Renaissance Mom Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 The recent thread on self ed has encouraged me to do more. (Yay! and Eek!) I've come far in history and literature by teaching with Tapestry of Grace for the last 6.5 yrs and becoming addicted to the Teaching Co. courses. (Thanks to all you pushers out there.) My most pressing need for self ed is in Spanish. I tried to keep slightly ahead of my oldest dd in Latin when she started last year. Within three months, she had caught up and passed me. I can understand concepts, grammar, etc., but I just haven't had the time to devote to vocab and chart memorization. I had learned another language (not Spanish or Latin) in high school then spent several years in a country where that language is spoken -- I eventually earned a Rotary scholarship and spent a year at a university in that country where I matriculated as a regular student and didn't have to take any "X" as foreign language courses. So I get how to tackle learning another language. I have been teaching my younger two children Spanish this year. I mean, how can I mess up an intro year of elementary Spanish? I've spent enough time in Spanish-speaking countries that I'd picked up a lot of basic vocab -- what I call "taxi cab Spanish" because I can ask how to get places, bargain for prices, etc. But I want to really learn Spanish for myself to stay ahead of the younger two and not get in the way of my oldest dd who will be doing Spanish I next year for high school. I checked into opencourseware. MIT has a Spanish I course all laid out using Destinos. But I can't find any answer keys to check my work. Also, there isn't an opportunity for feedback when I speak. I know that at some point I'll need to find a native speaker to converse with. But for now, I think practicing with audio would be sufficient. I can't commit to an interactive online class or to a community college live class right now. I need to work at my own pace whevever I carve out the time. So, does anything exist out there for me? I like the Destinos concept but don't know if I could truly do it without a teacher. Has anyone done so? I very much like Puntos de partida and have a used text. But it's not geared toward self ed. Oldest dd will use So You Really Want to Learn Spanish I next year. Would that be enough for me to do it ahead of time? Or, has anyone used something like Tell Me More for self ed with any success? Sorry for the ramble. I've thought myself into circles over this ... obviously, I'm still loopy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Have you looked at Breaking the Barrier Spanish? I found their workbook at a thrift store and have considered using it for a self-ed refresher. Also Live Mocha or Duolingo are both self-paced free online courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 We used Pimsleur with Destinos. We tried Destinos without the Pimsleur at first, but didn't get very far. We needed a lot more repetition and PImsleur gave us that. We got the Pimsleur from the library. It's kind of expensive to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaissance Mom Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 I am doing this starting in January: http://spanishmooc.com/ This looks promising! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I am doing this starting in January: http://spanishmooc.com/ I see a start and end date but no info. re. day/time. Can you direct me to where that is found? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I'm guessing it works like the PA homeschooler classes. They post assignments and deadlines. When you actually watch the videos and do the homework is up to you as long as you meet the deadline. This is what I base that upon: Ah, ok, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Have you looked at the Coffee Break Spanish podcasts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I'm using Breaking the Spanish Barrier and some Practice Makes Perfect books to supplement, but I have to say that online course that's mentioned above looks awfully good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula in PA Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I'm using Breaking the Spanish Barrier and some Practice Makes Perfect books to supplement, but I have to say that online course that's mentioned above looks awfully good. I was wondering which of the Practice Makes Perfect books you were using? I looked at them on Amazon and there are so many of them! I could use a little guidance. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I bought 4 of the books: Grammar, Verb Tenses, Vocabulary, and Pronouns and Prepositions. I'm using the first three, but you could easily just use the first two I think. I've only been doing it for a few months though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 I am doing this starting in January: http://spanishmooc.com/ Thanks for the link. I am learning Spanish with my boys and I need to get ahead of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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