Spanish/English Bilingual Bible RVR 1960/HCSB

Spanish/English Bilingual Bible
Published at B&H Publishing Group

About the Bible

The RVR 1960/HCSB Bilingual Bible parallels the classic Spanish language translation with the best-selling

new English language HCSB in one fulfilling, easy-to-follow edition. Features include:

• Words of Christ in red

• Presentation page

• Ribbon marker

My Thoughts

The main reason why I have requested this Bible to review is because I think it is a great way to put in practice the reading of Spanish.   My kids has been doing Spanish lessons on Duolingo and I was wondering how they could practice it as they get more advance.   I thought of how nice it would be to have a Bible that has both the Spanish and the English in it.  

The beauty of this bible is that you will have the English version right beside the Spanish version.  This makes it very easy to check the meaning in a language in which you are more familiar. 

The test is easy to read and to follow as all the verses are numbered in both languages.  The Bible itself in a nice burgundy color and is simili-leather.  However, it doesn’t have the introduction of each book of the Bible like a Study Bible would have.  But when you decide to read the Bible in a different language in order to practice reading I guess you don’t really need an introduction of the Bible. The Bible also contains maps which are only in Spanish. 

In conclusion, if you are learning Spanish and desire to practice reading in that language but also have the English version of the Scripture with it, I strongly suggest that you check out the Spanish/English Bilingual Bible RVR 1960/HCSB.   It is a nice bible to allow you to read in another language and gives you the confidence to practice while having the English version in the same Bible.

You can find the Spanish/English Bilingual Bible RVR 1960/HCSB at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to B&H Books for sending me the above mentioned book for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Spanish for You! Estaciones

Spanish for You! Estaciones

As a member of the Mosaic Review Team I was asked to choose one of the two options offered from Spanish for You! to review.  I decided to pick Estaciones which I have received as an online product that I was able to download easily.

Spanish for You! is a curriculum that I would consider multi-sensory learning.   It has been written with grades 3 through 8 in mind and can be used either in classes or homeschool.    Each course will contain a text, lesson guide, worksheets, audio files as well as suggestions for games and activities.

The guidebooks can be printed according to the grade your child is in.   Three different guidebooks are available in your package Level 3-4, Level 5-6 and Level 7-8.     The lessons can easily be covered through a regular school year.

I particularly like the fact that the students can work on their own pace and use the worksheets and audio files in order to get the proper pronunciation, the common words and phrases as well as other information necessary for them to learn the lessons. 

Depending of the level your child will be he/she can build up it’s comprehension of the language by revising the previous lessons and by testing their knowledge with the language.   Each week will encourage your child to learn, practice and review the lessons on a four day basis.  If necessary, you could use the fifth day as a review.   The exercises will be more challenging is the child is at an older grade.

I think the curriculum is covering pretty much every language issues from basic vocabulary, verb conjugations as well as grammatical lessons.    

Spanish as always been a language I wish my kids to learn but it’s always hard to find something that will teach by building up the learning.   I think this product is offering an interesting way of learning while having fun at the same time.   You could technically start with any themed packages offered by Spanish for You! and slowly expand your vocabulary as you purchase other ones.   I would assume that each package would review lessons from other ones particularly when it comes to the verbs and grammar.

What I also like about this curriculum is the fact that a child currently in grade 4 could go through the package and pursue it when in grade 6 and then in grade 8 in order to build up his/her learning of the language.   I would alternate Estaciones with Fiestas in order to cover more vocabulary as well.   One year you do Estaciones and one year Fiestas before going back to a deeper level of Estaciones and so on.    Gotta love flexibility when you are homeschooling!

In all Spanish for You! allows you and your student to learn to speak, read, and write Spanish through fun themes.   This program can be used by students who don’t know Spanish yet and by student who are already comfortable with the language.

My only disappointment is that I had to take the initiative to print out the lesson myself because I receive the pdf format of the documents.    But apart from that I find the curriculum quite complete and interesting.

You can obtain free mini lessons and worksheets if you visit Spanish for You!

Other packages are available on their website – Fiestas and Viajes.   Spanish for You! Estaciones is available for purchase directly from their website at http://www.spanish-for-you.net for the price of 64.95$ for the three levels or 39.95$ for each levels separately.  

Complete Language Pack Spanish

Complete Language Pack Spanish
From DK Canada

About the Product

Combining the solid grounding of a practical language teaching course with the instant accessibility of a phrasebook, each Complete Language Pack is structured around simple conversations used in everyday situations. The courses cover basic vocabulary and grammar in sixty fifteen-minute daily units. Pronunciation guides and the audio CDs make speaking easy, and "cover and test" flaps and flashcards reinforce learning and make testing yourself fun.

Teaching what you need to know fast — arranged thematically, with simple conversations based on real-life situations, Complete Language Pack Spanish includes the bestselling 15-Minute Language Course, Visual Phrase Book, and three audio CDs.

With a pronunciation guide for every word and phrase, a two-way dictionary that provides ready reference on the go, and a phrase book including useful cultural tips, Complete Language Pack Spanish is ideal for both business and vacation travelers.

