Our Vision
Our vision is to give children of all ages the best, most enjoyable education available so they will have a lifetime of freedom and joy. We use special teaching methodologies incorporating fantastic educational content that expands the children’s abilities. This provides a platform for reaching the fullest mental, physical and emotional potential in life.
Our track record spans nearly four decades, with over 3 million children benefiting from our unique teaching methods. Our franchisees, some with us for 25 years or more, are dedicated to enriching young people while enjoying the financial rewards of business success. All share the Helen Doron vision and values.
We believe that all children have the right to an exciting education. Our graduates are top students that are creative, love learning, are full of self-esteem, know how to debate and are considerate individuals who care about their environment.
Children finish Helen Doron schools with mother tongue grasp of the new target language, a basic awareness of 7 languages, profound mathematical ability, a sound comprehension of science in both breadth and depth, regular physical fitness practice, healthy eating habits and a love of learning.
Our Core Values
- Effective, joyful, mind-stretching learning
- Compassion and love for all sentient beings
- Keeping our planet safe for all living beings for today and for future generations
Helen Doron began her career teaching English to University students in France. When her own children were young, she observed the struggles of non-English-speaking children learning to read and write.Where was the love for learning that all children should have? As a linguistic scientist, Helen decided then and there that the time had come to create a comprehensive learning methodology. Helen pioneered learning through emotional, physical, creative and intellectual growth – creating a lasting love of learning in all children, spanning all cultures.
The Helen Doron method caught on fast, and within a short time, the original network of specially trained teachers grew into a vibrant international franchise operation. Helen’s passion was, and remains today, to maximize the learning capabilities of babies, young children and teens by producing the best programs to encourage and enable success.
Helen Doron experienced a moment of inspiration while watching her young daughter learn to play the violin using the Suzuki method. Dr. Suzuki emphasized hearing the music rather than reading the notes. Helen realized that this could also be a great way to teach a spoken language.
“If Suzuki teaches the language of music, why don’t we teach the music of the language?” Helen wondered.
Helen developed a unique methodology to teach a foreign language to children in the same way as they learn their mother tongue, learning through emotional, physical, creative and intellectual growth, by repeated background hearing and positive reinforcement.
These are cornerstones of the Helen Doron Method:
“If Suzuki teaches the language of music, why don’t we teach the music of the language?” Helen wondered.
Helen developed a unique methodology to teach a foreign language to children in the same way as they learn their mother tongue, learning through emotional, physical, creative and intellectual growth, by repeated background hearing and positive reinforcement.
These are cornerstones of the Helen Doron Method:
- Repeated home background hearing – Total language immersion means your child hears, for about 20 minutes twice daily, certain portions of the target language being learned – English or Spanish. He hears these songs and stories in the background at home, while eating, playing, or going to sleep. The result is that the child comes to lessons in the Helen Doron school with the songs, texts and stories already in his head. He then learns the meaning of these through carefully structures lessons with props, games and movement. So, he absorbs this new language naturally, easily and quickly.
Positive Reinforcement – Young children need positive feedback to let them know they are doing well. It also gives them an emotional basis for learning. Helen Doron teachers praise and encourage every accomplishment, no matter how small. Positive reinforcement gives the child the security to try more, participate more and, ultimately, learn more. This is why the system is suitable for children of all ages, especially for young children.
Learning Made Fun – Helen Doron schools create a pleasant and supportive environment. Learning alongside peers through songs and games is an essential ingredient. Classes involve games, songs and activities. Everything is bright, colorful, interesting and fun. Backed by scientific proof, the main pillars of the methodology – repeated daily hearing, positive reinforcement, small groups of learners and teaching through interactive play – are a tried-and-true recipe for confirmed educational success. While these games and activities are great fun for the students, they are in reality very serious, well thought-out and carefully planned lessons using specially designed materials.
Building Upon Success – Our programs are designed to produce enough incremental challenge to keep children motivated and stimulated, building from success to success. All the children feel successful and appreciated. The courses are designed to support each other; a child reaches a level of success and competence at one level and can then move into the next, finding comfortable and familiar material on which to build.
All Helen Doron programs are developed in-house under the direction of Helen Doron herself. The development teams consist of experts in linguistics, foreign language acquisition and early childhood development. Learning materials are enhanced with original stories, original songs and animated music clips. Unique props, applications and games composed and produced especially for Helen Doron correspond with content for math, science, art, movement, English and Spanish. Helen Doron materials remain at the forefront of programmatic excellence.
