mommysanders Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Has anyone used Mango Languages for the Kindergarten level? I'm wondering if it's appropriate for that age? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 The regular Mango Language stuff would not be good for Kindergarten unless there is another program that I haven't seen. There was a program called Little Pim that is good for younger kids though it is probably best for preschoolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommysanders Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 The regular Mango Language stuff would not be good for Kindergarten unless there is another program that I haven't seen. There was a program called Little Pim that is good for younger kids though it is probably best for preschoolers. Thanks Jean. The Mango web site says it can be used as early as Kindergarten, but I don't see an example of what that would look like. We have Little Pim Italian (We are currently living in Italy, and bought it prior to moving here) and I think it's just OK. I don't find it very conversational, and my son gets bored with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Yeah - Little Pim is limited really to learning some vocabulary. That's why I think it's better for really young kids. The problem with Mango is that it uses conversational sentences that they choose. My elementary students would talk about very different things than an adult. The only things I've seen are really marketed to adults as I don't know a single kid who needs to ask how to get to the airport. Do they have a kid's version with kid conversation? I went to their website but while they say it is good for everyone I didn't see actual evidence of one with different sentences for children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
composr Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 In general, I'm not super keen on translation-based courses. Living in Italy, I'd imagine you'd have great access to monolingual Italian resource for kids. These are pretty fantastic for their colours, pictures, simpler content and repetition. This should allow you to build on top of the basic foundation Little Pim gives you. Short stories, dialogues through various shows, movies and interactive play with other kids (and you guys, if you're also using some Italian at home) can be ways of working more conversational and varied topics in. We are doing Japanese at home (inconsistently, but it's there), and building conversational skills through play, interaction, asking for things and giving kids direction in the target language (where they need to do things, perform tasks, etc.) is really helpful. Passive immersion will only go so far; real command of the language will come from active immersion, through using it and having to respond to it. I know that's kind of generic, though, and not any set of specific resources. :huh: Wish you well and keep up the good work! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 In general, I'm not super keen on translation-based courses. Yup. I speak Japanese fluently and I "failed" some of the placement test on Mango Japanese because I said "I've been studying Japanese for 3 months online." instead of "I've been studying online Japanese for 3 months." !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommysanders Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Actually we are going to learn Spanish. We aren't going to be in Italy much longer, and Spanish makes more sense for us long term. I do agree that interacting with the language in daily life is the best way to go! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
composr Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Actually we are going to learn Spanish. We aren't going to be in Italy much longer, and Spanish makes more sense for us long term. I do agree that interacting with the language in daily life is the best way to go! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Oh! That makes everything so much clearer! Well, as always, if you or DH have any Spanish ability, use it as best you can, and try to find games, activities and books/shows/music that are enjoyable to do together. But you probably know that already. Wish I had more practical resources, but great job and keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
composr Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Yup. I speak Japanese fluently and I "failed" some of the placement test on Mango Japanese because I said "I've been studying Japanese for 3 months online." instead of "I've been studying online Japanese for 3 months." !! That's exactly the kind of thing that drives me bonkers. I've been trying to stress a move completely away from test-based/evaluation-based learning to task-based. The ability to use the language trumps whether or not you answered an arbitrary question in the way the test writer wanted you to! (coincidentally, I've had that kind of experience in Japanese, too, because I've answered test questions based on how you might naturally read the sentence or say it - not how the book wanted you to!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Way back when I taught English in Japan (what we did as teens instead of babysitting ;) ) I would get reprimanded by my students if I answered "How are you" with "Fine, thanks, and you?" instead of "I'm fine, thank you. And you?" the way the book told them too! It always cracked me up because of course my way was more natural. Not that their way is wrong either. But there was no flexibility in their thinking. So I had to teach it to them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Oh, Spanish! Our library had (has?) an online Mango subscription that I played around with, but it didn't seem appropriate for my (at the time) 3rd graders. Maybe if you can facilitate? If course, if you are going to be a keyboard interface, you could try Duolingo for free. Another library had Muzzy online. That was more kid-friendly than Mango, but too pricy if you have to buy it. I hate to be only negative, so have you looked at Salsa from Georgia Public Broadcasting? I also found CBeeBies from the BBC today, but I haven't watched/played with any of it, it was just linked from their Spanish resources site. Similarly, you might find appealing kids shows archived at RTVE, from Spain. If you are leaving Italy for the States and are interested in continuing studying Spanish, see if you can find kid-oriented grammar-type books, or science or history. It is tricky to find those types of books here. Perhaps while you are still in Europe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommysanders Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Thanks for the help everyone! Sounds like I shouldn't bother with Mango at this age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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