Is there any good, cheap, fun Spanish courses?

[Gini]

I really want to have the kids learn Spanish this next year. I like the looks of El Espanol Facil, but the price is a little steep for me. (unless one of you ladies have it used to sell);) My kiddos are ages: 14, 12, 10, 7

I took 4 years of it in HS and 1 year in college and I remember very little. I would like them to be more proficient than that, so if you can recommend a good Spanish course, then I'd like to hear about it.

[Gini]

bump

[athena1277]

:lurk5: bump

[matroyshka]

For your older three kids, I'd recommend Spanish the Easy Way and/or Spanish Now! both by Barron's. They're both pretty much the same book, but the latter comes with an audio CD, has a different cover, and costs about $10 more, which is almost double. If you want the support of the CD, it could be worth it.

My recommendation, actually, since you have a background in Spanish, is for you to buy and work through Spanish Now! yourself over the summer, and then use the cheaper (about $10) but nearly identical Spanish the Easy Way with your kids starting in the fall. You could use the CD from your book with theirs, if you wanted.

Your three older ones should all be fine with that book - your youngest wouldn't be ready for the amount of writing or grammar, though. I have an 8yo who I'm using Español para chicos y grandes with - I'm planning on just doing the other book with her when she's about 10. That's how old my two older kids are that I'm using it with. It's not at all too young for your older kids, though - it's designed as introductory high school or even college level - but my 10yos are doing fine with it (though they did have some Spanish exposure previously, but mostly vocabulary and accent, not grammar-based).

[TaraTheLiberator]

I don't have ideas for your older kids, but I have been investigating Spanish programs for my seven year old. We had it narrowed down to Espanol para los chiquitos (the younger level of the one matroyshka mentioned) and something I found on Amazon called Flip-Flop Spanish. Because I couldn't decide, I let my daughter look at the information on the websites (Flip-Flop Spanish does have their own website) and she chose Flip-Flop Spanish, mostly because she was excited about the Spanish activity calendar. I don't have it yet, so I cant tell you how good it is, but it is out there.

matroyshka, how are you liking Espanol para chicos y grandes? I am thinking of moving into that when we finish Flip-Flop Spanish.

Tara

[Zoraida]

I would highly recommend Flip Flop Spanish for younger children. You can purchase this from Amazon. My kids really enjoyed these books. The only thing I don't like is on the front cover it says it is for ages 3 - 5. Don't be fooled by this. These workbooks work well for kids ages 6-10 as well. There is a lot of vocabulary memorizing, different types of activities for conversational Spanish, and lots of translation exercises. The lady that wrote this series has started a new set of books for ages 6 - 9. I ordered Level 1 of the new series for my 9 year old daughter I think a 12 year old could use this text without feeling that it is babyish.

For 13 year olds and up I would like to second Spanish Now. I had two of my older kids work through this text slowly. It has tons of vocabulary. The way I used this text was to type out the vocabulary list for each lesson. I would have them spend the first week memorizing and reciting the vocabulary. Than the next week we would do one page per day in the workbook. Our Spanish class took as little as 10 to 15 minutes per day doing this alternating pattern.

Blessings

Zoraida

[carlychan]

If you are military you husband may have access to Rosetta Stone online. We have started it for free. I know this won't be helpful for most of you, but someone might find it useful.

Carly

[matroyshka]

matroyshka, how are you liking Espanol para chicos y grandes? I am thinking of moving into that when we finish Flip-Flop Spanish.

I'm really liking it. I was getting frustrated in that it seemed like all of the elementary courses seemed to be very vocabulary-based, but didn't have them doing much with sentences and speaking. This program has both. I have three 2nd-grade girls in the class (only one is mine), and I have them do the dialogs with each other and with me. There is also a CD, and my dd really likes doing the exercises with it.

I'm planning on continuing with Level 2 after this, and then either use their Rosa and Ernesto book (I actually really like the look of that) and then go into Spanish the Easy Way, or just go right into StEW after level 2.

The way I used this text was to type out the vocabulary list for each lesson. I would have them spend the first week memorizing and reciting the vocabulary. Than the next week we would do one page per day in the workbook. Our Spanish class took as little as 10 to 15 minutes per day doing this alternating pattern.

I also type out the vocabulary list each week, and have them write out the translations. I also have a small class for this (I find having peers learning a language with you helps with motivation), two of the kids are mine and the third is a friend. The kids read the selection at the front (each takes a part - it's nicely set up for this), then we do the oral comprehension, then I give the grammar lesson and do the other oral section at the end. The written comprehension and grammar exercises are given as homework, along with the typed vocabulary sheet. It takes them 2-3 sittings during the week to get all this done, and this way we've been getting in about a unit a week. I am adding in some review weeks as well, using supplementary materials.

