Limerick mum starts languages business to fulfil local demand and support home education

“From the outset, I loved everything the Lingotot brand represents – the curriculum and its core values," says Desirée Modesto, Lingotot West Limerick franchisee

With lockdown restrictions likely to tighten and relax over the coming months in Ireland, it is a stark reality that large numbers of people are unsure of what the future holds for them, with many still unable to go back to work. 

These uncertain times are also seen by many as an opportunity to launch new ventures, make that career U-turn, retrain in a different industry or just re-evaluate their work-family balance.

One such example is Limerick-based Desirée Modesto, who holds a Masters Degree in Pharmaceutical Studies and recently joined Lingotot as a franchisee for West Limerick. Lingotot provides interactive and fun languages classes to children aged up to 12 years. With a 10-month-old in tow and a teaching background herself, Desirée was looking for a business opportunity that would allow her to enjoy both.

Desirée said: “From the outset, I loved everything the Lingotot brand represents – the curriculum and its core values. Lingotot sets such a high standard from an educational standpoint and as a parent raising a bilingual child, that was really important to me. Running my own mobile business locally also allows me to work flexible hours around my young family.”

Sofia Colás, director for Lingotot Ireland said: “We are thrilled that Desirée has joined our growing network in Ireland. We are confident she will make a very positive impact in the community, supporting children and parents locally, and offering such a key life skill. Widening children’s opportunities in the future by learning another language is now more important than ever, especially in light of Brexit and the changes to the national curriculum at both primary and secondary level looking to give languages greater weight.

“In Ireland, most children are immersed in language learning in secondary school which in our view is too late. Creating stepping stones for them at primary level in a fun and relaxed way makes that transition a much more natural one.” 

The Lingotot programme is based on solid early language teaching research and has been developed to focus on what kids like to do and then to do these activities in another language. Play is at the heart of these sessions and having fun with friends gives the children a head start to develop socially and emotionally.