The boyf has a thing about learning to speak Spanish (owns a load of learn to speak Spanish books from his bachelor days) and is also keen for the bambino now 33 months to get acquainted with another language, so I was curious to check out Speekee, a total immersion Spanish learning programme which is done via ten episodes across three DVDs, a 34 track CD, and a guide book with Spanish dictionary.
Aimed at children aged two to nine, it teaches about Spanish culture as well as the language and is set in Spain using Spanish children and a rather loud looking, goggle eyed, but friendly purple puppet. There’s no English spoken and it’s very much about learning through fun rather than being intense and there’s a lot of singing and repetition. I have to admit to having some scepticism mixed with the curiosity, but she did join in repeating words and singing along and having an idea of context and meaning, and I think after a few episodes, the familiarity of the character helps them get into it.
The episodes are short and themed and it doesn’t feel like learning, which is good because I’m very much into learning though play. The songs are very upbeat and be warned, they’ll stick in your own mind so my Spanish is coming on in leaps and bounds.
It is an ‘investment piece’ however, as it’s £95 for the programme, although they do run special offers periodically where you can get it for up to half price, but bearing in mind what’s in the programme, if you are keen for your child to learn a language, this is really good value, plus you’re not tied to taking your child to a class. You can also sign up to the Speekee newsletter where they’ll send you their guide to 20 indispensable Spanish phrases to kickstart the learning. I hope they break into other languages as I think they’re really onto something with this style of language learning product.
Image source: EyeOnSpain
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