the space still under construction, the move-in day has been set during the week of ALA’s Annual Conference, so we’re all packing our desks into boxes before leaving for the show. Everyone is taking bets on who will show up at the wrong office when we all return!

Our new shipping address:

30445 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 300

Farmington Hills, MI  48334

Have you ever worked in an office that you felt needed to be a bit bigger?  Do you think it affects how well you work?

Sales Celebration for a Mango Language Learning Specialist

We love you Marco!

10 Ways English Takes You Out To The Ball Game

Yesterday was a reminder of the extent that American sports has infiltrated the English language and just how unique baseball is to the American culture.

The Mango Team got to spend the afternoon at a Detroit Tigers’ Game, where we sported our orange Mango shirts proudly. Much of our staff is international and many of our team members had never been to a baseball game. Jamie our accountant is from China, and she even printed out the rules of the game before she went. It was really hard for me to even imagine not knowing the names of certain aspects of the sport because baseball is so much a part of life here in the U.S. If you don’t the the game than you probably would have a hard time with these idiomatic phrases.

Think about it:
1. 3 strikes and you’re out (you only three chances to do it right)
2. Hitting a homerun (when you do something well)
3. Hit it outta the ballpark (same as above)
4. First Base, Second Base, Third Base (all sexual dating terms)
5. He is out in left field (when someone is thinking differently than the group)
6. Batter up (who is next in line to speak or present)
7. Being on deck (same as above)
8. Someone throws you a curve ball (tells you something you didn’t expect)
9. He made a bad call (when someone doesn’t see what really happened or make the right choice)
10. He is on the Home Team (someone who is on your side)

Can you think of any I missed?

We had a great time at the game – check out a clip of the fun below.

Funny Video: English Lesson – How to Pronounce The "th" Sound

Late last Friday – a few Mango Languages staffers sat down and had a couple drinks while they practiced pronunciation of the “th” sound based on a Learn English Pronunciation exercise we found on the internet. Note…this is not the way we teach English!

The results a very funny video. Check it out and let us know what you think of our English pronunciation!!

How I came to Mango

From the very beginning, Mango Languages was intriguing to me.  I first ran across Mango Languages in a local newspaper.  I read what they were doing and was instantly very interested in meeting the people who founded Mango.

I was lucky enough to meet the CEO, Jason Teshuba at an event very shortly after I read that article.  We met for coffee and got to know more about each other, and the companies we worked for.  I really liked Jason’s philosophy on language learning and how communication can connect the world.

We started chatting about marketing, current trends, and social media.   I started working with Mango as a consultant part-time in 2008 and soon an opportunity rose to come work for the company full time in August of 2009.

Since I began working as the Marketing and Social Media Director, it has been a real adventure.  Working for a fast growing company that is only about three years old has its challenges and growing pains, but the pride in building something from the ground up is amazing.  The passionate and caring staff that I work with are people who challenge me to be better and the ideas and innovation flying around this office are humbling.

I love that we work with libraries – organizations that are the great information equalizers.  I love that we teach people how to communicate in a foreign language.  I love that we are harnessing technology to do amazing things.  And most of all I love that I get to do all this in a city I love…Detroit.

I am very proud of what we are creating here and the future looks incredibly bright.

Mango goes for a walk…

Recently Mike Teshuba, co-founder and Chief Technology officer of Mango Languages, was featured on our local news channel because he has a new desk.

A new desk?  You might wonder why would this be newsworthy…well it is a TreadDesk.

Yes…such a thing exists. You can walk and work at the same time.  What a concept?  We actually have a couple in the office. And we may get a few more for meetings.

Here is the link to the WDIV/Channel 4 Video Story.