The best way to learn Spanish is by spending three months alone in Guatemala, where you can travel the countryside, attend language school, board with local families, visit local churches, volunteer at a local clinic, join a local chess club, take ping-pong lessons at the local community center, watch Spanish movies, listen to Spanish music, sing Spanish songs, see a Spanish doctor when you’re sick, and sign up for salsa dancing classes. This is called “total immersion,” and it’s what our fourth-born, Samuel, spent this summer doing — a final hurrah before he starts medical school in mid-August. He flew home last Friday, barely recognizable after so many weeks without a shave or a haircut, but now fluent in español. The second-best way to learn Spanish is by using a program called . That’s what those of us at home have been doing this summer, so that we’d still be able to understand Sam once he returned. Our family first discovered the Pimsleur method for language learning nine yearsago. After saving enough cereal boxtops and frequent flyer miles to get ten free tickets to London, we spent the better part of a month with all our little ones in tow, visiting nine countries and seventeen cities in twenty-one days. We had a wonderful time and got around easily, even in areas where English was not commonly spoken. That’s because we spent the three months before the trip going through Pimsleur’s 30-day courses in German, French, and Italian. These programs use organic learning principles and graduated interval recall to help students acquire a second language in the same way they acquired their native tongue. Because it is almost entirely auditory, our whole family was able to go through the CDs together. Even our littlest ones, who weren’t actively trying to learn the language, picked up a few new words and phrases. I also supplemented the younger children’s language study by reading picture books and singing nursery rhymes in German and French (and now Spanish). We
Blessings upon your heart and home,
Jennifer Special Announcement: My new line of coloring books is now available, and for a limited time, you can get them for a super low, introductory price when you order directly from the publisher. Click on the image below for details. :-) Please note: I sometimes use affiliate links to share products I love and think you'll love, too. You can read my full disclosure statement .
Share this:
Like this: Like Loading...
Related