A BUSIENSSWOMAN wants to give youngsters a chance to learn foreign languages.

Lili Wang, who lives in Colchester, has launched her own franchise of language venture Lingotot in a bid to give young people the chance to communicate all over the world.

The Lingotot programme is being delivered across the UK and aims to introduce children at pre-school and primary school age groups to languages including French, Spanish, German and Mandarin.

Lili grew up in China and moved to the UK in 2004 and has had a successful career in international trading.

But she has been inspired to start teaching because she wanted to help eight-month-old son Ethan learn Mandarin and be proud of his heritage but could not find any suitable local classes.

She said: "I wanted him to learn Mandarin and learn it properly but there was nothing in the area for his age group.

"Chinese is the most commonly spoken language in the world, and is very much sought after in the business community, so it was disappointing not to be able to find anything.

"Lingotot is a fantastic business.

"The classes are mapped to the curriculum and structured in such a way as to engage youngsters and instil confidence.

"Young children are like sponges and so perfectly suited to soak up a second language.

"To hear people speaking Mandarin makes me very proud, and to be able to help young children and their families to learn it, makes me feel wonderful.

"I am incredibly excited to be bringing Mandarin to the Colchester community."

Summer holiday Mandarin and Spanish classes will be held at Jungle Adventure on Moss Road, Stanway starting July 24 and running every Monday until August 21.

For more information about specific classes visit lingotot.com and search for Colchester.