Mango Languages

Learn Thai for the adventure of a lifetime in Journey One

Jean-François Dubé, 27, of Montreal set out to learn Thai with Mango Languages before his thrilling and culture-rich experience discovering Thailand.

Without plans or even a hotel booked, Jean-François Dubé jetted to Thailand to immerse himself in the language and culture during his month-and-a-half stay. Nighttime spearfishing, motorcycling through remote Thai villages and connecting with the locals filled his spontaneous itinerary.

“My favorite experience is when we went spear fishing and got enough fish to feed fourteen people. That was the best experience of my whole life. We took a lot of risk from what I’ve heard later. I guess it’s not a good thing to swim at night with dead fish attached to you when there are sharks around…I didn’t think of it at the time.”

Although he believes that when it comes to travel, “the less plans, the better,” Dubé did prepare for his trip by learning Thai with Mango.

“I wanted my first trip to Asia to be a full experience. For me, to learn a language is a cultural thing. The experience is totally different when you try and immerse yourself in the culture.”

Dubé’s adventure took him outside the city where he had to use what he learned of the language to find his way.

“I took a motorcycle into the country and got a bit lost. In the little cities, they don’t speak English as well as in the touristy places so knowing some Thai saved me a lot of trouble because I could say where I was going and get help. Because I used Mango to learn Thai, it created a link with the locals also.  There’s a use for us to learn a language but it’s also a basic respect to talk to someone in their own language. It’s the same as if I were in Montreal. If an American came to me and tried to speak to me after they took the time to learn French, I would enjoy helping him more because I would feel an openness with our language.”

A native of the francophone Canadian province of Quebec, Dubé’s first language is French, adding an interesting layer to his language-learning experience.

“French is my first language but I learned Thai in English with Mango. While I was doing it I said to myself, ‘Wow, I’m starting to learn a language in another language that I don’t usually speak!’ At the end of the course, I was often thinking in English.”

For Dubé, the importance of language goes far beyond learning solely for travel but is deeply rooted in his upbringing and day-to-day life in the bilingual city of Montreal.

“Even if you don’t travel, learning languages opens your mind to other cultures. When I speak another language, I feel like I’m in that country. Every time you learn a language, there’s always a story that goes with it. I feel like I share something else with the rest of the world. There’s something special about it.”

Dubé plans to continue his culture and language adventures in India this fall, “I’m planning to spend two months in India by myself. India is a passion for me even though I’ve never been there. This summer I’m going to use Mango to learn Hindi and I am even learning their national sport! I started practicing cricket two weeks ago; I want to play with them there because that’s their sport.”

Are you an adventurer like Jean-François? Tell us what kind of Journey you would take with more advanced content from Mango Languages and you could win a Mango Passport bundle containing Mango Passport Journeys One, Two and Three!

Mango Implements Unlimited Paid Time Off. Seriously.

At Mango Languages, we pride ourselves on bringing language learning innovations to enthusiastic learners across the world. But our innovation starts much closer to home: in our work environment.

Mango’s headquarters in Farmington Hills, Michigan resembles an office plucked out of Silicon Valley with its open work areas, neon colored walls, and young, casual atmosphere.

Adding to the list of reasons why it’s awesome to work here, Mango recently implemented an innovative paid time off policy: unlimited. No more counting vacation days at the end of the year or questioning whether you have enough days left to take that awesome trip. Mango employees now follow the simple policy: get stuff done while you’re here and take time off when you need to.

We’re results focused. We believe that it’s not the amount of time you spend in the office that matters, it’s the goals you’re able to reach. Providing an unlimited paid time-off policy affords team members the flexibility to stay motivated, spend time with friends and family abroad and see the world. Thanks to this new policy, Yana, Marketing Project Manager, will reunite with her mom and sister in her birthplace of Kiev, Ukraine- somewhere she hasn’t visited since she was two years old. That’s just one example of how this policy is changing the work and personal lives of Mango employees.

So let’s recap, shall we?

1. Unlimited paid time off.
2. Fiestas every Friday (alcoholic refreshments included).
3. Casual day, everyday.
4.  We make beloved language learning solutions that enrich lives.
5. We’re hiring.

