Just Released: Cherrydale's Speaking Spanish with Miss Mason & Francois AUDIO FILES & T

I wrote yesterday to get the samples. Below is what she said. Seems to be a good help in figuring out exactly what parts a particular family will need.

Dear Shannon,

Thank you for your interest. I’m attaching samples here.

We’ve worked to keep the cost of languages down, so that people need only buy what they need. If you know Spanish and want to create your own series, then the Teaching Guide is sufficient. It gives a detailed discussion of how to implement the method, why it works, and Miss Mason’s ideas for pacing and taking breaks.

If you know Spanish but don’t want to create you own series, then the volumes are probably sufficient.

For those who want to hear the proper pronunciation, there are the audio files which enhance, but don’t substitute for, the volumes.

It is possible to begin with only the volumes. As you will see, there is introductory material about how to approach a lesson in each volume.

The teaching guide goes into much greater depth for those who want it.

All the best,

Allyson

Bumping this to hear how people are liking this program. Waiting for the French version.

We are waiting til fall, but I know the French version is due in the next couple of months.

I am clueless about MP3 audio stuff… If I order it and download it to my laptop, can I still use the audio from another computer in my home and/or Ipad? Or is that limited to 1 device?

thanks for your help and understanding! 🙂

We are using Speaking Spanish, Volume 1. I like the format:

1. Say and act out the sentence in English

2. Say and act out the verb in English

3. Say and act out the verb in Spanish

4. Say and act out the sentence in Spanish

I did question a Spanish verb used in one lesson. I even looked it up and asked my Spanish fluent husband about it before contacting the company. Their response was polite, and they explained that many Spanish speakers around the world use the word in the book to convey that meaning. They also explained that the books do not aim for a literal word for word translation but a translation of the idea, how a native speaker would convey the same thought in his language. This is also explained in the introduction of the book. I will use the word that is most common where we live when teaching my children, but I’m not as confident about this resource as I was previously. Not sure if anyone else has experienced this or has any thoughts about literal translations vs. thought for thought translations…..

I’m keeping my college Spanish textbook nearby as well as my Spanish-English dictionary for the time being.

Mrsmccardell, I think your description is fitting. Perhaps we should start a new thread for this discussion.

However, I will address the English dialect. I am a southern girl. I live in the old South where children get corrected by strangers if they forget ma’am and sir. I say y’all when I am speaking to more than one of you. I am a stickler though for using correct English. I cannot stand when people end sentences with ‘at’ or write ‘alot’ for ‘a lot’. For that reason, I would teach someone learning English proper English. I think the dialect is picked up as you spend time speaking with the locals. In fact this conversation is causing me to question my reasons for teaching my children Spanish at young ages if they are not using it regularly outside of lessons. Hmmm…