Centre for Language and Culture: Teaching language with a difference

The Centre for Language and Culture (CLC) has been transforming lives since it first opened its doors in 2006. The best thing about the institution is that it has no age limits.

As director of the institution, Aline Luna Less, also known as ‘Aunty Luna’, will tell you, there is no limit to learning language, whether it is an 18-month-old toddler or a senior.

In 2010, Less added another dimension to the institution – a preschool was opened for 18 month-old to five-year-old children. Both institutions have received the seal of approval from the Ministry of Education and Youth as well as the Early Childhood Commission.

While students can learn language in the formal classroom settings, the CLC has a unique system all its own, which goes beyond just learning the language.

“When we learn a foreign language, we learn about a structure and a linguistic system. But we need to learn about cultures, which ensures that we learn how we are different, for a better understanding of one another. We celebrate all cultures through art, gastronomy and music, mainly,” Less shared.

Among the programmes offered at CLC are British preschool curriculum with concepts from the Montessori school, which is a hands-on programme that develops confidence and creativity.

Less shared, also, that French and Spanish are introduced from children are 18 months old in a communicative way.

“Our teachers speak three languages, which is attractive to English, Spanish and French speakers … and anyone who wants to expose their children to various cultures,” she noted.

To help enhance the language and cultural environment, Less said extracurricular activities, such as music of the world, contemporary art, ballet, football, and language clubs, are proposed for preschoolers as well.

Among the perks of being a part of the CLC is the prospect of taking the learning beyond the classroom doors via trips, which see students getting a first-hand opportunity to interact with those who speak the languages they are learning.

Expounding more on the initiative, Less said trips are proposed to Paris, Reims, Nice and Montreal, which can be incorporated as a school trip, or can be organised for adults (private group) or institutions.

Less, who has a passion for language, obtained her master’s degree at La Sorbonne in Paris, then seeing her coming to Jamaica to train language teachers at Shortwood Teachers’ College.

She later went on to work at Alliance Française as a teacher and translator, before moving on to Hillel Academy as a French teacher, establishing the French curriculum for students from kindergarten to grade six, as well as designing and implementing activity books for children to learn French.

Through CLC, Less has worked for many institutions, teaching, training, translating and organising cultural events such as ‘Dinner under the stars’, photography exhibition for the Dominican Republic.

As the world and Jamaica struggle from the impact of COVID-19, the CLC is also dealing with its blow.

Still, ever optimistic, Less is now thankful that the Ministry of Health and Wellness has given them the green light since November to be back in operations, and she is expecting that the institution will see a resurrection of all their programmes.