A Brief History of Helen Doron Early English

The germ of the Helen Doron Early English program was planted in 1984, with a violin lesson.  Helen, a British-born linguist, wanted her 4 year old daughter to start music lessons.  She had researched the music schools available for young children, like any good mom would, and she was most intrigued by the Suzuki method for the violin.

Dr Shinichi Suzuki based his method on the premise that children can learn music in the same way, and with the same apparent ease, as when they first learn to speak.  Children learning violin by the Suzuki method start by hearing music.  They listen in class, and they get tapes to play in the background at home.  They experiment with the instrument, getting it to make noise and sounds, before organizing those sounds into distinct notes and melodies.  They learn to play by ear, learning to make the instrument mimic the music they hear.  Suzuki described his method as “the language of music.”

Helen Doron, the linguist and educator by training, quickly saw the analogy.  If children could successfully learn music as a language, then why not learn a language as music?  In 1985, Helen was ready to re-enter the work force after several years staying home with her daughter; she designed a course for early English education, based on the principles of small group learning, positive reinforcement, and repeated hearing; created homemade recordings of songs, rhymes and stories; and advertised herself as a private English teacher in her neighbourhood.

The results were amazing.  Helen’s system of teaching created an English language environment that mimicked the natural process of mother tongue learning, and the kids loved it!  Helen’s lessons were fun and lively, and stimulated the emotional, physical, creative and intellectual well being of the children.  Helen had more applicants than she had space.  She would need to expand.  Thus was born Helen Doron Early English.

Helen started by training teachers in her local area of northern Israel. In 1997, the first Helen Doron Early English franchise was opened in Austria, and the rest is history.  Today, Helen Doron Early English operates more than 700 Learning Centres in over 30 countries, and over one million children worldwide have learned to speak English through Helen’s method.

There are courses for babies as young as three months, and courses for teenagers; courses that focus solely on spoken English, and courses that include reading and writing; there is even a course that teaches English through the comedic drama of British pantomime.  Helen Doron classes create a fun, friendly environment to encourage learning through play and creativity.

And it all started with a violin lesson.