What is your workplace like? What would you do with unlimited paid time off?

Honored Guests at the Mango Grove

We were thrilled to welcome a distinguished delegation of students and professors from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology for an inside look at a growing software company in metro Detroit.

Mango Languages CEO Jason Teshuba spoke on the relationship between the technological progress being made in metro Detroit and that in Israel:

“People don’t think of metro Detroit as a center for technology and digital entrepreneurship, but we’re seeing it happen more and more as companies like Mango grow and expand. Much of our success mirrors what’s happening in Israel, in large part because of the incredible work done at the Technion. We hope that this cultural exchange continues to strengthen the bonds between those pushing the boundaries of technology around the world.”

The students; Marina Toger (architecture) and Guy Bershansky (engineering and medicine), along with Professor Zalman Palmor (the Technion’s deputy executive vice president for academic affairs); also shared their experiences about the value of their world-class educations and the vital role public universities can play as incubators for technology and business.

Introducing: Conversational English for Mimes

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our highly anticipated, Conversational English for Mimes course!

At Mango Languages, we are proud to promote language and culture learning for the world’s most in-demand languages. Mango Passport: Conversational English for Mimes will provide a user-friendly and practical language-learning resource to support one of the most blatantly underserved and unrecognized cultural communities: mimes.

Helping the world communicate and promoting the growth of a more united global community means more than creating courses to help people learn to speak Spanish or learn to speak French. We are reaching out to a group whose language-learning needs have previously been ignored by our industry, “____________________________  ________________________________________________________
__________________,” said Mime Society President of Verbal Communication.

Mango Passport: Conversational English for Mimes boasts the same innovative features as our other online language learning resources: phonetic pronunciation guides, grammar and culture notes and the mime-community favorite, a voice comparison tool.

Mimes on the go never have to sacrifice mobility with Mango. Our mobile options allow you to learn while you’re performing on a street corner, traveling the world or stuck in a glass box.

What can a mime expect to learn with Mango Languages? Chapter topics include:

• Telling someone you’re stuck in a box.
• Interjections to convey surprise.
• Expressing that you’re sick of pulling that rope.
• Getting help finding face make-up in a store.
• Asking if your beret is artfully askew.

Check out the course in action with Nicolas, Director of Pantomime at Mango:

Celebrating Women and Language

A powerful message from female polyglots on the importance of women learning foreign languages. Happy International Women’s Day from Mango!

Are you a multilingual woman? How have you used your languages to better yourself and the world around you?

Now Hiring: HR Coordinator and Content Development Manager

Mango Languages is growing and we’re looking for some awesome additions to our team! Are you or someone you know on the look-out for jobs in the Detroit area?

Check out our open positions here: www.mangolanguages.com/careers !

Here’s a sneak peek:

Human Resources Coordinator:
You will develop a world-class human resources department aligning to Mango’s six world-class core values.  You will provide HR support to 50+ employees based in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Your support extends to the 200+ contractors in our course editor and developer network. Your entrepreneurial spirit will help you drive, develop and implement.  Sound like a perfect match for your skills? Learn more about this HR job!

Content Development Manager:
The Content Development Manager is responsible for managing the Content Development Team which consists of a Content Editor, Quality Manager, Linguists and a Project Coordinator. Sound like fun? Learn more about this Content Development Manager job! 

A little bit about Mango Languages:
Mango Languages is one of Metro Detroit’s most up-and-coming workplaces, offering a unique blend of cutting-edge technology, cultural appreciation, and office camaraderie.

It’s a little piece of both Silicon Valley and the United Nations right here in Farmington Hills, Michigan!  Mango is language-learning software that teaches practical conversation and cultural awareness for many of the world’s languages.

Mango Languages offers team members a culture that is laid back and fun, while at the same time promoting a sense of entrepreneurial spirit and innovation.

Mango is becoming an internationally recognized and respected self-study language learning company. We are looking for talented and dedicated rock stars to work at Mango Languages!

Mango Monday: Around the world in the office.

We are proud to be a very diverse group here at Mango Languages.

Just peering around my desk as I write this, I see Mango employees from Russia, Italy, Colombia, Albania and France as well as a handful of bilingual Americans.

