spanish curriculum

[mytwomonkeys]

my friend would like to teach her children spanish. her husband is fluent, so they would have someone to practice with (although he travels A LOT) so a curriculum is necessary. any suggestions?? she would like something other than rosetta stone. her children are 9 & 6. TIA. :)

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[Ariston]

We're having great luck with Visual Link. I have spoken to my kids at home for a long time, but now after using VL they are actually forming sentences on their own and initiating conversations in Spanish. The first lesson includes a lot of new words, so I was worried about the pacing but there is a lot of repetition and reinforcement so it has turned out great. I recently started using it with a neighbor child who had ZERO experience with Spanish (couldn't even count to five) and he also has been able to learn quickly.

 

I have not found any textbook I was happy with for younger ages. There are some boxed programs like Calico that look really good but they were too pricey for me. (I think it was $249)

[StephanieZ]

So You Really Want to Learn Spanish by Galore Park has worked very well for us. I'd say it's good for ages 10 & up.

Prior to that, I liked Getting Started With Spanish (age 8+)

 

Since the dh is fluent, I'd say the best way to begin will be piles of Spanish language children's books, starting with baby/toddler books (opposites, alphabet, counting, etc), and then transitioning with Spanish language versions of books they already know in English. There are zillions in any library. Also, playing games such as Uno, Twister, etc, etc in Spanish only. Labeling household items with post-it notes in Spanish. Setting a timer for 10 minutes during supper and ONLY speaking Spanish then. Those are the sorts of fun things I wish I could have done with mine (but I don't speak Spanish, so we were more limited!)

[besroma]

We like Puertas Abiertas.

[mom2bee]

A Multi-pronged approach is always extremely useful for getting good at a language. I understand that the dad is fluent, where does the mom stand on the linguistic spectrum? How far is she willing to go?

 

Media

--Get Childrens books in Spanish

--Teach the Kiddos to read in Spanish and require that they read each day in Spanish, even if it is for 15minutes or one small book.

--Have them do copy work and later mimicry of Spanish texts (as they get older/more experienced)

--I second the recommendation for Visual Link Spanish, I also recommend "Kids Stuff Spanish" if she can get a hold of a copy.

 

I recommend taking a "learning sentences primarily, vocabulary secondary." type approach. Start a word wall for Spanish. Have a daily spanish time that grows from 10minutes to how ever long they can manage it over the months and years to come.

 

Watch DVD's in Spanish instead of English whenever possible. If they have seen a movie in English, then it is time to start watching that movie in Spanish.