I just finished my preliminary list of information on 10 Spanish programs suitable for homeschoolers. This is a compilation of research I’ve done over the past year, while deciding on an approach for our own family to take towards learning this foreign language.

One resource that I was particularly excited to find was Salsa, a video program developed by the Georgia PBS. Although it costs over $1000 to order DVD’s of the episodes, they have made the episodes available online for FREE!

This program reminds me of a Spanish version of Sesame Street, with puppets who act out scenes based on classic children’s stories. There are numerous resources available on the website, as well - you can see my full posting for more details.

So, which option did I pick for our family?

Well, to be honest, I don’t believe you can really learn a foreign language by using just one resource. For that reason, I fully intend to utilize many of these options at various points. We will also, at some point, seek to find others who actually speak the language, to extend our learning into real life.

To illustrate this point, let’s use the example of Rosetta Stone. I’ve seen for several years now that they advertise they are used by the US Foreign Service to train diplomats. Now, my best friend from college happens to be a diplomat in the Foreign Service, so I asked her to clarify how Rosetta Stone is used. She told me that they do have Rosetta Stone available for use, but that it is one out of many tools that they use in order to learn a new language. They are also taking intensive curriculum-based classes, and working with many different methods to drill facts - including placing post-it notes all over everything in their house, which is what I found when I went to visit her during her most recent language training assignment!

In other words, they use whatever they can find that works, and I think homeschoolers do the best when they take the same approach. Buy a curriculum (or two!), pick up some bilingual books or Spanish language books from your local library, buy some Spanish language computer software, watch Spanish language movies (you can often get those from the library, too), and Spanish language television. (One of the benefits of studying Spanish in America is that so many of these resources are readily available for little or no charge, depending on where you live.) And go ahead and label everything in your house with post-it notes, if that helps! Of course, if you can, you will want to find people with whom you can speak Spanish, as well.

So far, we’ve been using Elementary Spanish, as well as beginning working our way through the episodes of Salsa. I’ll be getting some bilingual books, and I’m planning to purchase Puertas abiertas, too. When my children get a bit older, we’ll probably use several of the other resources as well.

To me, learning to speak another language provides the unique perspective of looking at the world through a slightly different set of eyes. The exercise for your brain is fabulous, too! In college I spent 3 years learning German, and I loved being able to actually speak another language. Now I’m ready to start learning Spanish with my children, so that I’ll know a foreign language I can actually use in this country!

Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Palenque mayan Ruins by Daniel Andres Forero

If this page was helpful, Stumble it!