Spanish for High School Help!

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We don't know any Spanish in this house, I don't want to spend the $$$ for Rosetta Stone. I was looking into SOS 1 but then found a thread where people were dissatisfied with it. I don't have the $$$ to try out programs and find out that they won't work for us. So............

 

has anyone used an free online service and made it work? I don't even know how much needs to be learned for one credit. My only experience is the credit I got in high school. Of course, I don't remember anything but how to count to 10!

 

I'm looking at this website: http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/beginner/

Has anyone had any experience with this website? Any experience stories or knowledge about a Spanish credit would be greatly appreciated!

[Mandy in TN]

My boys are using Abeka Spanish 1 with a native Spanish speaker as tutor for 1.5 hours each week.

However, last week they began using TeLL Me More/ Auralog Latin American Spanish free through our library as a supplement. I wanted them to hear spoken Spanish in a controlled environment more than one day/ week.

I think it was good to have some Spanish prior to beginning TeLL Me More, because (unless your student writes down all the grammar explanations in the program) the brief grammar explanations are not enough to remember the information. I am specifically thinking of things like conjugations of irregular verbs.

However, definitely check your library's databases and the databases of other libraries in your area to see if they offer any free instruction. Something like TeLL Me More could always be used along with something like Spanish Now! or another inexpensive product from the local bookstore.

HTH-

Mandy

[StaceyinLA]

We used SOS Spanish and really liked it. It is very thorough, and covers all the Spanish grammar, which a lot of programs (including Rosetta Stone) do not.

 

I'd look into SOS a bit more.

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Does is start out with just learning vocabulary? My dd knows nothing about Spanish. Does is get into the grammar too quickly?

 

Also, I'm not going to be able to help her. Will she be able to do this completely on her own?

 

Thanks!

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[Laurie4b]

One book that I think it really excellent for Spanish I is Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish. It works heavily with cognates, so that the student is speaking in meaningful ways early in the process. The approach is nontraditional in that she starts with the past tense and doesn't introduce the informal second person until the end of the book. (It's okay because in Spanish, you address a person you don't know well using the 3rd person anyway.) Learning that way cuts way back on the conjugation that can be overwhelming at first. We combined Madrigal's with Practice Makes Perfect Spanish Verb Tenses (a traditional approach) for the texts (that's about $35 for both). We used RS because we had it, but you could check any audio Spanish program out of the library.

[dopeyfav]

My ds needs to take 4 years of Spanish & I am in need of advice. Neither myself or DH speak any Spanish, so this needs to be something he can do. We are willing to hire a tutor if necessary. We have no idea where to start other than Rosetta Stone, which only has 3 years.

 

Thank you,

Rhonda