Monthly Archives: September 2011

The Beth and Jim Conversations 16

Posted by Jim on September 29, 2011 Comments Off

[Beth] I wish to stay in the same theme from your conversation with me last week Jim when you shared those wonderful testimonials from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. I find it so wonderful with social media that potential customers can learn about our companies by hopping on Google, Facebook, Twitter and blogs to learn about what REAL people think about our company’s products and services. Word of mouth has been the way the world shops for centuries – people telling people what they REALLY think about a place of business and how their family responds to their product / service.

Here at Boca Beth we have garnered hundreds upon hundreds of testimonials from children, parents, teachers and early childhood professionals who have had a chance to bring Spanish and English together for special little ones in their lives via my music and movement FUN!

We share them online at this link within our web site where you can even WATCH live testimonials via YouTube videos.

We also share testimonials gathered through a service/company called Rate Point.  Click here and look on the left side of our web site under the bright yellow box where it reads Customer Reviews.  These testimonials/reviews tell future customers what people just like them think about our Boca Beth bilingual CDs and DVDs!

I really enjoy this part of being a business owner!

____________________________

Speekee TV is available at http://www.speekee.co.uk/online.php – the first two weeks are absolutely free. Subscriptions are $7.50 per month thereafter, and you can cancel any time (-;

Boca Beth Bilingual Products are sold online at http://www.BocaBeth.com – we offer award-winning CDs, DVDs, coloring/activity books that are presented in both Spanish and English with FREE shipping available.

The Beth and Jim Conversations 15

Posted by Jim on September 25, 2011 Comments Off

[Jim] Guess who made the classic mistake of thinking his new product would immediately ‘sell like hot cakes’?

Yes indeed, yours truly. And that, after already having started and grown a business in the past (later selling said business).

The thing is, I knew the ingredients that went into making Speekee, and I knew that everything fell into place when it came to scripting, filming, post production etc. I knew it had quality – and great educational value.

But products do not sell like hot cakes unless the punters know of their existence first, and, surely, many a great product has disappeared before it has even got going.

Among the many marketing notches a business can add to its belt is a positive testimonial from the customer, and Speekee has never been short of these. Not so long ago we ran a promotion with our friends at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, in which around one hundred homeschoolers reviewed Speekee. After, I collected all the positive comments they made… over 90 of them, and you can see them here: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=193986447297642
____________________________

Speekee TV is available at http://www.speekee.co.uk/online.php – the first two weeks are absolutely free. Subscriptions are $7.50 per month thereafter, and you can cancel any time (-;

Boca Beth Bilingual Products are sold online at http://www.BocaBeth.com – we offer award-winning CDs, DVDs, coloring/activity books that are presented in both Spanish and English with FREE shipping available.

Turning Subtitles (Closed captions) or or off

Posted by Aaron on September 20, 2011 Comments Off

Jim wrote earlier on why we don’t recommend use of subtitles in Speekee TV, at least initially. But as Jim said, the choice is of course yours. If you aren’t sure how to turn the subtitles off, it’s simple! There’s a button in the top right of the video player – just click this to switch them on or off.

Subtitles on

If you can’t see the button (circled in yellow in the picture above) just move your mouse over the video to make it appear.

Subtitles off

Note: Speekee TV subtitles are not available on the iPad, iPhone, Wii and possibly other devices.

The Beth and Jim Conversations 14

Posted by Jim on September 17, 2011 Comments Off

[Beth] I live on the west coast of Florida, mid-way up the coast in a city named Tampa.  I was raised only 25 miles away – closer to the beaches of the Gulf Coast and was thrilled as a child to swim in the Gulf of Mexico weekly!  To this day I insist on living in a home that has a water view.  Now that I live in Tampa (which is not as close to the beaches as where I grew up) we found a home on a lake, and it provides me the serenity and connection with water that I thrive on.

