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Spanish Help Please!


lillehei
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I have a 9 and 11 yo who are working their way through the end of Rosetta Stone Level 1. I don't really think they have learned anything. I have tried to have them greet people who speak spanish or say thank you, etc. and they can't. They have great accents and sound like native speakers when doing RS but they can't really do anything with it. I was thinking of dropping it, but dh thinks there is still value in the program but that we need to supplement.

 

I took almost 6 years of Spanish, but I don't remember it anymore. I am able to help them sometimes, but I can't converse with them.

 

I was reading on the Hive about Getting Started with Spanish to supplement RS. Is this worthwhile? It looks great to me online, but I can't see the whole book. I also bought a DK picture vocabulary book so we can start conversing over food, items in our house, etc. I think if I really study for a while I can provide some conversational spanish for them.

 

Questions:

How is Getting Started with Spanish?

What can I use to supplement Rosetta Stone that actually teaches them to speak with each other and others?

Are their any textbooks you would recommend for me to brush up on my Spanish AND use in the coming years to supplement RS for the kids? I looked at Avancemos (sp?) but they are super expensive on amazon used.

 

TIA,

Jen

 

ETA: I can't stand RS but we already bought it so I am going to try and use it by supplementing. Thanks for your help!

Edited by lillehei
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I have not used the programs you are interested in, so I can't help you there, but I did have a few thoughts to share.

 

It is very common for there to be a "period of silence" when kids are learning a new language. Some times it is short, some times not. I've heard this from bilingual friends about their kids and from an ESL/Spanish teacher I was talking with last week. They can understand some/enough/a lot, but to say it or respond is...difficult, kind of like shyness.

 

If you are looking for supplements, start at your library. Ours has a couple of on-line learning programs, board books (and readers), music tapes and dvds for learning Spanish - both for kids and adults. I haven't found anything that is a complete curriculum, but if you are looking for (cheap) supplements it would be a good resource. You might also try Salsa Spanish to change things up a bit.

 

The best choice, if you can do it, would be to meet with a native speaker once a week (or more). It doesn't have to be in conjunction with what you are learning in your curriculum, but this is a great way to get some "conversation" out of them. Plus, it is nice to just hear the flow of a native speaker. Our local university has some Spanish programs, and during the year the Hispanic Students group has free hour-long discussion sessions (some of the classes require that you go for a certain number of sessions, I think). If you can find that it would be fun (and cheap, a recurring theme for me :D).

 

I like your idea of conversing about things around the house! Put up labels, play a scavenger hunt or treasure hunt game. Come up with some standard questions and commands that you can use on a regular basis ("Ready to go?", "time for ____", "Where are your ____?", etc.) We have played the game "Who Am I?" (Quien Soy Yo?) and Headbandz (Adivina Quien Soy) in Spanish. Both games require the players to ask simple questions and use basic vocabulary to determine the chosen person or item.

 

I would encourage you to work on your own some too. I have enjoyed listening to News In Slow Spanish, you might try starting there (free, again!)

 

Hopefully you can adapt a few of these ideas to what your family needs, perhaps injecting more fun, or variety will help put you over the hump.

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Anyone have other suggestions, especially when it comes to a textbook for me to remember my many years of Spanish? I would need help with conjugation, vocab, grammar and the ability to converse with my children. I think most of it is up there in my tiny brain, I just can't remember it.

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