Language Stars?
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Franklyre
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Language Stars is great.
Start as early as you can! They suggest 12 months, but even starting at 6 months (especially if there is a sibling in the class) isn't crazy. Merely hearing a new language early on is super powerful. Watch this TED TALKs video on starting foreign language early (and also on how DVDs don't do squat). http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/patricia_kuhl_the_linguistic_genius_of_babies.html My son is just over 2 years old. I speak to him 95% in Spanish at home, which is not easy for me. I started when he was 15 months, I wish I started earlier. At 9 months he also did baby sign language, which I think immensely helped build the concept of language and made adding a foreign language even easier. Now he loves taking Language Stars classes in Chinese mainly, but a few time in French, Spanish and once in German. He loves it. Wakes up some days and says "Chinese class?" At 18 months he heard a CD that went from Spanish to French and said "French" (a month after taking 2 French classes). I was blown away. And yesterday on the airplane he heard French and said "that is French" and we started a conversation with them (simple hi and bye and what is your name). Again today at the supermarket in French. And that isn't even his main LS class! Then turning to me saying "talk Chinese to that man," as if everyone speaks everything. He loves the interaction. As for Chinese, he easily throws out about 10-15 words (hi, bye, airplane, ear, eye, "I want", fish, horse, 1-5 etc) and is delighted to use it when he sees a Chinese toddler. (how surprised is that Toddler and parent!) My goal is not necessarily for him to be a fluent Chinese speaker at age 5 or 10. It is more of an early training of the ear for sounds and a respect and understanding for other cultures. If he sticks with it great, if not, I am certain what he has learned so far has been worth it and will help him in the future. As for the cost... think of it this way... Compare it to buying Organic food. If you can afford it, you may buy all or mostly Organic. If you can't that is understandable. You will likely still buy the best fruit or veggies you can. Same here. So with Language Stars, if you can't afford it, that is 100% understandable. (Don't get mad at them for being more expensive, just like you wouldn't get mad at Safeway for charging double for Organic Grapes). If you can't afford it, you should DEFINITELY take a class somewhere else that you CAN afford. Anything is light years away from nothing. But if you CAN do LS, man o man. It is something else. People take for granted this "full immersion" stuff in their sales material/mantra. A quick story on that. During class, one parent asked in English "Is that lettuce?" and the instructor talked back in the foreign language. Using gestures and being super animated. The parent wanted an English response. Nope! NEVER broke into English. I wouldn't be surprised if their teachers would get fired for breaking this rule. They are trained VERY well, not just a "can you start next week" type hiring. Compare that to another non-LS Spanish class (because it was cheaper) that I went to where there said the object in English and then translated it in Spanish! Wow, a pet peeve of mine. Is that how you want your kids to think? "This object is XYZ in English and that means ZYX in Spanish." No. You want it to enter the brain directly in that language. Otherwise just wait until they are 16 to learn via translation in High School. Immersion is what being fluent and a nearly native speaker requires. I am actually going to pull my son from that class (and lose the $) and enroll in LS for both Chinese and Spanish. Quality matters. Another story. The curriculum. Other classes had a ton of songs and dance. All fun and fine, but my child said maybe 3 words all class. Vs LS, there is a massive amount of back and forth 1 on 1 interaction. The teachers are skillfully trained and patient and able to extract words and phrases out of them. Don't just think this is easy to do. It requires skill to pull a full phrase out of some reluctant or shy kids. One style is closer to learning on a DVD (see Ted Talks= little value) and one is hands on talking and practicing. Back to cost, there are some ways to "save". Usually they involve spending more money! So if you prepay, you get a discount. If you add another language or another day of the week, there is a discount. Multiple kids. Etc. I saw one family get it down 40%. For what it is worth. Also you get a sign up bonus of $100 if a current student refers you. So whoever first told you about it, drop their name. Or heck, if this post helped you, drop my name: Frank LL0SA. Anyhow, my kid loves it. His accent in all languages is amazing and shocking. It is like he hasn't learned English well enough to add in an bad accent. My son busted out a "poisson" for fish and it was crazy French sounding. I couldn't even do that, since older people don't have the ear to duplicate foreign sounds as well. Last thing (sorry for the winded response, but those that care enough will read it I bet). To those above... if you kid is kicking and screaming, don't do it! It has got to be fun! Maybe try a session or two but after that, talk to the staff for recommendations. See if they have ideas, but if it isn't fun, I wouldn't keep going. Also I think they have a refund policy. As in cash back on the balance of your classes if you decide to stop (more reason to pay up front and get that pre-paid discount). (Update: I see this was addressed and a refund was given, see told ya) Other tips: Make up a class in another language. It won't confuse them. Don't be silly. They will build an ear for other sounds that can help them a decade later. Sometimes classes will be 1 on 1 if the class has low enrollment. This has benefits, but so does a class of 5 or 6 where there is interaction and structure. Kids seeing kids learn is a motivation. We prefer the classes with at least a few kids. At least try a "free trial", enjoy and let us know what you think! Best of luck. Frank |
Anonymous
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I find it completely unbelievable that children are gaining fluency rapidly in just one hour class a week.
We did CommuniKids. The teacher was fine. The class had two kids. My child learned the vocab they taught at the age of 4. Really, what more do you think a once a week class can offer a child that young who has no native speaker in the home? |
Anonymous
I know it sounds unbeleivable but LS is really that great. My daughter is taking Mandarin once a week for one hour and that's it. We don't know anyone who speaks Mandarin but she doesn't get to practice the language but she is still able to remember what she learned and use it at home. For instance, she counts and know some colors in Mandarin. At home, without being prompted she says words in Mandarin. It is really amazing. She started during the summer and I signed her up for fall because I saw how quick she picked the language. |
Franklyre
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It depends what you call fluency. My son is light years away from being fluent. But at 18 months to recognize a "that is French" and be comfortable around somebody talking something completely foreign, and have a dozen words, sure. It does help if you are able to do some home practice. My son actually asks me "Dady, where is the Chinese book." He is very eager to learn. If you watch the Ted Talks video I linked to, they showed a US child with only 12 classes from age 6 months to 15 months. And their ability to differentiate sounds in Chinese were equivalent to a native Chinese speaker. Fluent no, but you have to start with being able to recognize the sounds. Frank |
Anonymous
| The only way a child will become fluent in another language is to be fully immersed in the language throughout the day. Your child will NOT become fluent by taking a once a week class. Your child may learn a few vocabulary words, greetings, colors, numbers, etc. . . however, please be aware that a once a week class can only cover the minimum, no matter how great the teacher. If your goal is to introduce your child to another language a class like this may be fine. However, if your goal is fluency your best option would be gathering information about immersion programs at language immersion schools (many of which are charter and therefore, FREE). |