Spanish-Las Puertas Retorcidas/The Twisted Doors

[Wildiris]

Las Puertas Retorcidas/The Twisted Doors

 

Has anyone use this? Does it the book come with audio CD or is that separate? What ages? Could a 2nd grader and I do this together?

 

Thanks,

Iris

[Mabelen]

It does come with a CD. My 13 yo dd did it independently as a warm up for fun. I wouldn't be able to say about your 2nd grader... I really would have to look at it more closely.

[Jennefer@SSA]

I love this resource; in fact I love it so much I contacted the author to see if she had other books in this format planned. Unfortunately she said she did not. :( It is truly such a great way to learn Spanish (or French since she has a French version as well!)

 

The CD does come with the book. As for a second grader using it I think it depends on your goals. I began using it with my oldest last year when he was in third grade. We started at the end of the year and got through Chapter 3. We took it nice and slowly and we spent about 2 weeks on each chapter. By the time we moved on he had listened to the CD so many times that he could recite those first 3 chapters by memory. I wouldn't let him move on until he could complete the chapter quiz perfectly. I wanted him to know all the vocabulary, be able to read it easily, be able to translate it from Spanish to English without any helps and be able to fully congugate the given verb for that chapter.

 

Each chapter is just a few sentences long. At the end of the chapter you are given a new verb to learn in its present tense congugation as well as all the vocab you will need. It was a little tough for ds to get in the beginning b/c there really is much to learn even though the chapters are really short and simple. It might be a little much for most second graders but then again if he is a strong reader and has a good background in Spanish it might be just right.

 

Also if you used it in a much more laid back format than I then it might be perfect as well. I realize I am expecting a lot from ds before we move on but we really are keeping it short (no more than 10 minutes a day) and simple and fun. Ds loved it and looked forward to it each day.

[crazyforlatin]

CD does come with the book. DD5 and I use it together but we study it slowly with GSWS. It holds the child's attention due to the nature of the story.

[Matryoshka]

I'm using this with my 9yo. She's already had a bunch of Spanish, so it's pretty much all review, but it's fun and she likes something she can do by herself. She pops in the CD, listens, then studies the words and takes the "test". I photocopy it out because the answers are right there - that's a complaint. It's really a lot to ask a kid not to glance at them. But copying them solves the problem easily - it also makes it easy to re-take the tests if they get more than the 2-3 wrong recommended before moving on. I like that it's written to the child.

 

I don't know if I'd use it as a standalone program, but it's been a fun supplement.

[Jennefer@SSA]

I'm using this with my 9yo. She's already had a bunch of Spanish, so it's pretty much all review, but it's fun and she likes something she can do by herself. She pops in the CD, listens, then studies the words and takes the "test". I photocopy it out because the answers are right there - that's a complaint. It's really a lot to ask a kid not to glance at them. But copying them solves the problem easily - it also makes it easy to re-take the tests if they get more than the 2-3 wrong recommended before moving on. I like that it's written to the child.

 

I don't know if I'd use it as a standalone program, but it's been a fun supplement.

:iagree: It is a good idea to photocopy the tests. I have no clue why the answers.are.right.there! :confused:

 

And I wouldn't use it as a standalone either but as a supplement it's a blast! :)

[Cindyg]

We cruised along great in this program until about Chapter 20 (out of 46).

 

There's nothing in particular about Chapter 20. It's just that there we realized the new words were flying at us much faster than we could memorize them.

 

It's a major pet peeve of mine that a foreign language program introduces a huge number of new words in a chapter, but subsequent chapters review only a small number of those words; and instead, introduce a huge number of new words.

 

This would probably not be a problem if Mom knew Spanish. But Mom doesn't know Spanish, and I couldn't keep up with this program. Dang it!

 

What I liked about it:

 

This is the first program we've used that actually forced my ds to conjugate verbs. Even stopping at Lesson 20, he got that down pat.

 

I love the story idea.

 

I LOVE that the English translation exactly mirrors the Spanish text, word for word. That really helps you find the English translation. That is so brilliant that now I'm mad at all other programs that don't do this (which is virtually all other programs).

 

What I didn't like about it (besides what I mentioned above):

 

The story is a little difficult to listen to. The "bad guy's" voice is too loud and too deep. Enrique's voice is too squeaky, sometimes too soft, and often too fast. The voices quickly vary from whispers to screams. You can't just turn the volume up to hear the soft voices because the screams will then be much too loud. And there's no way to slow down the excited, racing voices. I've actually tried to edit the sound files with audio editing software. I couldn't slow it down without ruining it.

 

All in all, though this is a very good program, I suspect it's too difficult for a second grader, unless she already knows a good bit of Spanish (or Mom does). And, for my son and me, it's a little too hard to be "just" a supplement. (It takes some time once you get to the longer story segments.)

 

I think it would be a great summer study or to take a break from your regular program.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Cindyg

[2cents]

I have this and we're starting it this fall as a supplement. I had started it when the girls started Spanish I but it was a little frustrating for them. Now that they have completed Spanish I and a summer of review we're going to start over and complete it and enjoy the story. I've heard good things about it. Our book came with the disk as well. I think the storyline will go well with a haunted history unit we're doing for fall. :)

[Wildiris]

Thank you for your replies. I'm going to give it a shot with the 2nd grader. The youngest of four, this one really wants to learn Spanish. Thanks for the photocopying tip!