Care Home Residents Living ‘La Vida Loca’ With Language Lessons

From flamenco to fiesta, residents at Kingsgate Care Home have been putting their Spanish to the test with lessons from Lingo Flamingo.

Throughout the six-week programme, residents at the East Kilbride care home have been learning the language, as well as taking time to enjoy the delicious cuisine and reminiscing about family holidays.

Lingo Flamingo offers a unique language learning experience for residents living with dementia across several locations in Scotland.

Kathleen Crymble, activities coordinator at Kingsgate, said: “So far, the residents are thoroughly enjoying the programme and I’m really delighted how well they have picked it up. Living with dementia can be extremely tough for our residents, and we have found that learning new skills as well as reminiscing can really help to improve their quality of life.”

“We’ve been incorporating Spanish into our everyday conversations and even do our morning exercises to Spanish music, it’s certainly a lot of fun!”

Isobel Beating, 88, resident at Kingsgate, said: “Learning Spanish with Elvira has been a lot of fun and I’m pleased at how easy I’ve found the lessons.

“Though I have enjoyed experiencing a new language, my favourite part was definitely the sangria and tapas!”

Leah, the Volunteer Coordinator at Lingo Flamingo, said: “Lingo Flamingo has developed a programme which is geared towards those living with dementia to allow everyone to experience the joy of learning a language as well as reaping the benefits of bilingualism.”

This course is taught by Elvira, a placement student from the University of Granada.

Elvira said: ‘I am loving the experience of teaching Spanish at Kingsgate Care Home. While I am learning valuable things about how to teach a class of older adults, they are also teaching me lots of new things! They have taught me about Scottish culture and cuisine! Teaching older adults is a lovely experience, and I look forward to every lesson”