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German for young children-does this exist?


KJB
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Background:

 

We live in Germany. Two of my children (4 and 6) are attending German kindergarten. Two of my children (13 and 10) take German through the Dodds school and/or Rosetta Stone.

 

Next year, we will leave the country but will possibly stay in Europe.

 

My older two kids will continue studying German online, possibly through TPS or the University of Oklahoma. They have a very academic start to German. They know some conversational language, but their knowledge is pretty "text book" with a limited ability to converse.

 

My younger two understand quite a bit of the language (surprisingly sometimes) but have a limited ability/willingness to speak the language. They have a very conversational/school specific knowledge of German.

 

All that to ask this:

 

Is there an online program geared towards conversational German for young children? I'd like to put my 4 and 6 year old in front of a computer for an hour a day and have them use the webcam to interact with a virtual classroom of other children and a teacher to speak and learn German.

 

Ideally, I'd like a teacher to sing German songs, play little games, and converse with the virtual classroom requiring oral responses.

 

In other words, I would like a mini-replication of how they are learning German right now.

 

Is this possible? Does this exist? Is there something even better out there?

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Might sound crazy, but why don't you get some real German students from somewhere around you and do it with them? Get them to play games like Maeuseschlau und Baerenstark,.... I'm sure if you go to a Gymnasium near you and ask for a student who is interested you could find somebody who would do this a few times a week and in exchange get to spend some time with native speakers after/before they spend time speaking German with your 2 younger ones.

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Right now I am happy with the language exposure my little guys are getting. They are in German school from 8 until 11:45 with the option to stay until 4:30 (which we sometimes do!)

 

What I am looking for is a way to continue their daily exposure with a native speaker after we move. So my brainstorm was a virtual playgroup, led by a German teacher who is familiar with teaching small children, would be ideal.

 

I think it would be really neat to for my kids to get online and skype/chat/conference call with video to a group of other young children and a teacher. My idea is that they could learn songs, listen to stories, and answer comprehension questions the teacher asks like in school. They could speak to other children and the teacher, ideally.

 

I've actually found a few leads as to what I'm interested in. If one works out, I'll post!

 

Thanks for your response!

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Why not a real playgroup instead of a virtual one? I was able to put one together easily in my small suburban town in the US (yes, with native speakers), and actually also found a large one someone else had set up in the nearest city as well. Even native speakers want to get their kids together with other kids learning the language.

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That is a great idea if we end up back in the US. I am encouraged to hear you've been able to make it happen!

 

However, it looks like we'll end up in Turkey. I think most Turks are focused on teaching their children English as a second language, although I'm not sure.

 

I will certainly consider the option as it would be better than online!

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This would probably not help you much, but in France, they can start German in Kindergarden.

The lessons are free online, or you can pay and have a teacher supervise. But those lessons are meant for speakers of French.

http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/Ressources.aspx?PREFIXE=AL5AL0A&CLASSE=CP

 

I don't know if something similar exists in the UK.

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However, it looks like we'll end up in Turkey. I think most Turks are focused on teaching their children English as a second language, although I'm not sure.

 

 

I was suggesting finding the German expatriate community - in both the German playgroups we were in, I was the only parent not born in Germany. Most of the parents were speaking German at home with their kids and the other kids could speak German even though they were still preschoolers. It was great for my kids!

 

Though there are likely many more expatirate Turks in Germany, surely there are some expatriate Germans in Turkey?

 

Actually, considering how many Turkish people have lived and worked in Germany under the Gastarbeiter program, there are also likely many people who have returned home to Turkey after many years in Germany and whose kids speak fluent German.

 

For the local playgroup, I just hung flyers in the local libraries. I was rather surprised how many German families I found.

Edited by matroyshka
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Very cool. I will look into this.

 

I am mostly looking for live real-time conversation instead of curriculum, but this is very interesting.

 

It really drives home that the US is behind in what is offered in the way of foreign language for young children, relative to other countries.

 

Thanks!

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I'm sorry, I obviously hadn't understood at all what you were getting at.

 

Can I still add something? Whenever we are in Turkey I'm surprised by the amount of Turks with stunning German (local German accent and all), which I shouldn't be, but there you go. I have to say that this is usually in the more touristy areas of Turkey. They might be passing on their German skills to their kids, since it helps so much to find a job.

We've also got friends who sent their kids to a German gymnasium in Istanbul. For that to be feasable to run there must be a fair amount of German expats there.

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I'm sorry, I obviously hadn't understood at all what you were getting at.

 

Can I still add something? Whenever we are in Turkey I'm surprised by the amount of Turks with stunning German (local German accent and all), which I shouldn't be, but there you go. I have to say that this is usually in the more touristy areas of Turkey. They might be passing on their German skills to their kids, since it helps so much to find a job.

We've also got friends who sent their kids to a German gymnasium in Istanbul. For that to be feasable to run there must be a fair amount of German expats there.

 

 

I'm so glad to hear this. I've spoken to a few people who live near where we'll be and they tell me there are language schools, but I'm betting they are mostly for adults.

 

Unfortunately, we won't be too close to Istanbul where most of the big city options exist. Otoh, we'll be close to the Mediterranean which will make up for it!

 

Thanks again for your comments!

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