I'm finding both these programs very open-and-go, which is a big bonus.

[Free Indeed]

www.livemocha.com has several languages, very similar to Rosetta Stone and best of all it is free.

[TaraTheLiberator]

Zoraida, if you were purchasing Flip-Flop Spanish for a seven year old with minimal Spanish experience, would you go with the 3-5 level or the 6-9 level. It looks like the 6-9 level covers most of what the 3-5 level covers, but I was intrigued by the personal dictionary in the 3-5 level.

Tara

[Zoraida]

Zoraida, if you were purchasing Flip-Flop Spanish for a seven year old with minimal Spanish experience, would you go with the 3-5 level or the 6-9 level. It looks like the 6-9 level covers most of what the 3-5 level covers, but I was intrigued by the personal dictionary in the 3-5 level.

Tara

I would use the 3 - 5 level. The 6 - 9 level is basicaly the same as the 3 - 5 level except it just has a couple of extra vocabulary words added into the lesson. In fact some of the workbook pages in the 6 - 9 level are replicas of the workbook pages in the 3 - 5 level.

Blessings

Zoraida

[Aurelia]

If you can find it used, La Clase Divertida is a lot of fun for the younger set. My library has Babbel (Spanish, French and German) online for free. Maybe yours has something similar.

[Cindyg]

If you have Dish Network, Elementary Spanish at Home, which is the same program called Elementary Spanish on United Streaming, is broadcast free on the University House channel, which is on the basic package. Set your DVR.

We watched it that way for several years before we found United Streaming.

[happyWImom]

www.livemocha.com (http://www.livemocha.com) has several languages, very similar to Rosetta Stone and best of all it is free.

How can this be???:001_huh:

[Alte Veste Academy]

If you have Dish Network, Elementary Spanish at Home, which is the same program called Elementary Spanish on United Streaming, is broadcast free on the University House channel, which is on the basic package. Set your DVR.

We watched it that way for several years before we found United Streaming.

Thanks for this!!!! I just set my DVR. :thumbup:

[Alte Veste Academy]

How can this be???:001_huh:

Well, I think it's really a cool resource. The catch for me is that you're supposed to be talking to other people, native speakers. It's a personal thing but I'm a little shy of it and somewhat creeped out. It's definitely not something I would let the kids do either.

Now, for those who aren't paranoid and don't tend to horribilize :lol:, it is probably a fabulous thing.

[attachedto4]

Re Flip-Flop Spanish: Is the 3-5 level okay for a 4 year old also? I like the idea of using this with my 4, 6, and 8 year old. It looks like something they would like.

[Alte Veste Academy]

OK, well after reading these Spanish threads today, I've been cruising Amazon looking at some possible resources. I found the resources below and thought they were really pretty good. I'm not usually a workbook kind of girl but I thought these could be very useful. I took Spanish in high school and college so I'm good with pronunciation. I just need direction.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0769652794/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Spanish/dp/0769634265/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

Soooo, after I found these, I thought I would go to the publisher's web site to see if I could find more samples or information. I stumbled onto this and think I'm in love!

http://www.schoolspecialtypublishing.com/store/item.aspx?itemid=1997#expandeddescription

Obviously it's made for littles (K-3). I know OP has older kids but thought someone else could benefit. I looked to see if they have it on Amazon and they do, for a significant savings!

http://www.amazon.com/English-Spanish-Resource-Spanish-Specialty-Publishing/dp/0769646093/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234842148&sr=1-1

I might have to order it and report back, as my civic duty. :D We already do Spanish picture book reading, watch Spanish videos, listen to educational music, watch some of our movies with Spanish subtitles, etc., but this seems like a PLAN, all put together in a BOX. :lol: We'll see...

[Lovedtodeath]

The Fun Spanish, Level 1 by Garcia Kimberly (Book) in Education ... (http://www.lulu.com/content/643100)

My pick

[Kayaking Mom]

If you have a Tuesday Morning store near you go check it out. I found the K version of Hooked on Spanish, French and Chinese for $10 each. We're doing La Clase Divertida for Spanish (love it) but the kids and i thought Chinese might be fun. I haven't tried it out yet - but it's cheap and it looks like fun. It has books, 2 cd roms, flashcards, etc.