Learning other languages helps people connect with different cultures and can help enhance creativity and boost problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Young children often learn a second language quickly, as they’re already using the part of the brain that helps them learn their native language. Our team at Crème de la Crème of Lone Tree, Colorado, put together a list of six in-person or online places where you or your children can take language classes around our area.

The Spanish Learning Network

Children at school by Lucélia Ribeiro is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0

For those who wish to learn Spanish, a common language worldwide, taking a Spanish course from the Spanish Learning Network can help speed up the learning process. The instructors at the Spanish Learning Network offer a hybrid learning system of online courses, in-person classes, workshops, and conversation groups.

Your kids can take special Spanish classes designed for children 5 and older, either online or in person. In addition, the Spanish Learning Network offers after-school summer programs, and during the summer, your youngsters can go to a Spanish immersion camp. Not only will kids learn the basics of Spanish at the immersion camps, but they’ll have fun with play and creative-based activities.

Location: 3775 Zenobia St. in Denver

Contact: 720-772-8841

Language Education Institute

Instructors at the Language Education Institute teach various languages over eight weeks. Each course has ten levels that build complexity, so each student can grasp the foundations of the language and go on to speak it fluently. Each instructor has the support of an applied linguist and a cognitive psychologist.

Location: 8720 Grant St. in Thornton or 14707 E. 2nd Ave. in Aurora

Contact: 303-657-6244

Journey Language Center

The Journey Language Center offers conversational language classes in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, and English. The certified and experienced instructors at the Journey Language Center hold private and semi-private lessons and group classes. You can also take live online private and group classes with flexible scheduling and an easy-to-use digital platform.

If you decide to take a private or semi-private class, you have optional packages, including:

• 12-hour
• 24-hour
• 36-hour
• 72-hour

Private and semi-private classes include an integrative workbook that helps students improve writing, grammar, and conversation in the language they’re studying. In addition, you get interesting cultural options when taking a private lesson, including trips to a Mexican supermarket to learn how to pronounce select foods or car classes where you’ll learn how to rent a car, minor mechanical phrases, and how to use Uber in the language you’ve chosen.

You can even take cultural cooking classes at the Longmont office. The Journey Language Center also offers immersion classes in English, Spanish, German, and Italian. In addition, the instructors offer tutoring for children in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Location: 1735 N. Lafayette St. in Denver; 850 Laramie Blvd. Unit C in Boulder; and 706 Kimbark St. in Longmont

Contact: 303-827-5965

Crème de la Crème of Thornton

Children from 6 months through kindergarten enrolled in Crème de la Crème of Lone Tree daycare and learning center get to learn Spanish, Mandarin, and American Sign Language. The professional instructors at Crème de la Crème of Thornton teach baby sign language in the infant care and toddler care programs.

Infants and toddlers who haven’t begun to verbalize can share their wants and needs when they learn baby sign language and can communicate with their teachers and other adults. In the Spanish and Mandarin language classes, kids learn through fun, interactive play, activities, and music to help them grasp language concepts and cultural customs.

Location: 4155 E. 128th Ave

Contact: 303-835-0665

Language Trainers

You can learn a wide range of languages, from Arabic to Portuguese and more, when you take online classes from Language Trainers. The instructors at Language Trainers offer online private classes, closed group classes, or open group classes. The instructors are native-speaking and use state-of-the-art web-conferencing technology. If you want dedicated one-on-one lessons, choose private lessons for individual or customized training.

Families or co-workers who want to learn a language together can take the closed group classes, and the open group classes work great for those looking to converse with others at the same skill level. Language Trainers offers flexible schedules to fit your needs, and you can record all lessons to review later.

Contact: 866-855-4646

DSS Colorado — Schulhaus

If you or your family want to learn German, enroll in the DSS Colorado German language school in Denver. Kids 5 to 18 can enroll in German Saturday School or enrichment classes that run for a few months. This non-profit organization offers classes for beginning, intermediate, advanced, and fluent speakers for both non-native and native speakers. Kids can take individual private German lessons, group lessons, or even online classes and learn to read and write this language.

In addition, youngsters 3 to 5 can grasp concepts of the German language, as well as the culture, customs, holidays, and how people in German-speaking countries live. In this language course, called the Weltenbummler program, children with all levels of German work together in a creative, playful way where they can learn at their own pace with plenty of support from the instructors.

Kids will have a day of fun learning German and the culture by singing, creative movement games, reading along, and arts and crafts. You can send your child to DSS Colorado three days, four days, or five days a week, depending on how quickly you want them to learn German.

Locations: 7150 E. Hampden Ave. Suite 301 in Denver; 1628 E. Bijou St. in Colorado Springs; 506 Via Appia in Louisville

Contact: 720-625-9152

There you have our team at Crème de la Crème of Lone Tree’s list of in-person and online language classes. Is there a place in the Thornton area that teaches language classes that we missed here? If you have a recommendation, let us know as we always want to know about other language classes in our community.