Spanish Teachers:

Chinni Mancilla, Owner & Program Director
Hola! Salut! Ni Hao! My name is Chinni and I have been the very proud owner of The Language Labs for the last four years. I was born in California,  but raised in Venezuela. My father is from Spain and my mother is from Venezuela. While we always spoke Spanish at home, my parents taught me how important it is to try to speak different languages and absorb diverse cultures. We traveled and moved quite frequently so I chose a career that permitted me to practice my language skills, follow my passion for traveling and continue to learn about different countries and cultures. I became a Flight Attendant and flew happily around the world for almost 10 years. During my travels, I had the wonderful opportunity to live in the French part of Switzerland where I became fluent in French. I am a Certified Medical/Educational Interpreter and own an Interpreting Agency - which all falls under the The Language Labs umbrella.

​Spanish is a very happy language, and this is what we try to instill in our classrooms while teaching. Introducing the children to salsa music, singing Spanish songs,  having the children create their own presentation of their favorite hobby or a different Spanish speaking country. This is all part of making Spanish an enjoyable learning process to encourage learning, and the children hone the skills needed for eventual language fluency. Conversation skills are my top priority. There is nothing better than seeing a student's happy face of accomplishment when they have mastered vocabulary  or a complete phrase in Spanish!

​Gracias! Merci! Xie Xie!

Veronica Manzanares
¡Hola! I was born and raised in Mexico, and received my business administration degree from the University of San Luis Potosi. In 2006, my husband received a job offer and we were relocated to the United States.  For the past 6 years, I have been teaching Spanish in various Child Care Centers. I am also a Spanish Tutor. I participate in most of the events in my church, scholar district and the community in general with my family. I have two daughters studying in University of Iowa and a son in middle school. It is a huge pleasure to transmit my Hispanic-Mexican culture to my classes and to your students.

​!Muchas Gracias!
Carolina Rivera Villegas
¡Hola! My name is Carolina Rivera Villegas. I was born and raised in Colombia, (a beautiful country in South America recognized for its beautiful landscape and cultural diversity). I have a Bachelors in Children Education and over 17 years of experience teaching Spanish.

For the last five years I have taught Spanish in Illinois and have also had the wonderful opportunity to train other teachers. I have also enjoyed and taken much pleasure in recording multiple videos and TV shows in which I share different methods, techniques and ideas on how to teach children creatively. My passion and vision is to teach children through music, games and creative projects.
​
I love to teach using my Spanish native language and to transfer the importance of learning a second language to our new generations. It is my desire to provide students many meaningful, fun, and educational learning experiences.

​¡Muchas Gracias!
Angelica Sanchez
¡Hola! My name is Angelica Sanchez and I look forward to being your children’s teacher!
I was born and raised in Mexico where I also worked as a teacher and created many wonderful teaching memories there.

I have a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Masters in Education. The United States became my home 21 years ago. Ever since then, I have consistently worked as a Spanish tutor and many other jobs related to Education. I feel very blessed to be able to share my knowledge to children and adults. This gives me the confidence to teach all of my students the wonderful and unique Spanish language and my culture. I have the privilege to work at the Westmont Public Library, where I lead Spanish Story Time once a week. This is where I realize the importance of getting families at no matter what age to learn a different language.

One of my goals is to educate and encourage the students about politeness, respect and positive behavior in class. It is very important to me to provide educational activities and continuously engage my students. Although, having FUN, is one of the main ingredients in my classroom! It will be a tremendous pleasure for me to be able to share my Mexican traditions with them! Look forward to meeting them and seeing their smiling faces!

¡Hasta pronto!
Alejandra Osorio
¡Hola!  My name is Alejandra Osorio. I am from Cuernavaca, Mexico. I have been living in the United States for 14 years.

I received my Bachelor’s Degree in French Teaching in my home country, then I moved to the USA with my family. I have been teaching Spanish to children from toddlers to high school. I currently teach Spanish and French classes. 

I have worked in several elementary, middle and high schools in the area. I had the opportunity to increase my strengths, my love for teaching and my patience to better understand my students; at the same time I have learned from my students that they each have unique responses in the learning process.
​
Teaching Spanish and French is my passion. I believe that learning a new language enriches our minds. I am very excited to teach your students this year. 

¡Muchas Gracias!
Laura Gutierrez 
¡Hola! My name is Laura Gutierrez, I was born and raised in Mexico City and received my Business Administration degree from the University of Valle de Mexico.

My husband is a sugar trader and his company transferred us to the United States 14 years ago and since then, Naperville has been our home. I have two children; my daughter is studying Criminal Justice in New York City and my son is a Junior in High School.

I am very passionate about my culture, language, and traditions. For this reason, I am so excited to share my native language with your children and be a part of their bilingual development.
Through games, songs and videos I hope to provide your children a learning experience that will enhance their Spanish knowledge and I will strive to offer fun but educational classes each lesson.
​
¡Gracias! 
Soledad Escandon
Hola! My name is Soledad Escandon. I’m from Ecuador.  I lived in different regions of my country and was able to experience first-hand the abundant fauna and flora as well as the rich cultural and historic heritage.

I have a bachelor in Business Administration from Universidad San Francisco de Quito. My family and I lived in New Jersey for over 15 years. I’m a proud mom of two daughters, one a mechanical engineer from CMU and m other daughter is a Senior in high school. 

