Barney's Great Adventure in Spanish

[SueC]

I'm posting this for my daughter--we checked this movie out from the library (I tried to tell her she wouldn't understand it since its in Spanish but she insisted) and my 3 year old has been watching it non-stop for a week. She even sings the songs, even though she has no clue what she is saying. I almost think she focused on it more than she normally does since she couldn't understand what they were saying.

Sue, that is too funny! So what's the verdict? Is is a thumbs up or thumbs down?

[SueC]

Actually, I don't think it's that bad. I kind of like to concentrate on it to see how much I can understand. I only had 2 years of high school Spanish, though, so I don't understand a whole lot. It is different than the regular Barney videos. It isn't the Backyard Gang--it is this family going on vacation and this adventure that Barney and the kids have together. I'm tempted to find it in English now.

[Rapunzel]

I think that is a pretty great thing - having your kids watch movies that captivate them in another language. I bought the Muzzy program two years ago for my kids (BBC language immersion program using a cartoon series) in Spanish and I have learned right along with them! My husband jokes that if we really want to continue learning Spanish then we need to watch Spanish language soap operas and my mil (a Spanish language instructor and native Spanish speaker) actually agreed with him!! Anyway, I say let them watch Barney in Spanish ALL the time - and you will probably have little Spanish speakers running around soon!

[houseelf]

Jennifer & Sue--

My best friend's mother came to the U.S. from Ecuador as a young woman. She swears that the way that she learned English was by watching General Hospital everyday and then discussing it with her American born husband! Lord knows that the plot is slow enough that one can pick up on it.

The Muzzy series is awesome. We picked it up at a garage sale last year for $15. If you are interested in early exposure to Spanish, you should try Plaza Sesamo if you can find it. Basic word books are readily available at Amazon & Barnes and Nobles. Another great way to pick up on a foreign language is by reading comic books---nice big pictures without a complex plot. My son occasionally intersperses Spanish words learned from the videos and his preschool Spanish class into everyday conversation. This baffles people to no end. I want a Galleta (cookie)! Mommy is it night-night time?--it's oscuro! Ironically, he seems to learn the words for treats first: gelado, torta, galleta, chocolate... This is certain confirmation that he is my kid!

Kelly

[Rapunzel]

The last part of what you said struck a cord, Kelly. My kids also intersperse Spanish words into their everyday vocabulary (Alex regularly yells "RAPIDO!" at his sisters when they are going to slow in his opinion). They call that mix of Spanish/English "Spanglish" down in Texas. There are actually kids born into Mexican immigrant families that can not fully understand English or Spanish and they speak a mixture of the two languages! Anyway, what you said also reminded me that my kids have suddenly taken to making up Spanish words. They create words that they *think* should be in the Spanish language. I've tried to curb this because I don't want them to grow up thinking any of those words are real, but at the same time they are showing some incredible imagination (those words actually sound like they could be Spanish to a listener who didn't know the language)! I think I'm going to talk to my mil about this phenomenon and see if I should nip it in the bud or just ignore it and see if it fades away.

[SueC]

That's pretty cool guys! I have always wondered about the Muzzy series, but I was skeptical that a kid could actually pick up another language from a cartoon. Although, they are such sponges at this age I shouldn't be surprised by it! I wonder if I should be exposing them to Tagalog (the lang. my in-laws speak)?