K-12 schools
Lighthouse Christian School
Students pick their own language, and families learn alongside them at home.
Strengthening world-language curricula
Lighthouse Christian School used Mango Classroom to widen the range of languages it could offer a student body drawn from many first languages, and ended up with students steering their own learning in class and whole families learning together at home.
The challenge
One school, many first languages
LCS wanted an online language solution for its middle schoolers that would build core skills and speaking confidence, one that would work at home as well as in class, for a student body drawn from a wide range of language backgrounds.
A proponent of world language learning and cultural enrichment since it was founded in 1994, the school needed a diverse catalog and a reliable, personalized learning path, not a single-language package.
What they did
Every student picks their own language
After reviewing the most popular options on the market, LCS partnered with Mango in 2015 to widen the range of languages on offer, extend learning past the classroom, deliver standardized lessons through several modalities, and enable at-home support, family learning and heritage language acquisition.
Spanish teacher Iliana Nicholas built the World Languages class for grades six through eight around student choice: each student picks the language they study independently. The first 45-minute class of the week is Mango; the second adds study time plus a culture and geography lesson tied to a specific language or country. She credits the intuitive design for how smoothly it landed.
In their words
What they told us
“The encouragement that Mango provides facilitates more learning. It reinforces what they've learned and opens them up to a lot of new vocab. They're learning in a whole new way with Mango.”
“Students like being able to review as many times as they want. The students pace themselves, so if a student falls behind, they do Mango at home to catch up.”
“The principal had me look into different language programs before we chose Mango. I just found that Mango was more user friendly than some of the other programs I had looked at. I set goals for them and they meet those goals.”
“We use Mango to learn our native language. The children are trying to have conversations with their grandparents in our native language. My parents are very excited to know that their grandchildren are learning our language.”
What changed
Goals set and met at their own pace
The blended, student-centred approach raised engagement and speaking confidence, supported each student's own pace through personalized pathways, and moved students toward high school readiness by completing the school's language requirements.
Students set and met goals at their own pace, and those who fell behind caught up at home rather than in class.
What followed
School-wide benefits for students and faculty
LCS promotes Mango to students, staff and families alike, and many in the community took up Family Profiles to learn together, including heritage learners of Spanish, Korean, Hindi and Japanese.
For some families that meant a language the school does not teach at all. One parent described her children using Mango to learn Malayalam so they could hold conversations with their grandparents in it.
About Lighthouse Christian School
Lighthouse Christian School is a private K-8 school in Gig Harbor, Washington, serving families across Pierce and Kitsap Counties. Founded in 1994, it has run world language and cultural enrichment programs from the start. Spanish teacher Iliana Nicholas runs the World Languages class for grades six through eight, letting each student choose the language they study independently.
A Mango customer since 2015, using Mango Classroom.
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