TkSJmom Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 I am looking for a foreign language curriculum for my first grader. He has asked to learn French, Japanese, German, and Dutch this year, lol. We figured we would start with French since my husband speaks the language. I am very interested in the Rosetta Stone homeschool program and wanted some feedback on it. I was hoping that this could be one area where he might be able to learn independently. Everything else we are doing at this point is very teacher intensive and I think he would love to do a computer oriented program on his own. Are there any other language programs I should be looking into? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Rosetta Stone does not get good reviews here, and I think it is not worth the money. Do you have a library? If so I would go check out the various kits, CDs, DVDs, your library has to get a feel for the language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Rosetta Stone doesn't work for many people, but most people don't have someone who speaks French living with them. We have tried RS and dd really enjoys using it. My problem was I found it difficult to assign and monitor. That said, I didn't try really hard, and we therefore didn't get very far. We have done much better with Prima Latina because I found the workbook format much easier to assign and monitor. What I love most about RS is they are listening to native speakers. What I like least is that to me it seems unstructured. That said, my plan is to use it for spoken practice and to start with L'Art de Lire as our main program. If you decide to purchase, there is another recent thread with a great coupon and you can get all 5 levels for $179. It expires Monday. I think the code is rslms5199. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 For that age and with a parent who does speak French, I like Skoldo, which is fun, colorful, and cheap; it even comes with a CD. There are four levels, http://www.skoldo.com/ and I buy them at bookdepository.com. When DD was studying French, she used these independently, but we used Breaking the French Barrier together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Does your library offer Mango Language? If so, I would check it out first, as it's free if your library subscribes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinspired Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Did you just buy the student books and not the teacher's? For that age and with a parent who does speak French, I like Skoldo, which is fun, colorful, and cheap; it even comes with a CD. There are four levels, http://www.skoldo.com/ and I buy them at bookdepository.com. When DD was studying French, she used these independently, but we used Breaking the French Barrier together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Did you just buy the student books and not the teacher's? Just the student books - the answers are on the back - and from the description here, http://www.skoldo.com/resource/french/books/french-teacher-book-1, I didn't need a lesson plan or extra worksheets. I have many other French books to supplement (eg. Practice Makes Perfect) and I wasn't using it as the main book, which was Breaking the French Barrier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 We outsource our French but the instructor is using a program made for immersion schools in Canada. It's called "Histoires en action!" and uses full immersion with hand signals and actions to help with comprehension. Each unit revolves around a well-known story (we started with 1a- Les trois petit cochons or The Three Little Pigs) and all my guys loved it :-). They are constantly running around the house screaming, "Petit cochon! Petit cochon! Je veux entrer!!" LOL. And we do have a DVD that we watch at home. If your husband is willing to do some of the "teaching" it might work well for you guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 We outsource our French but the instructor is using a program made for immersion schools in Canada. It's called "Histoires en action!" and uses full immersion with hand signals and actions to help with comprehension. Each unit revolves around a well-known story (we started with 1a- Les trois petit cochons or The Three Little Pigs) and all my guys loved it :-). They are constantly running around the house screaming, "Petit cochon! Petit cochon! Je veux entrer!!" LOL. And we do have a DVD that we watch at home. If your husband is willing to do some of the "teaching" it might work well for you guys! That looks neat. To bad my kids have something against anything anything on DVD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 That looks neat. To bad my kids have something against anything anything on DVD. The DVD is completely optional, and the program would totally work without it. But a french speaking instructor would be a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma2three Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Did you just buy the student books and not the teacher's? You need the teacher's book, too. That's where the lessons, the scripts, and the worksheets are. Each lesson has 2-3 worksheets, which is where the bulk of the instruction is. The pupil's book seems like it would be homework to reinforce the school lessons. Both come with a CD. Be cautious, because there are two editions, and the 2nd edition is pretty different. I tried to be frugal and bought the teacher's edition used on ebay, and it turned out to be the first edition, which was too far away from the 2nd edition student book to be usable. Total false economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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