I took French in seventh and eighth grade, and I learned it quickly and easily. When I went to college and learned that Freshmen were required to take a foreign language, I thought I would try Spanish, so I enrolled in the Beginning Spanish class. Who else was in Beginning Spanish? People who had taken FOUR YEARS of High School Spanish; apparently, the professor wasn’t too picky, and for them, it was an easy A. For me? An easy C minus.
So when Parent Bloggers Network was looking for reviewers for a set of DVDs called Kids Love Spanish, I thought that maybe it would help my kids not be so far behind by the time they have foreign language requirements in school. We received the colorful set of seven DVDs, which start with Basic Words and then cover Basic Phrases, Family, Food, Animals, Colors & Shapes, and Alphabet & Numbers.
The DVDs were created and produced by sisters Krisse Brock Kelly and Julie Brock Campbell, who grew up speaking Spanish at home. Unfortunately, the self-production is evident. My kids cringed when each DVD got to the part near the end where Krisse and Julie sing and dance-they don’t even sing in Spanish, and it seems like the only reason for that part of the DVD is to either a. have enough material to fill the whole running time of the DVD or b. let them show off their singing and “dancing” skills. I have to keep my finger on the fast-forward button on the remote so we can skip that part! My son Ryan asked me why they didn’t at least sing in Spanish so kids watching could hear Spanish songs. Excellent point!
I will say, however, that the scenes of different children saying the word in Spanish is helpful because it shows how the same word can sound different depending on the pronounciation of the speaker. And, even several weeks later, when I ask my boys what the Spanish word is for food, they immediately say “Comida”, and they remember that water is “agua”. So, the repetition is reinforcing the word.
I’ll keep popping in the DVDs once in a while, especially now that Nathan tells me he is taking Spanish once a week at school-his elementary school has a Spanish teacher this year. Maybe he can even help me learn the Spanish I couldn’t learn in college.
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I’ve seen a good Dora the Explorer video that teaches Spanish. I think the key of these kind of videos isn’t to teach Spanish as much as expose the children, especially young children, to a foreign language. This can help them learn language in later life and help them in their own language acquisition now.
Erica-My son made the comment that for what he learned from the first Kids Love Spanish DVD, he could have just watched a few episodes of Dora
I agree that hearing a foreign language spoken can help young children understand language acquistion as a whole, and that’s an excellent point. What bothered me about these DVDs was the gratuitous singing and dancing by the two creators, not even in Spanish. It was weird.
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Hola! If you want a good material to learn Spanish for your kids, try Ms Blanca’s CD, you can get it online http://www.MsBlanca.com or ask in a book store. And coming soon will be a DVD called “La Fiesta” I know about this because I saw an interview at the Living Show.
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