Search Results for: blog learn spanish word by word

Signs of Dyslexia Start Before a Child Learns to Read

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A study done in Italy found that signs that a child has dyslexia appear long before the child starts to learn how to read. Typically, in the United States, dyslexia is not considered until young children begin to learn to write and read. The Italian study found a new way to help with dyslexia. However, the treatment may not work with children who communicate in English. Dyslexia is a type of learning disability. A person who is dyslexic will have problems reading because his or her brain does not properly recognize and process certain symbols. Those symbols include letters of … Continue reading →

Speaking Spanish 11 Years Later

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This past Saturday, I went to a birthday party for a family that just moved into our ward a couple of months ago. Their daughter was turning 1 year old, and they invited us over to celebrate. I had a great time, and spent about 3 hours of that time next to a cute middle-aged couple from Bolivia who spoke little English. It was a chance to use my Spanish. I served a Spanish speaking mission and returned home about 11 years ago. It’s gone by fast. Immediately after my mission, I got jobs that were Spanish speaking positions for … Continue reading →

A Few More Genealogy Words You Don’t Know

It can be interesting to find out the meanings of obscure, rarely used, genealogy terms, words, and phrases. If you are someone who likes to play with language, or who loves doing crossword puzzles, then you probably find it fun to learn new words. I thought that every genealogy dictionary would hold pretty much the same words. To my surprise, this assumption is not true at all! So far I have wandered through the Genealogy Glossary on the Family Tree Magazine website, the ROOTS Genealogical Dictionary, and the Glossary of Terminology at Genealogy Quest. This time, I decided to see … Continue reading →

Livemocha: Social Networking Meets Language Learning

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Lately I’ve been looking for an online language-learning tool. They are quite easy to find, even the free ones. The quality varies a lot, but the internet seems to be populated with free online language learning. I’m trying to brush up on my Spanish, and that’s quite easy to find. If you’re looking for a less-common language, you may have a more challenging time, but classes like Mandarin, French and Spanish are fairly simple to arrange, and free. It’s amazing to me that we can learn world languages from native speakers without leaving the house. I’ve tried out a number … Continue reading →

Teaching kids Spanish when you don’t know a lick of it

“How are you going to teach foreign languages?” This is one of the most common questions homeschoolers hear when people find out that you are going to continue homeschooling through high school. “Resources”, is my answer. The truth is I don’t know a lick of any foreign language, (outside of Latin songs learned in Catholic school and some choice Spanish words my Dominican roommate taught me in college). Whether I have resources or not, having kids learn a language when you have not way of determining results, can be unsettling. But what public school parent knows every subject that their … Continue reading →

I Know My Kids Can Learn From Someone “Untrained”

Today I just thought I’d share some observations about memorization. I know I’ve said I’m not a big fan of television but I have to admit that I do like Dora and Diego. Apparently, so do my twins. Actually, we’ve gone through a few rounds of Dora and Diego love and I suspect that in another year or so, Dora and Diego will be gone from our lives forever. However, today, we are having a lazy day and are watching a Diego DVD about penguins. (For those of you who don’t know, Go Diego Go, focuses on teaching about animals … Continue reading →

Coffee Break Spanish – Podcast Review

Coffee Break Spanish is a fun podcast that teaches conversational Spanish in fifteen minute increments. It is the winner of the 2007 European Award for Languages. The podcast is available for free at www.coffeebreakspanish.com. There’s also a forum for their listeners. Other educational materials are available for purchase on the website. According to the podcast there are over 400 million Spanish speakers worldwide. My husband and I started listening to the podcast in preparation for a trip. Your hosts for this podcast are Mark, an experienced languages teacher, and Kara who is learning along with the listeners. They are Scottish, … Continue reading →

Would Learning Another Language Help Your Business?

I do some work on an international level. When I decided to take on this challenge, I anticipated that there would be a bit of a learning curve and I would have to adjust to cultural differences, time zones and other details. I even rightfully imagined I would have to learn something about currency exchange rates (and I have)–but I didn’t really think on whether or not I would need anything other than my decent command of the English language in order to communicate with all the people I would need to communicate with. The truth is, I’ve found that … Continue reading →

Homeschool Curriculum Glossary (Wallbuilders-Wordly)

WallBuilders focuses on America’s forgotten history and heroes, and emphasizes the “moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built.” Wallbuilders materials come in book and DVD form. Weaver Curriculum by Alpha Omega Publications allows parents to teach several age ranges Geography, History, Social Studies, Sciences, Language, grammar and more, all at the same time. The Weaver curriculum is designed to make learning fun. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Geography, by Brenda Runkle allows students to geography. The books teach by way of lessons that include vocabulary, charts, photographs and more. Teachers’ guides are also available. What Your … Continue reading →

Vocabulary Word of the day: Presumptuous (pre-zump-chu-us)

The American Heritage Dictionary describes presumptuous as “going beyond the limits of courtesy or appropriateness”. An example of a presumptuous act would be for me to attempt to teach a reading adult to read. Homeschooling is a lot like being pregnant. It seems like everyone has an opinion about homeschooling your children and wants to share it with you. Whether they agree or disagree, many people are so presumptuous as to believe their input is not only valuable but also valued in their homeschool experience. They want to examine your program. They want to quiz your children. Your once isolated … Continue reading →