Alicia64 Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Based on your advice, I've got my kids totally hooked on Duolingo Spanish -- thank you so, so much! I'm stunned something so cool is free. WTH?! Anyhoo, I can't find the thread where you tell me which Spanish curriculum you pair w/ Duolingo? Can you let me know your favorite written Spanish curriculum here? Again, thank you for your Spanish help -- it's truly appreciated! Alley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I've often suggested Getting Started With Spanish to go with it, but I don't think you could go wrong with anything. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Breaking the Barrier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I have tired various French curriculum, but nothing stuck with us till Duolingo. I did use to get various things from the library and listen or watch them with the boys. I recommend you try out all things your library offers before buying something. It will give you a better idea of what you might like. One thing I did do is promise that once Eldest reaches the end of his Duolingo tree his French for awhile will be re-watching a favorite TV show with French audio. Then it will be, if I can find one playing a favorite computer game with lots of audio in French. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 So for the 11yos in your signature? Spanish for Children would work well. That's what my 7th grader has paired with Duolingo this year. It's worked fabulously. We plan to go with Breaking the Barrier after SFC B. A 7th grader could probably start here and just not go full speed. It's high school level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 For French we used Practice Makes Perfect Books which worked great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I have tired various French curriculum, but nothing stuck with us till Duolingo. I did use to get various things from the library and listen or watch them with the boys. I recommend you try out all things your library offers before buying something. It will give you a better idea of what you might like. One thing I did do is promise that once Eldest reaches the end of his Duolingo tree his French for awhile will be re-watching a favorite TV show with French audio. Then it will be, if I can find one playing a favorite computer game with lots of audio in French. Similar here. My kids have never seen the original Star Trek series, and I was thinking that would be super fun in German. LOL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Costly, but we use Homeschool Spanish Academy alongside it to give a live interaction component. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted March 21, 2016 Author Share Posted March 21, 2016 (edited) So for the 11yos in your signature? Spanish for Children would work well. That's what my 7th grader has paired with Duolingo this year. It's worked fabulously. We plan to go with Breaking the Barrier after SFC B. A 7th grader could probably start here and just not go full speed. It's high school level. Is Spanish for Children in workbook form? If yes, I'd buy two for two kids? I'm not sure what to buy: DVDs, audio discs? My kids are both 12 and in 7th grade. Thanks! Alley Edited March 21, 2016 by Alicia64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Is Spanish for Children in workbook form? If yes, I'd buy two for two kids? I'm not sure what to buy: DVDs, audio discs? My kids are both 12 and in 7th grade. Thanks! Alley Yes, each kid would need their own workbook, which is called the primer. If you're learning Spanish alongside them I'd definitely get the DVDs. If you're comfortable teaching it you would probably be okay without them. The audio disks come with the DVDs, but we rarely used them. The DVDs are great though. And of course the answer key would make grading faster and easier for you. My 7th grader has done about a page a day in SFC alongside daily Duolingo practice. I'm very pleased with his progress. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted March 21, 2016 Author Share Posted March 21, 2016 Yes, each kid would need their own workbook, which is called the primer. If you're learning Spanish alongside them I'd definitely get the DVDs. If you're comfortable teaching it you would probably be okay without them. The audio disks come with the DVDs, but we rarely used them. The DVDs are great though. And of course the answer key would make grading faster and easier for you. My 7th grader has done about a page a day in SFC alongside daily Duolingo practice. I'm very pleased with his progress. Not to be dingy, but I should buy the primer for 7th grade, right? Thank you so much! Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 (edited) Not to be dingy, but I should buy the primer for 7th grade, right? Thank you so much! Alley I'm not sure I understand the question. They don't come with grades, but Spanish for Children is very appropriate for a 7th grader. The primer is the workbook which is the only student text there is. There's an answer key, DVD set, and optional reader to go with it. If you're fairly new to Spanish you should definitely get the DVD. Headventureland.com has extra practice. FWIW, the grammar instruction in SFC is far meatier than the typical public school Spanish 1 textbook. I own a brand new Holt set and a late 90's Pearson set, which I used to evaluate how much ground my high schoolers have covered since they were using an older, non-standard introductory text (Madrigal's Magic Key). When DS/7th finishes a year of Duolingo with SFC I have no doubts he could pass the final tests for these ps texts. Edited March 21, 2016 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 The grammar & vocab in SFC A was very similar to (and, in some grammar cases, beyond) what DD learned in high school Spanish I. DD learned more vocab in Spanish I, but the actual grammar was the same or beyond Spanish I knowledge. SFC A was too much without enough review (even with Headventureland - which was fairly new at the time) for my DD when we tried it, but was great content - looking back. It just didn't work for us. We used Getting Started with Spanish (and Duolingo) before trying SFC A. We didn't use the videos and perhaps that would have been more helpful. SFC is a really meaty program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 The grammar & vocab in SFC A was very similar to (and, in some grammar cases, beyond) what DD learned in high school Spanish I. DD learned more vocab in Spanish I, but the actual grammar was the same or beyond Spanish I knowledge. SFC A was too much without enough review (even with Headventureland - which was fairly new at the time) for my DD when we tried it, but was great content - looking back. It just didn't work for us. We used Getting Started with Spanish (and Duolingo) before trying SFC A. We didn't use the videos and perhaps that would have been more helpful. SFC is a really meaty program. If I'm looking at it correctly, Getting Started with Spanish isn't a workbook. It just lists lessons. How do you give the lessons to your kids? Or is the book a workbook? Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 If I'm looking at it correctly, Getting Started with Spanish isn't a workbook. It just lists lessons. How do you give the lessons to your kids? Or is the book a workbook? Alley we do GSWS along with duolingo. We just do GSWS orally. he listens to the pronounciations and repeats them, then translates them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 I agree SFC doesn't have enough review by itself, but that's exactly what makes it a great pairing with Duolingo for us. SFC is grammar heavy and needs review; Duolingo has excellent review but not a lick of grammar. 20-30 minutes of Duolingo and one page of SFC a day is a very manageable workload and they compliment each other fabulously. My kids have found they already know 1/4-3/4 of the new vocab in SFC lessons because of Duolingo, which makes it very unintimidating. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 I agree SFC doesn't have enough review by itself, but that's exactly what makes it a great pairing with Duolingo for us. SFC is grammar heavy and needs review; Duolingo has excellent review but not a lick of grammar. 20-30 minutes of Duolingo and one page of SFC a day is a very manageable workload and they compliment each other fabulously. My kids have found they already know 1/4-3/4 of the new vocab in SFC lessons because of Duolingo, which makes it very unintimidating. Sounds good. So, how old are your kids that use SFC? I think I'll buy the whole thing: workbookds and DVD. Do you agree? I'm tired of making buying-mistakes which is why I'm being so careful. Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 If I'm looking at it correctly, Getting Started with Spanish isn't a workbook. It just lists lessons. How do you give the lessons to your kids? Or is the book a workbook? It isn't consumable. There are free audio lessons downloadable from the website. It is a beginner book & DD did it for about six months before she started Duolingo. It is easy for kids to use independently, IMO, or you can do them with them. I had my DD write the translations for each lesson in a notebook. Periodically, I'd give her a quiz - 10 sentences from the answers in the back that she had to translate (English to Spanish instead of the usual Spanish to English). SFC A is also a beginner program, but kicks it up a notch & expects a LOT more out of the kid. If your kid(s) already know a lot of vocab & constructions from Duo, it might be a great program to pull it all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 We're using Easy Spanish Step by Step. The workbook is cheap but there's not a lot of practice. We're finding we need a lot more practice on vocab than the book offers, so we're adding in some quizzlet flashcards. I'd rather not have to use two apps, especially with an ipod with no working sound. :( 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 (edited) My Duolingo + SFC kids are 10 and 12, and even the 15yo goes through it for the explicit grammar instruction. DD8 uses The Fun Spanish; she'll start SFC this fall (slowly). Edited March 23, 2016 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenKitty Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 We've used Learning Spanish Like Crazy along with Duolingo. Thought about trying out Lifepac Spanish 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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