There are many reasons for wanting your children to learn Spanish. We want to help you find resources that will help you with Spanish for Kids.
Some parents think of the intellectual stimulation that learning a language provides. They think that they can give their children a an additional intellectual challenge in a painless way. Researcher in London, England have determined that learning a second language boosts brain power which remains throughout life.
Other people are interested in preparing their children for life in today's world where it is important to know more than one language. This is even more important in our hemisphere where it becomes increasingly valuable to know Spanish.
Learning a language can be a source of pride and self esteem for the child who is fortunate enough to be exposed to learning outside of the classroom.
There are some parents who are concerned that their children grow up respecting the different heritages that surround them. Concerned that the nativist tradition of United States history is always present, many parents, not of a Spanish Speaking background, choose to prepare their children to accept and embrace the Hispanic culture they live alongside of.
Whatever your reason for wanting your children to learn Spanish, this site will provide resources to help you. You will find suggestions and experiences of others who share your interest; you will find songs and stories in Spanish that will enthuse your children with their learning task. A list of links to related sites will lead you to other resources. And you will find that the books you need for yourself and your children have been located and placed at your disposition.
So, in general terms parents can fall into one of three groups:
1. those who know NO Spanish;
2. those who know enough to read, even poorly;
3. and those who can model correct pronunciation for their children.
Whether or not the parents know Spanish will determine their strategy for exposing their children to the language. Obviously, parents who do not know the language well will not have native pronunciation.
If their children learn to read Spanish, they may not have the proper pronunciation. This is a tough issue. Some might say that pronunciation is not important for children. However, why not try to expose them to the correct values of the Spanish sounds. Parents should work on their own pronunciation to model as correctly as possible for their kids.
Nevertheless, the value of the parents' involvement in reading and singing in Spanish with their children more than outweighs the disadvantage of the child hearing their poor pronunciation. Much of the damage can be remedied by having the child listen to as much Spanish spoken by native speakers as possible.
Parents should make sure their children HEAR a lot of good Spanish but obviously those parents who know no Spanish will be more dependent on recordings for their children to listen to. Try to find some good audio resources. Besides the tapes and CDs you might buy or take out of the library don't forget the radio and TV. All parents should expose their children to ask much passive listening of Spanish that they can. In most places there are Spanish language radio stations. TV programs from the Univision y Telemundo networks are very widespread.
All of the above boils down to three tactics that are valid for all kinds of parents and all kinds of kids of all ages and level of Spanish...
1. Listening: Everyone should keep the Spanish radio on as much as possible. Keep the radio or TV on while the child is doing other things. It has to be the sea of sound that they swim in while they are beginning their study of Spanish. The child doesn't have to concentrate on it; they will not be listening to try to understand. After a while they won't even hear the radio but it will be affecting them. Little by little they will begin to anticipate the rhythm of the language, even before they understand they words. They will also begin to recognize certain words.
2. Fun Drills: Those parents who know some Spanish can try to run through all the permutations of the new expressions that the child learns. For example, suppose your child just learned to say. "Pedro tiene cuatro años" rather than translating from the English incorrectly, "Pedro es cuatro". Now to make this new element of the language stick, you should go on substituting different ages and the names of different people. The child will soon be able to say comfortably, "María tiene cuatro años." "Juan tiene ocho años." "Yo tengo tres años." "¿Cuántos años tienes tú?" There are many examples of these drills in most language courses but the parent can generate them herself.
3. Support: Don't correct their Spanish when they speak. Don't interrupt the flow of their conversation. Don't make their speaking Spanish to be another homework assignment. It should be something special, even something "secret" in your family. Kids like the mystery and intrigue of having something special of their own. Their speaking Spanish should be a joyful, non-threatening experience. If they make mistakes in their grammar, correct their errors by using the same expression correctly a few minutes after. Don't come right back at them with the correct form or they will begin to feel conscious of their expression and choke off their freedom of expression.
also...
Learn The ABCs in Spanish? YES! If your child is coming up on kindergarten age, you have a wonderful opportunity to teach him or her how to read in Spanish BEFORE they learn the alphabet in English! Why? I will be brief, hoping that you will catch the direction of my thought (and my practice, with both my children and my grandson!) Spanish is completely regular. They can learn the vowels in one sitting. This is how Spanish Speaking kids learn: from "abecedarios", the same as English Speaking children used to learn from primers.
You can start the child reading the simple words like Mami, comida, mesa, Papi, muñeca, carro, etc. If your child learns to read (even if only simple words) Spanish first, in effect you are giving them a great head start. Basically you are giving them phonics without having to buy any expensive program. You can do them no harm because, they will have a basis of the sounds that DO hold up for English; they will have achieved the satisfaction and boost to their confidence by your enthusiastic affirmation of the achievement when they read "Mami y Papi" and other simple phrases. As they progress in English they will still have to deal with the irregularities of this language. However, they will have learned the consonants by applying them to completely foolproof regular vowels.
I am very convinced of the value of this method. I have no scientific proof, just intuition and my own experience. To work, you have to teach the child to read the alphabet in Spanish BEFORE they begin to learn in English. If they are already learning in English, it will confuse them. But if you get there FIRST, you will do them a great favor! So... Click here for Alphabet tools for kids in Spanish. After clicking, look to the top right of the page you land on, and click on the yellow tab "Alphabet" to see a bunch of alphabet resources for you to choose from.
The author, Frank Gerace, Ph.D, has worked in communication and education projects in Latin America. He has taught in public and private universities in Peru and Bolivia. Currently he teaches English to immigrant adults at an important branch of CUNY, the City University of New York. His website is http://www.BooksLibros.com/SpanishForNinos.htm.
He has another site with advice and resources for parents who want to learn Spanish themselves at: http://www.inglesparalatinos.com/SpanishCourses.htm
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