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UPDATE: Has Anyone Used Descubre Espanol or Colega?


Aras
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Hello Hive!

 

Like the title says, has anyone used Descubre Español published by Santillana? I am having a hard time finding an upper elementary Spanish program for my children that will work for us.

 

- It seems most of the elementary programs available are geared toward lower elementary and are too cutesy, and my kids are not ready for high school texts.

- Since Spanish is a living language, I want more of a conversational and cultural focus, rather than a grammar focus.

- I would like some pictures and color on the pages.

- I want content written by native speakers. We have tried reading a lot children's books that a translated, but they seem flat and stilted.

- I don't want them to do a whole bunch of workbook pages. 

 

I do speak Spanish, so that will help with my implementation. I just haven't found anything that meets my criteria. I read that some dual-language school districts are using this book, so I was hoping someone has experience with it. Or anything else that looks promising.

 

Here is the link to the book I am talking about http://www.santillanausa.com/descubreelespanol/

 

ETA: Has anyone used Colega? http://www.europeanbookshop.com/languagebooks/series/COSP

          http://edelsa.es/venta/index.php?route=product/category&path=59_292_71

 

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We don't use Descubre, but we do use Santanilla's third grade Yabisi spanish. It is a very solid program. I had contemplated descubre, but I felt that Yabisi was better for us since I really just wanted a Spanish Language Arts program. 

 

A word of caution though, Santanilla has the absolute WORST customer service I have ever used. This is not an exaggeration. It took me months of frustration to sort out my order with them. I never actually got it completely sorted out. 

 

We will probably buy their fourth grade Yabisi curriculum next year, but I will have to learn to meditate to get through the process. If you do decide to use Descubre, I would love to hear a review. 

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I looked at Yasibi, but I don't think they are there yet. They had a year in a Spanish Immersion public school, but that was about 4 years ago and they have forgotten a lot of it. 

 

I really like the look of Descubre, but the customer service issue scares me. I found another program called Colega that I can purchase through Amazon. From the samples of each that I have looked at it seems like Descubre is most likely what I need. 

 

I will update after I make a decision.

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I'm considering the same curriculum. My girls will be in 4th and 5th grade. Its the only thing I could find lower than high school but higher than the cute elementary school programs. The only draw back I could see is, it is meant to be taught by a spanish teacher so you would need to know spanish. I'm going to start them in it and hand it off to dh when it gets to hard for me.

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  • 1 year later...

I'm considering the same curriculum. My girls will be in 4th and 5th grade. Its the only thing I could find lower than high school but higher than the cute elementary school programs. The only draw back I could see is, it is meant to be taught by a spanish teacher so you would need to know spanish. I'm going to start them in it and hand it off to dh when it gets to hard for me.

 

Did you wind up using it?

 

Spanish for Children is neither enjoyable nor effective for DS at this point. Anyone who has used Descubre, what components did you use?

 

Update: I ordered the level C student book secondhand to preview. If I like it, I think I'll try getting the teacher stuff and DVD directly from Santillana.

Edited by whitehawk
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We use the middle school program, Español Santanilla, and we really like it. It's definitely a program that requires a Spanish speaker. I have posted on it extensively in another thread although my comments don't directly apply to you and the elementary program.

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