An Interview with YY Chan, Co-founder of Immerse languages Institute and a passionate language enthusiast, by Ritu - English Teacher at Immerse Languages. “Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom and success” says YY Chan, Co-founder of Immerse Languages Institute What is the inspiration behind the Immerse Languages Institute? Growing up, I was always a curious child. Travelling fascinates me. Meeting different people learning about their unique cultures made me feel awestruck. In order to truly widen my experiences, I started to learn different languages, and that passion led to the foundation of Immerse Languages Institute. My partner and I shared the vision of creating a safe place where people can discover cultures, find a broader, richer and more fulfilling meaning of life and enhance their academic and career opportunities at the same time. Difference between Immerse Languages Institute and any other language learning center At Immerse, we live up to our mission of enhancing communication and enriching understanding by providing multi-faceted language services and the opportunity to experience full language immersion. Our courses are tailor-made for every age group - from primary school kids to professionals and even senior citizens. Some of our most popular language programmes currently are English, Spanish, Mandarin and Japanese. We also provide premium quality language translation services from English to various Asian and European languages. We prepare our students for all the top competitive exams across various countries by recruiting top educators, native language speakers with proven success records to deliver 100% satisfaction. We also provide coding lessons for all age groups and proficiency levels. Last but not the least, we undertake corporate trainings as well. But, what really sets us apart is the love, care and passion that we have put in thinking everything through and focusing on adding value for our clients above everything else. The Environment and Facilities at Immerse languages Institute I have been personally involved in every step since the inception of Immerse languages Institute in 2019. Our vision and ethos reflect in everything from the way our pantry is stocked - choosing recyclable products over one-time use ones to the way our classrooms are equipped with highly efficient and energy saving equipment. We firmly believe that we must lead by example to make the world a better place for all, and since a lot of our students are young children, we want to foster a sense of environmental consciousness at a tender age. We also provide corporate training for language enrichment, and many corporations align with us because of our sustainability goals. Also, we have 6 fully equipped classrooms to cater to different student groups with a warm and friendly team at the front desk to help with all queries and needs. Our institute is relatively new and its modern infrastructure offers the most optimum environment where learners can immerse in language learning in a fun and engaging way. Coping with the Pandemic We opened doors in December 2019. Therefore, we have been dealing with the pandemic right from the start. While the pandemic has been extremely challenging for educators, parents, students, professionals and people from all walks of life, we have had our share of troubles and hardships too. However, I am so proud that we have sailed through wonderfully for the most part by offering interesting and unique programmes online, learning languages like Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish, English and French. The pandemic challenged traditional teaching methods. For the large part of the last two years, offline classes have not been feasible. This got us to get our creative minds churning for new avenues of providing language learning and immersion experiences. We came up with fun programs like “Little Author” that help kids as little as 7–8-year-olds to write their own fiction story and get it published. We are also initiating a “Little World Traveller” program for the upcoming Easter break to introduce various world languages in a virtual world tour. Our programs are interesting, engaging and popular among parents and kids. With the pandemic restrictions easing worldwide, we hope to provide these programs in-person soon and bring more language immersion activities on board. The road ahead Our centre is regularly onboarding new talent to expand our team of highly qualified and successful educators. 98% of our staff have earned a Master’s degree or above and 100% of them are either native speakers or have native proficiency in the language of instruction. We have a 100% satisfaction record, and that is what drives us to deliver excellence. We are hoping to re-launch our complete immersion experience where we take our students to various countries to experience their unique languages and cultures in real life. Language is an asset, and it has no age barriers. It opens up several successful streams for anyone and truly makes the world a global unit. We are proud and happy to be a facilitator of the same. Learn more
