The Language Spot

The Language Spot, located in Bloomington, Illinois, offers Spanish education services for all ages, including reading, writing, speaking, listening, and cultural immersion. The owner, Karen Grotbo, grew up in Bloomington-Normal and began learning Spanish in 7th grade. She loved everything about the language, including getting used to different cultures.

Karen earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish Education and a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She taught Spanish in public schools for five years, and while raising her family, she taught Spanish through tutoring, teaching continuing education classes at Heartland Community College, and private lessons. Once her children started school, Karen began The Language Spot.

The Language Spot was created out of Karen's belief in the importance of learning another language and to fill the void of Spanish learning opportunities for children and adults. The Language Spot operates around the core values of excellence in quality education, a fun, and comfortable learning environment, and community connections.

Karen learned about the SBDC through her realtor while visiting rental spaces for her business. She needed help with business management, financial projections, and marketing. Karen worked with SBDC business advisor Gabriela Montaigne, who helped her secure marketing resources and created a solid legal structure for her business. In addition, she enlisted the help of SBDC intern Diana Hernandez to make her website and credits Diana for her success. The one piece of advice Karen has for other entrepreneurs is to contact the SBDC if they need help with their small business.

Visit The Language Spot at www.thelanguagespotbn.com to learn more about her business or to inquire about learning Spanish.

Contact the SBDC at sbdc@iwu.edu for more information on how we can help your business.