Tips for teaching language I don't know

[Guest kt2bdr]

My daughter wants to learn Spanish. She has already picked up some from shows like Dora and Diego. I want to actually start teaching her Spanish when we start homeschooling in August. I know some Spanish from high school but do not feel comfortable speaking it and don't know how to conjugate verbs very well. How should I start teaching her since I cannot just expose her to it through daily conversation? Do I need a curriculum, if so which one do you recommend? Should I focus on teaching vocab and add grammar later?

[ailysh]

I just started doing exactly this! The first tip I can offer you is to learn the language yourself while you attempt to teach it to your daughter. I use Duolingo, and it has been a huge help to me. I also use Ankidroid (an app) for flashcards for myself. You can download it for free on an Android phone or tablet (costs like $25 on an i-phone), or download it for free (www.ankisrs.net) on your computer. It uses a special algorithm for making sure that you are doing the flashcards in the best way to learn them and has a huge user-generated database of flashcard decks. Both of these resources are free for me, and both extremely helpful. When you learn a new sentence or vocabulary word, use it around the house, as much as possible. You can often find a Meetup http://www.meetup.com depending on what city you live in, for foreign language conversation groups.

 

Second, start teaching basic vocabulary to your daughter, and using it around the house. Colors, numbers, shapes, body parts, exactly like you did with English. I'm not sure how old your daughter is, but mine is 3. She has these Preschool Prep Co. dvd's (http://www.preschoolprepco.com) that she used to watch when she was learning her letters, numbers, shapes, and colors in English. Each disc also has a Spanish option, so we are going back to them in Spanish. She loves them, I don't know why, they seem sooooo boring to me. We also have the Whistlefritz Spanish dvd's, but she is more reluctant to watch those. My 9 month old loves them.

 

Third, if you have a good public library, they often have loads of children's books in Spanish. Like board books all the way to novels. I have been putting books on hold each week to pick up for quite awhile now, so I just added one or two Spanish books each week.

 

Forth, there are a number of free apps for Spanish flashcards for children, if you want to go that route.

 

Try to find some Spanish language music to listen to, or audio books in Spanish. Or, like I have started doing, play her favorite children's dvd's in Spanish with English subtitles if they have that option (many do), to get her and you used to the sound of spoken Spanish. She doesn't even have to be able to read the subtitles. If she knows them well, she will know what is going on. Hulu also has a latino section with Spanish language shows. Georgia Public Broadcasting has the PBS show Salsa, which is like a Spanish Sesame Street, to stream on their website. I don't know that website. You can google it.

 

As far as teaching vocab and adding grammar later, most children's Spanish curricula do exactly that. If you are playing dvds and reading books, and speaking to her in Spanish as you learn it, she will naturally pick up some grammar on her own, and then when she gets a bit older (again, I'm not sure how old she is) you can add in grammar via a curriculum. Classical Academic Press has a Spanish for Children program that is grammar-centered that starts, I believe, at third grade.

 

Hope that helps! There are soooo many free resources out there that it seems a shame to spend too much to start out. As long as you can be consistent, she will learn. Good luck!

[PhotoGal]

How old is your daughter?

 

We used Song School Spanish this past year and enjoyed it. I am hoping to use an online tutor next year if I don't find a local class.

[Rosie_0801]

I think it depends a lot on how your child learns and how fast. I have a kid with Echolalia so my experiences (minimal) and expected progression isn't much use to anyone else.

[Guest kt2bdr]

Sorry I thought I had posted her age. She is 4 but is advanced for her age. WendyAndMilo- My goal is for her to become fluent in reading and writing as well as speaking. Which brings up another question- She is reading but is still learning some of our English grammar rules, should I wait to teach her to read in Spanish? I'm nervous that if I get Spanish books at the library she will want to read them but will get confused.

 

Thank you for all the suggestions so far!

[Miss Tick]

One way to think about teaching Spanish is to mirror how we teach English. Start by building vocabulary, give plenty of opportunities to hear the language, use simple commands, etc. As they get older it will be easier to learn the formal rules, and also easier to find texts for guidance. If they already know the vocabulary and have an "ear" for the language they will be able to progress quickly.

 

One other resource I discovered recently is from Tin Man Press. They have some activity packets in Spanish. Some use cutting -you cut away words that match or rhyme out what have you and you end up holding the answer. Another set gives simple drawing directions. There are two more packets. A nice way to add some variety.

[stoverdavid30]

Find some Hispanic friends, have them over for dinner, immerse as best as you can.  That's the way my family has learned Spanish.  Lots of fun too!