Did you know that you won’t find a single verb form uttered by Speekee which is in any other ‘time’ than the present?
Let me explain why…
As the development stages for Speekee got underway, we began looking at other Spanish learning products on the market, and it quickly became clear that while the accuracy of the Spanish could rarely be faulted there were two aspects which should trigger alarm bells for the well informed customer*:
1. APPROPRIACY. In other words, what Spanish words and phrases are contained in the program… are they suitable for children to learn? Is the Spanish ‘everyday’? Is it truly useful? For example, I wouldn’t want my child learning how to distinguish between different types of rock mineral in Spanish, when he could be learning the really practical stuff instead, like how to ask for an ice cream.
And yet, there are Spanish programs out there which remain stuck in the Dark Ages when it comes to appropriacy of language.
2) LEVEL. A Spanish program for young children starts from the very beginning, right? It presents its new language in a gentle and methodical way, doesn’t it? And it won’t try to complicate things too quickly either, surely!
For reasons which may have to do with oversight, there are Spanish programs on the market which do not see all this as blindingly obvious.
from http://www.clivir.com
And it’s particularly the verbs which they single out for ‘treatment’.
Now, you probably know, even with only a smattering of knowledge of foreign language learning, that learning verbs is tricky. They are always changing, and the process of transitioning to the past tense from the present tense is akin to getting a headache. Yes – for kids too (sponges though they may be, the new language needs to make sense).
So here’s a message to inexperienced language teachers: Go slowly… take your time – and treat your students with the respect they deserve!
* The fact is that most buyers of language learning products, through no fault of their own, don’t know what marks of quality they should be looking out for.
How Speekee TV watchers leave feedback
About 30% of users kindly reply with their opinon, which helps us improve the product and plan for the future.
Here are some comments we received today:
1. What made you cancel your Speekee TV subscription? For example: too expensive, not suitable, too young/old for my child, we came to the end of the course.
The videos were great! The songs worked, helping them learn some Spanish. The lessons, however, required more attention from me than the time I have to give them because they require higher reading skills than my 5 and 6 year old have at this time. I was using this as an independent project they can do, when I really should have been sitting down with them, the video, and the accompanying lessons.
They watched the videos twice, then they were “done.” I didn’t do a good job convincing them they didn’t really KNOW Spanish yet! Basically: my fault. If I spent more time with them on the Spanish it would work. I just haven’t figured out how to fit it into my homeschool day yet with me involved as well.
2. How could we improve Speekee TV?
Maybe more videos? (The kids got through the videos and thought they were “done” because I hadn’t utilized the lessons included. More formats for emergent readers? But you can’t please everyone. I think it’s really a neat program, actually.
3. Have you any other comments?
I hope to come back to Speekee next year if that’s okay. I am so thankful for the monthly pay ability. It enabled me to try Speekee for 6 weeks at a reasonable cost.