Our city is diverse in the mix of people, cultures and languages.  Spanish is definitely the second most widely spoken language in our community.  The dialects vary because the Spanish speaking people hail from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Spain.  I love that the Spanish I learned in Chile and continued using for more than 30 years is easily understood by the majority of Spanish-speaking people I interact with.

As one drives around my city of Tampa you witness food trucks featuring food from many Latin American countries, local markets selling food indigenous to these countries, and stores that sell clothing specific to their cultures.  I LOVE IT!  It’s like traveling to a far away place without the cost or hassle of travel.

It’s hot in Tampa.  It’s humid in Tampa.  I opt for the must-have air conditioning compared to the cold, the snow, and the dreary skies associated with many of our more northern states here in the U.S.

This is a photo of my family on the beaches about 10 years ago!

(oops, please wait… photo coming)

____________________________

Speekee TV is available at http://www.speekee.co.uk/online.php – the first two weeks are absolutely free. Subscriptions are $7.50 per month thereafter, and you can cancel any time (-;

Boca Beth Bilingual Products are sold online at http://www.BocaBeth.com – we offer award-winning CDs, DVDs, coloring/activity books that are presented in both Spanish and English with FREE shipping available.

Subtitles – or not?

Posted by Jim on September 15, 2011 1 comments

Speekee comes with optional subtitles, in English or Spanish. On DVD, you can choose between Spanish and English; on Speekee TV both languages are shown (see image below).

Speekee with subtitles

The question is: should you switch them on or not?

We do not recommend subtitles for your children but the choice is yours. For example, one parent commented: “The interface is easy to use and TB likes to watch the videos in full-screen with the closed captions on. This allows him to read what is being said in both Spanish and English.”

So why do we say we do not recommend? Largely because Speekee is an immersion program, exclusively in Spanish. The principal aim is for your child to watch the moving images and listen to the accompanying Spanish – not to be reading the transcript on the screen.

So why are there subtitles at all? Mainly as a guide for you, but they do also serve as a language aid. We suggest you have them switched off when your child is watching Speekee, especially in the early stages. Later, as your child becomes very familiar with the Spanish words and phrases you may want to switch the subtitles on as a way of increasing your child’s linguistic knowledge (-;

The Beth and Jim Conversations 13

Posted by Jim on September 8, 2011 Comments Off

[Jim] Sometimes people ask me why I moved here, to Spain…

I usually pinpoint a few factors.

I was ready to quit Britain; I had my own language tuition business there -www.talklanguages.net (still going strong!) – and it had reached the point of needing expansion, or sale… one day I sat at my desk and a rippling wave of stress passed through my body. That was it as far as I was concerned. I knew I wanted to take the Sell It option. The process took around a year, and in the end the ideal buyer came along – an entrepreneur with money to invest, lots of enthusiasm, fluent Spanish, and the desire to make the business grow. One of the gratifying aspects for me was that the teachers I had recruited all kept their jobs (-;

By this time house prices had rocketed. In truth they were also gaining great value in Spain, but the rate per square metre in a place like Arcos de la Frontera, deep into Andalucia, was never going to rival that in the east of London, England. And so it proved… we sold a two-bed property and bought a seven-bed mansion house for the same price.

And I had two children. I knew they would be at an advantage if they were bilingual, and bilingual they now are. The way they switch from Spanish to English is a marvel to behold (-: (-;

Oh, have I mentioned the 300 days of sunshine per year?

[Beth] This is fabulous Jim!  I really hope you will include some pictures of your area – your community – the people in your life and neighborhood.  It really brings YOU to life!

Mi casa

Arcos de la Frontera

 

Hola Speekee, Dino and Lupi

Speekee TV  FastTrack  Subscription  Terms and Conditions  Speekee website

© Lingua4 Ltd 2006-2012. Speekee® is a registered trademark.

Lingua4 Ltd is Registered in England and Wales no. 5800435. Swift Cross Farm, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge, HX6 4LQ.