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July 2005 Volume IV, Issue 7 |
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| The InSide Story: Spanish for the Pre-School Set | ||
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| There are many products on the market to help us learn to speak another language of varying quality and appropriateness for their target audiences and/or libraries. We have reviewed several titles developed for younger users and have indicated each one's appropriateness for libraries. In an effort to give a consistent review, we took the Spanish resource from each language learning series, but ask you to note that many of these are available in other languages as well--just click on the series link within the ipage® title detail information to see other languages offered. Special favorites are designated with Tracy’s Trophy. Much research over the years shows that infants are born with the ability to distinguish all sounds in the human tongue. However, if children are not continually exposed to these sounds by the age of about six months, their neural pathways have closed to only those sounds heard in their environment. In an effort to give those babies a head start on learning multiple languages, many products exist to expose babies to these other sounds. Infant Resources Sound Beginnings contains 15 one-minute segments in seven languages. The makers recommend that you play one segment per day. Each segment contains the alphabet and simple rhymes. Teach Your Baby: Spanish also contains vocabulary words and short phrases along with suggestions. This is similar in length to the Sound Beginnings segment on Spanish. Baby Berlitz Baby Talk Spanish has simple songs in English that deal with common experiences for baby. It includes simple vocabulary in Spanish throughout the album and gives you a sing-along booklet with the words. Tracy’s Trophy: Baby's First Steps in Spanish, while only offering the one language, is actually my favorite for this age group as it is a collection of traditional rhymes and songs from the Spanish culture used to stimulate a baby's understanding of the sounds and rhythms of that language. The parents' guide explains in layman's terms the latest research on language acquisition and development, which I found quite helpful. Toddlers and Pre-schoolers As the child becomes older, there are quite a few options available, most of which incorporate songs and music. Again, research shows that using music helps stimulate the brain and neural pathways. By using songs, children can learn simple vocabulary in similar ways to which they learned their first language—by immersion. Unfortunately, as we look through many of these products, they come with workbooks that make them library unfriendly. However, a few do have the workbooks available as pdfs on their CD-ROMs or are effective even without the workbook component. Tracy’s Trophy: Play and Learn Spanish is geared for children age 18 months to eight years. It uses common activities that occur throughout the day or year and has the parent speaking to the child, with only a few instances of the child responding verbally. The contributors call this method “easy immersion” and model it on how parents interact with their children in their native tongues. I thought the concept was great, and I learned many new words. It also included notes on the culture that were useful. Tracy’s Trophy: Hear and Say The Kids Way to Learn Spanish is organized by topics. Both the audio and the book are completely in Spanish and are a great way to increase vocabulary. The book includes nouns and verbs in its presentation. I have listened to this one several times and find myself remembering new words. Unfortunately, Spanish on the Way to the Fiesta is a consumable product, although the stickers are supposed to be reusable and the activity book requests that you use an erasable pen. The concept of a Spanish-speaking girl teaching her English-speaking friend common words and phrases on their way to a fiesta provides the opportunity for both languages to be used without English overpowering the production. The Berlitz Kids Spanish Language Pack! uses the simple story of a boy having lost his cat to introduce many words such as colors, sizes, days of the week, etc. It also includes songs to go with the story and a picture dictionary with 100 words. The Parent’s Guidebook has many helpful ideas. However, I did not like the use of ‘ito’ and ‘ita’ for things like ears (orejitas) and tails (colita). However, this is not a bad program overall. First Thousand Words In Spanish by Usborne has the look and feel of many of their other early user products. Standard illustrations by Stephen Cartwright allow the child to view a large picture of the subject, surrounded by many smaller illustrations labeled in Spanish. The cassette gives pronunciation, and this item is also Internet linked, allowing the user to hear the correct pronunciation online as well. The included workbook is consumable; however, the Web site offers other activities. This product again increased my vocabulary but did not permit me the chance to learn how to create sentences or carry on a conversation. Word Play Spanish is a lift-the-flap book and contains ten sections of nouns such as Sports, Clothing, School, Home, etc., with over 200 total words. The flaps show the object and have the English word visible. When the flap is lifted, the child sees the Spanish word with a pronunciation guide. The accompanying CD pronounces the words for the listener in both Spanish and English. Let's Sing and Learn in Spanish is a book of 20 songs written by Neraida Smith. These didactic songs are an attempt at teaching vocabulary, but illustrate the method of using the same words in a different context. The accompanying CD features all songs performed by Smith and a group of children in the hopes that users will sing along and improve their pronunciation and intonation. The Lyric Language Series has been around for years and is available in a variety of formats. The Complete Lyric Language Spanish contains both Lyric Language: Spanish and Lyric Language: More Spanish. They don’t have grammar lessons but include bilingual songs that will teach vocabulary. The songs are also available on a DVD with CD, Lyric Language: Spanish, which has live-action karaoke style backgrounds to the songs. The CD can be played in the car or elsewhere to reinforce the vocabulary. The Teach Me Tapes Series, also available in a compact disc format, are not library-friendly as the books encourage coloring. Also, the songs do not teach many new ideas and are mostly translations of songs we know in English. This provides little opportunity to learn about another culture. However, of the four in the series, the first definitely has the most potential, while Spanish Spiritual Songs has a strong Catholic influence. Teach Me Spanish Teach Me More Spanish Teach Me Even More Spanish Spanish Spiritual Songs The Professor Parrot Speaks Spanish (available on either videocassette or DVD) is a 30-minute program using live action and puppets to teach simple Spanish. The video includes a cassette with all of the songs, the story of Goldilocks in Spanish, and an end-of-tape review for use in car. Using lively songs and friendly children, the colorful Professor Parrot will appeal to many children. Not for most libraries, LinguaFun! (available on videocassette or DVD) contains two decks of cards with Spanish vocabulary to be used in a variety of games suggested in the accompanying guide. It also includes a cassette or CD with the correct pronunciation of the words on the cards. The Bilingual Adventures of Lindy and Loop Volumes 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3 are, unfortunately, rife with errors. The engaging story line has inherent consistency issues due to variations between what is said on the CD and the text in the read-along book. Also, mistakes are made in gender agreement. Even if these errors are fixed, the book encourages writing, which makes it difficult for a library to support. Do you have favorite resources in this subject? Let us know so we can include them in our lists by emailing us at library.newsletter@ingrambook.com. |
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