Middlebury Interactive Languages {Spanish Review}

Are you teaching a foreign language to your kids at home?

We know quite a few Spanish speaking people from around the globe… Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and more… So, I’ve always thought it would be neat for my kids (and me!) to learn Spanish so they could talk to them.

Middlebury Interactive Languages has a fun online program to help your kids learn Spanish.

We were given a complimentary subscription to their program so we could try it out and tell you all about it!

My son has been using the Elementary Spanish 1, for grades 3-5.

The program is broken up into different levels and grades.  They also have other languages for you to choose from… German, French, or Chinese.

This program seems to use mostly vocabulary words to help the student learn the language.

Although, they use phrases and sentences too, so the student will naturally learn how to speak complete sentences.

The lessons don’t take long each day… Only about 15 to 20 minutes.

Each lesson begins with a review of the previous lesson.

Then they practice what they have learned.

The program then moves in to the “speaking lab” portion of the lesson. At this point, you will need a computer that has a microphone on it, because your student will need to speak into it to record the Spanish words he or she is learning in that lesson.

There is a quiz for each lesson.  It is short and sweet.  Usually only about 5 questions.

Sometimes, there is also something called “Coloring Book”. It shows a picture that is black and white. As the child clicks on different things on the picture, the program will say the vocabulary word that goes with that particular item.

The program also has stories that it tells in Spanish.  The first time the students hears/watches the story, he hasn’t learned the words in the story.

After learning the vocabulary in the unit, he gets to watch the story again and has a chance to try to recognize the vocabulary words within the story.  It is a great way to put the learning to use!

Another thing that is added in to this program is the lesson on “culture”.  My son has learned about the celebration when a girl turn 15, how Hispanic people greet one another with a hug and a kiss, about the running of the bulls, and how saying “Hispanic family” usually refers to extended family, not just parents and siblings, like in the U.S.

My son and his thoughts

He says he likes it and feels he is learning Spanish!

He takes written notes while he is doing the program.  This isn’t something the program or I told him to do, he just likes to take notes when he is learning.  It helps him quite a bit.

He doesn’t like it when they tell him the words in Spanish, but don’t tell him what it is in English.  The program does tell him what those words mean in English in the next section or two, but he doesn’t like it.

I have explained to him that they are just introducing him to the words so he gets used to them, but he still doesn’t like it.

Regardless, he is definitely learning.  He has come to me and spoken complete sentences in Spanish!  Fortunately, I know a little Spanish, so I usually know what he is saying.  Soon, he will surpass my knowledge, though…

Information at a glance:

What is it? Middlebury Interactive Languages – online language courses for homeschool families.  You can choose from Spanish, German, Chinese, or French.

For whom?  all students in grades K through 12.

How much is it? the price without teacher is $119 and the price with teacher is $119 plus $175 per student per semester