Around the linguisitics community, the main theme of learning these days is "immersion immersion immersion." I agree.... to an extent. The theory that I have seen proven in my own travels and Spanish classes is called "x + 1."
The gist of this theory is that wherever your student is, (x) is your jumping off point - meaning, if your child knows NO Spanish at all, then the amount he should be introduced to is the first level. If he knows some, bump it up, but just a notch.
So, a student knowing colors, numbers, and some manners, has a good chance of absorbing some communication about meal time and getting dressed. A child that has not ever heard the language will most likely tune it out, rather than gaining any language knowledge at all.
Now, in context, of course, the student will try to communicate and understand. But with contrived immersion such as DVD's, CD's and any other immersion material, it is better to get a basic foundation before trying to push paragraphs of information on a child, less he simply shut down.
So, in my opinion, as a mother, a language learner, and a teacher, a combination of the two methods - first an actual lesson of words and sounds, then immersion, is the best strategy. I'll continue this discussion in a few days with more details and anecdotes.
Sra. Gose
From Sra. Gose, a weekly private lesson Spanish teacher, and author of Flip Flop Spanish Workbook you can go along for the ride as I post my class journals - what happens in classes, Spanish teaching tips, and just fun anecdotes about homeschooling and teaching Spanish to children. My classes don't have restrictive state guidelines, so the children simply get to learn what they need to know to communicate!