My Thoughts

Here’s another great resource to learn a new language in your spare time.   Complete Language Pack Spanish will guide you – 15 minutes a day – to learn Spanish for your next trip in Spain.   The book teaches European Spanish, which differs in pronunciation from the various dialects spoken in Latin America.    But even though this is not Latin America, I think it could give you a nice stepping stones to learn Latin American Spanish.

The kit comes with numerous tools; cds, book to accompany the lessons, easy grammar booklet as well as a visual phrase book.  The first two CDs contains the lessons you will find in the book.  In twelve weeks, you can covered all the basics conversational phrases to help you communicate with the people.   It only takes you five minutes a day for five days in a row to complete a lesson. In each lesson, you will get some warm ups, some say it exercises, introductory paragraphs as well as cultural or conversational tips.   You will also go through a review and repeat section for each lesson. 

The third CD is an audio guide to the Spanish Visual Phrase Book.   You can either listen to the CD alone or with the book.   This will help you to improve your pronunciation and build your vocabulary in the language.

The reason why I am interested in us learning Spanish is because we might have the opportunity to go back on mission trip in Dominican Republic and meet our three sponsored children from Compassion Canada.   Having the ability to converse with them would mean a lot for me.   Back in 2005, we went to visit the child we were sponsoring then.    We also had the privilege to visit his home and meet his parents.    He was five years old and was a delight to meet.   I sincerely hope that we could go back and meet him again as well as the two girls we are sponsoring.

 

I find learning another language to be a great skill to develop.  Not only you can have the opportunity to converse with others but you can feel more independent in venturing in the city you are visiting.    As homeschoolers, I think we need to expose our kids to other languages as much as possible.   Spanish being a language based on Latin I think it would be easy for us to pick it up as French is also based on Latin.  

I know that there is other products out there to help you learn Spanish but most often the price is ridiculously high.   This specific product is quite reasonable in price and the quality attached to it is impressive.   You can listen and repeat with the “teachers” without worrying about not being able to go back in the lesson.  Anytime you want you can listen again the lesson to practice or revise it.

I was able to upload the lessons without problem on my iPod.   Then you can take the book with you wherever you go and do a lesson when you have about five minutes.    I would not suggest to do it while you are driving unless you have gone through the lesson once already.   I find it beneficial to do the lesson once with the book so you can see the phonetic of the words at the same time.    Then you can redo the lesson multiple times during the day if you want to.

Complete Language Pack Spanish is great tool to help you learn a new language.   All you will need is to find a friend to practice with.    Once you know the basics, you can continue practicing with books or television if you want to.

Complete Language Pack Spanish is available at  your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Speekee

As part of a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was given access to a site that is teaching the kids to speak Spanish.  This site is Speekee!

About Speekee

Speekee TV is designed so that children can learn Spanish in their own time and at their own pace.

• 10 episodes, over 150 minutes of pure Spanish learning
• Learn Spanish from real Spanish children in real Spanish locations
• Features songs, animation and puppets
• Optional subtitles in Spanish and English
• Free activity sheet downloads
• Great fun and extremely effective
• Created by specialist language teachers

A subscription to Speekee TV is £4.95 (or $7.50) per month and the first two weeks are free

My Thoughts

I was excited about this product.  However, after watching one of the videos and seeing the type of money sitting on a table, I wondered if Speekee was teaching Spanish from Spain or if it was the Latin America (I saw some Euros).    After asking the question on the TOS Homeschool Crew, I got a confirmation that it was indeed Castilian Spanish.   I was a bit disappointed.

The site is very well done.  And the videos will introduce the language to the kids based on a specific theme like for example the zoo.   A variety of situations will introduce more words to the kids as they watch the video.    I was also impressed with the fact that you can download some fun exercises to accompany the lesson.    All the exercises will deepen the learning process by allowing the kids to use what they have learned on paper.    Another great feature of these videos was the fact that there was subtitles under it.   For me it was easier to follow.   For the younger kids – they couldn’t care less as reading is not a skill that they are mastering.  But big brother, Alexandre would tell them what it said.   

Each video is located in a different setting – the park, the restaurant, the zoo…   And the kids can learn different Spanish words linked to the location where they are.   For example, while at the park, they learned about going up and down and at the restaurant, they learned how to order some drinks.   

My kids loved the videos.   And started counting in Spanish for everything.   It was fun to see them react that way after watching a couple of the videos.   As much as I want my kids to learn Spanish, I don’t think I would use the Speekee website to do so simply because it is teaching the Castilian Spanish and not the Latin America Spanish.  It is my understanding the there are differences in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary – even though it would not prevent communication.   However, we do have a program to learn Latin America Spanish and with the few episodes I watched with the kids, I already saw some slight differences of pronunciation which bothered me.

Finally, I want to praise the quality of the videos.   You can see that there was time and effort behind each episodes and that the whole script was thought.    Not only the kids learn from REAL life people but puppets also helps to understand the lesson.   It is very creative and interactive.   And to have material which the kids can use after the lesson is fantastic.

In the end, if  you don’t mind the slight difference of pronunciation and you want your kids to learn Spanish, I suggest that you consider Speekee.   Would I pay 7.50$ US per month?  No but that’s just because I already have some Spanish learning material at home.   DVDs are also available but make sure your DVD player can play the European DVDs before purchasing them.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Speekee for allowing me to access their website for review purpose through the TOS Homeschool Crew. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way.  All opinions expressed here are only my own.