Because of our deep love for, and commitment to, all things related to teaching, Spanish, and Nicaragua, we’ve set out to build and run a world-class learning institution right here in Las Peñitas. The core of our mission and the force behind our operational philosophy is empowerment: of our students and their ability to speak a new language, of our teachers and their quality of life, of the proliferation of the Spanish language, and of Nicaragua as a whole. Therefore, the driving forces behind our philosophy are the following four commitments:
1.) To Our Students
At Leon Lingua, we firmly believe that language learning is a lifelong process that empowers learners to acquire a new life skill that allows them to see, experience, and engage with the world in new and more meaningful ways. Therefore we are devoted to providing our students with not only the ability to speak and understand Spanish, but the systemic tools necessary to continue learning and developing Spanish through out the rest of their lives. We utilize modern and communicative teaching techniques that focus on task-based methods — proven and effective modes for teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language.
2.) To Our Teachers
Because we hire only the best Nicaraguan teachers available who have formal training in Spanish as a Foreign Language (ELE) and believe that all people deserve fair living wages, we compensate our teachers accordingly which is the driving force behind our pricing system. The majority of our class fess go directly to compensating our teachers and the rest goes to maintaining Casa Elisa, which also employs local Nicaraguans.
3.) To the Spanish Language
In case it isn’t already obvious, we love Spanish! From the sounds of the words and rolling r’s to the politics behind the Spanish language and the use of Spanish in Central America specifically, we simply can’t get enough — which is why we’ve set out to share it with the world. Whether you’re just passing through or planning to stay for a while, we firmly believe that anyone’s experience in Nicaragua or any other Spanish-speaking country will be immensely enhanced by the ability to speak and understand the local language, which is why we’ve developed classes for every kind of student and why all of our classes contain, to some degree, teachings about the cultural and historical contexts of the Spanish language as well.
4.) To Las Peñitas and Nicaragua
We’re acutely aware of the political and cultural context in which we operate and do not believe in taking advantage of a poor country. While aid often consists of monetary and service-based gifts, we believe that giving people dignified work and inspiring visitors and travelers to understand and hopefully love this beautiful country as much as we do is another way to help. In Nicaragua there is a saying: Lo que no cuesta haces fiesta which roughly means “what you don’t need to pay for, you don’t take care of” — we believe in building something here that is worth committing to, paying for, and taking care of.