About Us
Sprachcaffe Languages Plus was founded in 1983 by the two Sarno brothers, who are both from Rome. Their slogan: “Learn languages and meet people!”
How it all began
As a way to finance their studies, the Sarno brothers gave language lessons in their own living room in Italy. The lessons often ended with a sumptuous meal: delicious pasta and a good bottle of wine.
The brothers also worked as language teachers at different schools. The interest and the number of students grew enormously. During a holiday, they once even gave an Italian course at a campsite in Calabria.
Thus the idea was born. The Sarno brothers opened the first Sprachcaffe in Frankfurt in 1983. Their first customers were students who found this new, communication-orientated form of language teaching to be very effective. The concept was so successful that other schools were soon opened.
Origin of the name
The name “Sprachcaffe” was inspired by the Italian tradition of the "Caffè Letterario". These “literary cafes” were meetings of various intellectuals in Italy who used them to discuss many topics from areas such as politics and culture.
This tradition led the Sarno brothers to the idea of a "Caffè Linguistico", i.e. a “linguistics café” or “Sprachcaffe”, and to give people from around the world the opportunity to meet each other in a relaxed environment and to talk to each other in different languages.
Sprachcaffe in figures
- More than 200 colleagues around the world
- About 40,000 satisfied language students each year
- About 2500 partners
- 30 language schools worldwide
- 7 languages
Wide variety of language courses and holidays
Sprachcaffe is now an international company which organizes a stay abroad for thousands of children, adults, professionals and other people each year. The language lessons are based on communication and the relaxed, enjoyable transfer of language knowledge and skills.
In recent years our product offer has grown to include tours, study trips, dancing, diving and cooking courses as well as internships and jobs abroad. Find out more about the exciting services we offer on our other pages!
International recognition
Sprachcaffe is recognized by many international organizations, including FIYTO (Federation of International Youth Travel Org.), ALTO (Association of Language Travel Organisations) and FDSV (Fachverband Deutscher Sprachreiseveranstalter). We are ISO- and DIN-certified and, in the various countries, accredited by the most prestigious institutions, including the British Council in Britain and the Instituto Cervantes in Spain.