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Is their a generally agreed upon "great" spanish program for kids on this board?


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My husband and I speak Spanish as a second language. We learned a little from formal training, but most from living where we had to speak it if we wanted to talk to others! Twenty years later we're back in the U.S.

 

Recently DH bought Rosetta Stone Spanish so that he could advance even more. I just put it on the computer this weekend and my twin 8 year olds love it.

 

I know that it is expensive, but now that we have it and it is set up I can see why they charge that much. I was impressed with the customer service, too.

 

If you want more info you can go to their web-site or PM me.

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Here's a few we have and like:

 

http://www.gpb.org/salsa

 

This is free and, really, very good. You have to watch it on the computer, but it is well done and the support material is extensive.

 

Puertas Abiertas is what we're finishing up now. It's also very good, but there is no part 2 coming out any time soon, so I wish I'd gone another route.

 

La Clase Divertida is another option. I'm planning to go through level 1 quickly this fall. The worksheets would be too much reading/writing for a typical 1st grader but the video would be fun. I'm not a big fan of the obnoxious bird they use in the culture segments, but I got it cheap and my kids love doing video courses, so I'll suck it up.

 

Espanol para Chiquitos y Grandes is a well thought out book-based program. I plan to use it this year, but my dd is finishing up 1st grade work. I think it's best for 2nd and up. You could use this after any of the video options.

 

If you'd like bright, colorful worksheets to go along with a video course, check out the Complete Book of Spanish. This is very nice for reinforcing learning.

 

Good luck finding something you like!

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We use the Salsa Spanish already linked in an earlier post. Both of my kids have enjoyed this program. We are currently on our 2nd set of videos. I also look at the free lesson plans for extra activities. You can't beat the price!

 

HTH

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We like Rosetta Stone, but didn't start using it until ds was 9. If I'd had it when he was younger, I would have used it, though -- I think it's very nicely structured for younger users, as long as you're there to work with them.

 

We also used a thick, colorful workbook from BJ's that we bought for around $5.99. I can't remember the name right now, but it was a very cute introduction to Spanish.

 

Cat

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Well, I don't know about for a child that young. But for an older child (maybe 10 and above) spanishpod.com is wonderful. It's a daily podcast. You have to pay to use it. But you can get a month-long subscription and if you like it extend it to a yearlong subscription. The same company does a number of other languages as well. I've experimented with a lot of different language software and podcasts (I'm pretty serious about language learning) and I've never been so impressed.

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5 1/2 yo DD1 has been using Rosetta Stone, which I would recommend. Perhaps it would be worth it to try just Level 1 -- I think there's a money-back guarantee.

 

Also, check out Language Stars (languagestars.com) on Elston. DD1 has been going there a few years now, and we plan to start 2 1/2 yo DD2 there in September. You can call to arrange a free preview class.

 

Hope that helps!

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