About the Junior Language Club✨
🌟 THE Language School for Children & Teenagers 👧🧒
🌍 Language Courses for Kids & Teens in Düsseldorf and the Surrounding Area – since 2003
JLC Story
It all started with an idea…💡❤️
In spring 2003, Michael Rönitz and Catherine Thellier — a German-French couple and the founders of GoAcademy Language School — started the Junior Language Club, a language school for children and teenagers.
💡The idea came about on a very personal level: They saw, through the examples set by their own three sons, how quickly, easily and naturally young children learn multiple languages. An international couple themselves, they were firm believers in the importance of communication across cultures.
What started out as a series of courses for their sons and their friends is now a reputable language school, deeply rooted within the local community, with hundreds of children who come to learn or improve their language skills with fun activities, songs, games, and arts and crafts.
The JLC today is the division for young learners within the International House (IH) Düsseldorf. Located in the beautiful center of Düsseldorf at Grafenberger Allee 78-80, the JLC serves all our neighboring communities and beyond.
The JLC teaches the young learners ages 4 through 16 across the full learning journey, from private courses to group classes to Easter, Summer and Fall Camps, to the learners of English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese and other languages.
Upon completing our programs, learners over 16 years old enroll in courses and programs at the IH Düsseldorf adult learners’ division, GoAcademy!
Junior Language Club Quality Promise🛡️✨
We will help your child learn and progress by designing well-structured courses and educational support services.
Before enrolling, we will listen to your and your child’s needs and give you guidance on choosing the right course. This may involve a language level test and an interview.
You will be given clear and accurate information about all aspects of your course, examination or other services.
Your child will be taught by qualified teachers who regularly receive up to date professional development. Younger learners will be taught by teachers trained to meet their specific needs.
Your course will be supervised by skilled educational managers who will make sure the content is up to date, the school has the right resources, and whose goal is to help you have a positive experience.
Your child’s learning will be regularly assessed during your course to help them progress. You will have opportunities to discuss how to improve.
You will be encouraged to give us feedback so we can continue to improve while your child is still studying with us.
Diversity is celebrated at International House, and we are committed to treating everybody fairly and equally.
🌟Our language courses for all age groups🌟
very young learners🖍️
The group of very young learners consists of children between the ages of 4 and 7.
Young Learners✏️
The group of young learners consists of children between the ages of 8 and 12.
Our Approach🧩
Fun and Joy in Language Learning🪁
The JLC's language training concept was developed for three different target groups which, in turn, are further subdivided based on age the target language as well as on the present level of competence in it. Everyone – VYLs, YLs and Teens – receive age-appropriate instruction, and the individual wishes and objectives of the learners are incorporated within the process of instruction.
Our main objective is that our young learners are enjoying what they do and look forward to coming to our Language School. Coupling our young learners’ Individual interests with having fun in the learning process secures our teaching success.
VYLs Groups
4 to 5 years
5 to 6 years
6 to 7 years
Very young learners learn with all their senses, for example by associating certain words with a movement. This combination of hearing, seeing, and feeling allows them to absorb the learning content holistically. The children sing, play, clap, stamp, paint, or do crafts. These different approaches to the foreign language enable a natural, dynamic structure to the lesson. Language is experienced through action, play, movement, and perception. Therefore, the children's feelings, experiences, and wishes are also addressed and taken into account in language teaching.
Goal: Children should develop a feel for a new language in a playful way, without any pressure to perform. The course trains memory, concentration, oral and fine motor skills, and speech rhythm.
YLs Groups
7 to 8 years
9 to 10 years
11 to 12 years
YLs are introduced to typical teaching methods without experiencing purely frontal teaching, because we require a great deal of initiative and independent learning.
Goal: Children are introduced to the foreign language in depth; their language skills are gradually expanded and they practice independent learning. In this way, our language trainers teach responsibility for independent learning.
Teens Groups
12.5 to 13.5 years
14 to 15 years
15 to 16 years
In addition to typical teaching elements, lessons with teenagers focus on speaking and expression skills as well as vocabulary expansion.
Goal: The main focus is on giving young people space to speak and simulating everyday situations in dialogues.
✨Our Advantages at a Glance✨
More than 20 years of experience
Native-speaking teachers
We'll help you achieve your learning goals!
Learning without the stress of grades or performance
Frequently Asked Questions
The Junior Language Club and GoAcademy are two sister schools, located in the same premises and supporting each other. JLC is a children’s language school, and GoAcademy offers adult classes. Many children of GoAcademy students attend JLC language classes, and vice versa.
Our teachers are native speakers or have a near-native level of competence in the language they teach. They also have university degrees in philology, education or other relevant fields, as well as extensive training in foreign language teaching.