Despite our many different cultures and native languages, we still manage to find striking similarities and shared experiences amongst eachother.

Sometimes we even dress alike.

We love documenting Mango “Office Twins” as a fun way to lighten things up around the office but it also highlights how alike we all are despite our different backgrounds.

Click on the photos below to see a few of our favorite twin pictures!

Do you work in a diverse office place? How does getting to know people of other cultures broaden your professional experiences?

Travel Tuesday: Lost in Translation

Today’s post comes from an avid Mango user, Betsy Talbot. Betsy and her husband Warren quit their jobs and sold everything they owned to travel the world in 2010. Their new digital guide Dream Save Do: The Step-by-Step Blueprint for Amassing the Cash to Live Your Dream does just what it says. You can learn more about living the good life at their blog, Married with Luggage.

When we first started planning our round-the-world adventure three years ago, we knew the key to saving the money and actually taking off was to act on our plan right away, even though we didn’t have all the answers. We made mistakes, but mostly we learned and moved closer to our goal, reaching it faster than we imagined possible.

We’ve now been traveling for one year, and we’ve discovered that learning a new language requires the same level of action and fearlessness about making mistakes.

Traveling can expand your knowledge, give you a different perspective, and allow you to appreciate the beauty and diversity in the world around you. It can make you feel really smart when you figure something out, engage with people very different from you, or test yourself in ways you never could back home.

Traveling can also make you feel like an idiot, cobbling together sentences like a toddler, and using your hands and facial expressions to get your meaning across. Worse yet, using the wrong word, or the wrong tone with the word, can change the meaning entirely, possibly insulting your new friend or making him laugh hysterically.

• You wanted an egg for breakfast, but you asked for a whole chicken (Thai).

• Instead of telling your new friend you are married, you instead say you are tired (Spanish).

• Not understanding measurements or numbers in the language might get you a full bottle of wine instead of the small carafe – and the bill that goes along with it (French).

Many people hesitate when trying out their new language skills on a trip, fearing they will make a mistake. We have made these and many more, and what we’ve found is that people are generally delighted when you try to speak their language, even if you do it poorly.

As we immerse ourselves in a new culture, we stumble along like 2-year-olds, receiving correction from the locals and repeating the words back to them until we get it right. It is embarrassing at first, but it often turns into a way to better know the people and customs of an area.

We use Mango Languages to help us prepare for arriving in a new country. We can’t always learn the language, but we can always learn the basic words to get by – please, thank you, may I have, where is, excuse me, hello, goodbye. If you make an effort to be part of the local culture, the local people will be much more inclined to interact with you, even if they speak English.

So don’t wait. Take your language lessons before you go, and then dive right in when you get there. Sure, you’ll mess up, but you’ll also learn a lot and possibly even make a new friend.

And don’t forget to learn to say “I’m sorry” in the local language, just in case you accidentally tell someone you are going to kill him. (Spanish)

Have you ever had an experience where something you or someone else said was completely lost in translation? Tell us about it!

Oakland Press News 9

Check out this review of Mango on the Oakland Press website!

“Have you ever been on a trip somewhere in the world and wished you were able to talk to the locals more effectively in their language?

That’s something that’s easily achievable through a variety of computer programs, and one Oakland County company – Farmington Hills-based Mango Languages – has its own offering in this category.

I recently gave the company’s Mango Passport a whirl, learning Italian, and was impressed with what I saw.”  Read More…

The Muscat Festival

Beginning in 1998, the Muscat Festival in Muscat, Oman, is a celebration of both traditional arts and culture. Muscat as a city itself is one of the most multicultural centers in the world. Its blend of extreme tradition mixed with modern attractions, along with its position geographically make it a perfect link between Asia, Africa, and Europe.

This year’s festival begins on the 27th of January, and is expected to outdo last year’s attendance of over 2 million people. The festival lasts literally just days short of a whole month, and includes everything from fashion shows, to food festivals, to an extreme sailing series. Littered with concerts, traditional artists, as well as educational events like lectures and novel discussions, this festival literally has something for everyone to enjoy.

Have you been to an international or multicultural festival anywhere in the world? Tell us about it!