I’ve always wanted to speak Chinese more fluently. 
In fact, it would be cool if I could speak any language fluently, aside from English. 
I love the idea of being bilingual! 

Growing up, I was reluctant to speak Chinese to my mom, no matter how much she pushed me to practice the language.  I wanted to speak English!  All my friends spoke English, so why should I learn to speak Chinese? 

Now that I’m older, I regret not practicing my Chinese more.  When I visit Chinese-speaking countries or when I see my relatives in Taiwan, I have a very difficult time communicating.  I’m a little embarrassed I can’t speak my own native language fluently.

When my first child (aka “Rockstar”) was born in New York a few years ago, I was working as a Product Manager at American Express.  My husband (aka “Hubz”) and I made a pact to speak to her only in Mandarin Chinese.  We wanted her to grow up learning to speak both English and Chinese at a young age.  And we knew it would be much easier to teach her both languages as a toddler so she can develop the tongue for them. 

But how was I going to ensure she learns to speak Chinese fluently if we’re living in an English-speaking country, surrounded by English speakers?  And how was I going to maintain this pact if I can barely speak or read Chinese myself?  After Rockstar was born, I struggled to find any books, videos, and language programs that I could use to teach her the language.  (And now that Rockstar is a little older, she wants to learn Spanish too.)

I realized the only way to truly educate my daughter in multiple languages in an engaging manner is to create the product myself.  Welcome Jamma Jango!

Thank you for joining me on my adventure to develop fun and educational products that teach young kids new languages.  I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the latest successes, roadblocks, and ideas that have made Jamma Jango what it is today.