I’m honored to work with your children and share my native language and traditions with them. It is my commitment to help them learn and grow through fun interactive activities and to contribute to the learning experience of a new language. 
​
¡Muchas Gracias!
Lizbeth Corona
¡Hola! My name is Lizbeth Corona and I was born and raised in Tlaxcala, Mexico with my beautiful family. I am very happy and excited to be your childrens’ teacher this year!

I completed my studies at the University of Tlaxcala and obtained my degree in Industrial Engineering. I have been in the United States for 15 years and I currently live in Elmhurst with my husband and I am a proud mother of 2 children.
​ 
At home we speak, read and write Spanish. I have experience working with various activities and my goal is to make the classes fun and educational!
​
I am happy to be able to share my knowledge with the new generations to come and I am very passionate to teach the beautiful Spanish language to your students!

¡Muchas Gracias!
María Fernanda Almeida
¡Saludos! My name is María Fernanda Almeida. I was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador (a beautiful small country in South America known for the Galapagos Islands). I have a Bachelor degree in Finance and a Master degree in International Relations. My passion for many years was helping entrepreneurs in Ecuador, Latin America and the U.S. For nine years, I worked with a non for profit organization in Chicago. 
​
​For me, Spanish has been an asset that I have used for my professional development. I am a mother of two, and I am happy to see my children speaking and embracing both English and Spanish. For the last two years, I was living in Ecuador with my children. This was a fantastic experience for them since we lived surrounded by beautiful mountains and volcanos, tasted delicious Ecuadorian food, and even learned and spoke a little bit of Quechua. By teaching Spanish through games, songs and art projects, I hope I can bring to my students some of the same experience my children had while living in Ecuador. 
Alma Ascencio
Hola Familias! My name is Alma Ascencio and I was born and raised in Veracruz, Mexico, where I graduated as a social worker. In 1988, I moved to Chicago and later got married in 1996. A year later, my husband and I had a son who we have raised bilingual. I believe that being bilingual opens a world of opportunities and enriches minds. A few years after my son was born, I discovered that my passion is working with children. I have been working and teaching Spanish since 2000, instructing at a diverse array of schools. My experience has taken me to teach in Public, Private, Catholic and Montessori Schools. I am very proud of my heritage, and I'm very happy that I have the opportunity to share my language, customs and culture with all your children.

French Teachers:

Peggy Laparra
Bonjour! My name is Peggy. I am French, I was born in Normandy, France. In addition to being a native French speaker, I have French as Second Language Certificate, this is an International diploma recognized to teach English as a foreign language. I have also a Master Degree in Business Administration. I lived in Paris for 14 years where I was working as a recruiter and as a training development manager in a recruitment company before relocating to the US.

I have been living in Naperville since 2012. I teach French in the Naperville area in a variety of settings, including teaching at local immersion preschools, instructing groups and individual French classes as well as providing French tutoring.

I love to teach my native language. I feel very proud when my students are making progress and start actually communicating in French. I love sharing the French culture with well-known stories or songs from my childhood. I like being creative when working on craft projects that I know my students will enjoy.
​
In my ideal class, my students are learning and having fun at the same time. 
​
​Merci Beaucoup!
​Estelle Paciero
Bonjour, my name is Estelle Paciero. I was born in Saint-Nazaire, a town located on the west coast of France. I first came to the US as an au pair, a live-in nanny, in Michigan. I met my husband during that year and after living in France for a couple more years, I decided to move for good to the USA. We’ve been married for 14 years and we have three children together. I graduated from Eastern Michigan University and earned my bachelor degree in secondary education with a major in French and a minor in Spanish. I have also spent a couple years tutoring students in French.
​
It’ll be a pleasure for me to teach your children because I love sharing my culture and language with others. I believe that by understanding someone else’s culture, we become more accepting of other people. Learning a second language will broaden your children’s future opportunities. I can’t wait to start and meet everyone.

​A bientôt!

Chinese (Mandarin) Teachers:

​Juno Dong
Ni Hao! My name is Juno Dong 董应之. I was born and raised in China before I came
to the U.S. to pursue my studies. I moved to the Chicago area in 2018 to attend
University of Chicago, and have recently received my Master of Arts degree in
Humanities with a concentration in Linguistics.

I have always been interested in language learning and teaching since childhood.
Being a multilingual myself (Mandarin, English, French and a little Japanese), I
believe in the prolonged and multifaceted benefits of language learning.

I am fascinated by the pedagogy that results in speakers with a good command of
more than one language as well as useful insights into the culture that each language
is rooted in.
​
Working at different American educational institutions helped me realize clearly my
passion in teaching. I enjoy exploring what makes my students curious to learn so
that they continuously try their best to excel in class. I am excited to bring my skills
and knowledge in Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition to working with my
students at the Language Labs.
​
Xie Xie!
Peggy Lee (Huang Lao Shi)
Ni Hao! My name is Peggy Lee. I was born and raised in Taiwan. I received my bachelor’s degree in Public Administration in Taiwan, and I immigrated to the United States in the year of 2005. I got my Montessori Early Childhood teaching certificate in 2009. Since then, I have consistently worked as a Chinese teacher. My husband and I have two kids aged 12 and 14 who are fluent in Chinese.

I am passionate about teaching. Teaching for me means transferring knowledge with love. It is about getting students to be happy learning and studying. I am responsible, creative, and love bringing my enthusiasm and energy to class.

​Xie Xie!