Thursday, February 21, 2008

ay caramba!

Reason #87 to live abroad (especially Europe): the over all multi-lingual brilliance. It really is so impressive to know several languages, which you quickly learn is often common place. I grew up desperately wanting to know Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Mandarin, and on and on. I'm still working on Spanish... but luckily I should have plenty of years to deliver. And I have Professor Pocket pulling for me. It's a bilingual hayride. Truly: seamless bilingual (Spanish and English) storytelling and songs on a silly farm adventure meant for children, ages 2 and up.. but clearly suited for any enthusiast.



Learning a new language finally steps outside of flashcards and vocab drills. Professor Pocket (the trusty English translator with a fool-proof American accent), Desi the Dinosaur and Chico the Chicken (both who "often sing and speak full sentences in Spanish to enable greater contextual understanding") make their debut with catchy and original tunes, a silly story made easy to follow, and an itch to keep coming back for more.
Experts agree that the earlier you expose your children to additional languages, the better! Why? At a very early age, children start to prune away sounds that they do not hear regularly. Exposing children to additional languages early on builds a basis for proficiency later in life. In addition, children who are exposed to multiple languages often show superior cognitive skills, creative thinking, problem solving and math skills as well as broader global awareness.
My favorite? No Hay Dinosaurios. Professor Pocket sells for $15.95 here.

1 comment:

  1. i love the idea of teaching our kids a second language, this would be a great way to start!

    ReplyDelete

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