BilinguaSing

Bringing together the magic of music and the power of language, this wonderful local class is helping little ones in the area discover French and Spanish through song, movement and play. Meet BilinguaSing Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells, run by the talented semi-professional singer and linguist Annalisa who is also very passionate about giving children the gift of languages from the very start. 💛

Tell us about your journey from the business idea to launching the business. 

To this day, I am both a semi-professional singer and a multi-linguist. In the past, I have enjoyed several different careers involving my languages, including a role as a French and Spanish-speaking Kidnap and Ransom Insurance Underwriter in the City and teaching languages to adults; however my favourite role has undoubtedly been bringing up my son bilingual since birth and singing to/with him. Something within me longed for the opportunity to combine these passions as a career: giving the gift of languages to little ones through song. As we were preparing to move house to the Tonbridge/Tunbridge Wells area, I wondered whether an opportunity like this really existed, and then I came across the BilinguaSing franchise scheme: the perfect opportunity! 

What's been your biggest achievement since starting your business? I could say “achieving fully booked classes in my first term”, but in my heart I feel my greatest achievement has been witnessing the joy in the little ones’ faces who come along to class: babies totally engaged absorbing it all, and older toddlers singing away in both languages, joining in with the actions and BSL with beaming smiling faces! Receiving feedback from parents letting me know their little ones’ requests for their favourite songs to sing at home and how amazing it has been for them to watch their development in such a short time is just the cherry on the cake. They even say how much they enjoy learning the language with them too! 

What inspired you to start the business? Having spoken, sung and read to my son only in French since his birth and watched in wonder as he flourished into a fully-fledged bilingual little child, when I came across BilinguaSing I felt its call very strongly. Learning languages through song is highly effective and the gift of languages for a young child is like nothing else: their brains are incredible sponges, so we really don’t want to miss out on this precious opportunity to plant and grow in them a love and a talent for languages to last them a lifetime! Moving to the Tonbridge/Tunbridge Wells area, it looked like there was a gap in the market for a sensory, music and movement baby/toddler class offering the additional benefit of a second language (French/Spanish) - so it felt like the stars were aligning for me! 

What does the future look like? Any events or news we should keep an eye for? I plan to keep spreading the BilinguaSing joy to as many little ones and their families in the area as I can - who knows, there could be even more classes in the offering, I will let you know! 

What message would you like to send to our community of small business owners? Don’t lose sight of your passion for what you do and the reasons why you started it. There will be big ups and little downs along the way, but keep going – you’re brilliant and you're making a big difference!

Follow them here: @bilinguasing_tunbridge_wells