Jan. 16, 2009
Check this out!
Posted in grammar and language helps
 I honestly feel like I've made a new friend! Ever since getting my zippy, sassy purple little Ipod nano for Christmas, I've entered the world of podcasts (how many years behind the trend?). I listen to several, and will share more later, but especially wanted to introduce you to Eleena and Voices en Español.
Her high-quality podcasts are geared toward intermediate to advanced students, and include a wide variety of regional accents as well as a broad spectrum of themes. To my readers I would especially like to point out three podcasts that present the topic of raising bilingual children. One is in English, and features the author of The Bilingual Edge. Beyond her excellent podcasts, Eleena offers a great resourse in the blogging she does. It has quickly become a favorite, and I look forward to each new entry. I want to point out one entry in specific that I believe that my readers will find immensely helpful. It is entitled Spanish Toolbox: 10 language-learning resources. It is a guest post by Karen Bryant from Teaching and Learning Spanish, another gold mine of a blog! In this fantastic post, Karen links you to 10 great resources and sites to help you improve your Spanish, and help you to teach your kids Spanish. I wanted to take a moment here to comment on one of those suggested resources, specifically, Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish by Joseph Keenan. I love this book! Like Karen, I learn something new every time I read it. To my readers, I wish to caution that you may want to look the book over to decide if it is appropriate for your family. Specifically, it has the chapter about swear words in Spanish. Here is my position on that topic: You need to be aware of them even if you don't plan to use them, because it is easy to unintentionally give offense in Spanish. Some of the words that may seem the most innocent to us have some of the worst connotations. While I am not currently teaching this to my children, I would especially recommend that you be aware of these words if anyone in the family will be traveling to a Spanish speaking country. You need to know what to avoid, and you need to know when someone else is being "grosero" with you. Just my two cents! Other than that chapter, the rest of the book is not only helpful, but funny and well written. |
Comments
Jan. 16, 2009 - Great Resources!
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by