We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Juliana Russell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Juliana below.

Hi Juliana, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

Hiring was a pivotal moment in my journey. From initially doing everything on my own to now leading a team of nine incredible individuals, the transformation has been remarkable. In the beginning, it was just me, teaching Spanish, French, and Italian, languages that I could teach myself. However, with the addition of Adelle, our creative genius virtual assistant, and Kenny, our talented in-house illustrator, the team has blossomed. Together, we’ve expanded our offerings to include English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Working with the translators and having our books and materials come to life in so many languages is incredibly fulfilling. It’s amazing to create an environment where kids can embrace new languages and cultures. The journey from a team of one to a thriving, diverse group has been an exhilarating and rewarding experience.

Juliana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

When I was 14, I failed Spanish and had to go to summer school to improve my language skills. This experience turned out to be life-changing. Shortly after, I taught myself French and Italian. However, the real transformation occurred when I started my own business and learned an additional 5 languages. I founded Language Mindset, an online language school for kids aged 7 and above. My goal is to ignite a passion for language learning and foster fluency in children. Many students struggle with language in school and never give it another chance. The main issue is the traditional school approach, which heavily emphasizes grammar and memorization over practical language acquisition. We now have language books in 8 languages for beginner kids! The transformation and fluency achieved through language learning is unparalleled to what most students experience in the traditional classroom setting. The next step is to get more language teachers to adopt our methods and use our books to help more kids become fluent.t step is getting more language teachers adopting our methods and using our books to get more fluent kids out there.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My business, Language Mindset, is inspired by the growth mindset and grit. I believe that children can learn a new language if they approach it with a positive attitude and resilience. I understand that learning a language can be tough and sometimes a lifelong pursuit! It’s incredible to see children step out of their comfort zone and make progress in a new language.

My thesis paper was dedicated to researching the reasons why students succeed, drawing insights from the works of Carol Dweck on the Growth Mindset and Angela Duckworth’s talk on grit. Resilience, the ability to stay optimistic and flexible even during the challenging stages of the language learning journey, is crucial. I aim to understand the factors that contribute to student success in language learning. It’s all about resilience not whether you’re “smart” or not.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Just last year, we took a bold step by revamping our curriculum and designing our very own! This was a significant milestone for us, as it perfectly reflects our philosophy of approaching language learning through captivating stories. We are now expanding our reach to introduce our innovative curriculum in schools and share it with fellow language teachers. Our ultimate mission is to inspire and enable more kids to embark on the exciting journey of learning a new language through our proven and engaging method.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thelanguagemindset.com
• Instagram: @languagemindset
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelanguagemindset/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliana-russell-056249261/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@languagemindset