The internet has become a very popular medium for learning a new language. With so many options for an online Spanish class at your fingertips, how can you be sure you’re picking the right one for your kids? To avoid a negative situation when it comes to enrolling your kids in Spanish classes, it’s important to keep in mind the following points:
Does it have an age appropriate curriculum?
Looking into the structure of the curriculum to see if it is designed as a Spanish program for kids. Everyone loves to be entertained but with children it’s almost a must. A standard textbook curriculum might be targeted at beginning Spanish for 7th-12th grade. Standard textbooks don’t offer the imagination that kids love such as games and stories. It can also have an over emphasis on reading and writing. Most classes don’t work enough on listening and speaking, which is a known problem. This is the main reason students can get an A in a class but can’t speak conversationally. Furthermore, a class with no curriculum will have short term progression without logical vocabulary building sequences. Choosing Spanish lessons that offer a high-quality curriculum often offer detailed grammar and vocabulary lessons that incorporate the four key skills when learning a new language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Another factor to consider is if the Spanish program offers appropriate levels that fit your child. If the program only has Basic Spanish and Advanced Spanish, you run the risk of a child being bored or lost if these general catch-all levels are not a match.
Is the delivery format a fit (Recorded vs. Live)?
A pre-recorded online Spanish class offers the flexibility of viewing the content anytime you like and rewinding as needed. It will help to learn sentence structure, vocabulary and even pronunciation. With the use of online resources such as flash cards and different audio files which you can imitate.
In contrast, having your own live teacher can offer a great opportunity to improve your kids Spanish skills. This allows them to focus on their individual learning style, and specific goals. They can develop a plan that will be effective in helping you move forward in mastering the language.
Have you thought about which Spanish teacher qualities are important to you?
If you end up choosing a live class, it’s important to find a good teacher for your kids. Good online Spanish teachers know and understand the workings of the language and will try to find shortcuts for your children which will only make the process easier for them. An easy way to make sure you will end up with a good teacher is enrolling in a program as opposed to finding a freelancer. This is because they are most likely vetted, trained, and background checked to their program’s standards.
Some questions to keep in mind when researching for your perfect fit includes finding out if the teachers are native Spanish speakers. You might also ask your child’s preferences: male/female or young/old. These little things may make the difference in finding the compatible teacher for the longer term goal of being bilingual.
Getting Spanish lessons for kids to become bilingual is a wonderful goal
I suspect most families believe that being bilingual is a good thing and an educational goal for their kids in their early years. But the evidence is that very few families succeed in attaining that goal because they only pursue it short term. Having your kids learn Spanish is a long term endeavor . We encourage you to be persistent to find a Spanish program where you might gain a lifelong friendly teacher. We’d be glad to hear of any tips or stories on how your child is learning Spanish.