S taking Spanish 1, seems to do well, but I was wondering if there is a casual way to keep basic things fresh over the summer. Has anyone had any experience with this ? I don’t want it to be like school and drills because …it’s the summer. What about Rosetta Stone or one of those types of programs ? Thanks for any tips.
have him do Duolingo…maybe 2 lessons every other day…
Some shows on Netflix are available in different languages. (I can’t tell you exactly how to do it, I just know it’s possible.). My D watches a couple of series in German to keep her skills up. Even silly kids shows can be fun and somewhat easy to follow.
Does he have any friends that he hangs out with who are native or heritage speakers of Spanish?
For reading practice, there is always https://news.google.com/?ned=es_us to practice on (though it may be more advanced than high school level 1).
You could try listening to “slow news” https://www.newsinslowspanish.com/
Is there a Latino community in your neck of the woods? If so, look at exploring cultural and/or volunteer opportunities in the community where he can practice his speaking and listening skills.
Other options – though these might be better suited to someone who’s had a bit more of the language
Rent movies in Spanish – and watch them with Spanish subtitles. That’s a great way for the brain to connect the spoken and the written (the latter which is easier to understand for a novice.)
Read Spanish-language newspapers/magazines online. That’s an effective way to increase your comprehension because often you know what the article is about – say, there was a big snow storm in New York City – and can deduce/guess the details while learning new words and gaining a greater ease with reading.
It sounds counterintuitive but Spanish language broadcasts of soccer games can be helpful. Yes, the announcers are manic but like any sports broadcast there is a lot of repetition. Assuming S knows about soccer, he will understand visually what the announcers are talking about and his brain will start wiring the visual and verbal together.
If he’s a baseball fan and you have access to a Spanish language broadcast of his favorite team he can do the same thing. I think that soccer might be better because a greater percentage of the dialog will match up with the visual action on screen but really it comes down to whether he wants to watch either type of game.
The best but most expensive option would be to book a vacation in a Spanish speaking country!
I am surprised a kid who has only gotten through Spanish 1 could watch movies, etc in Spanish…much better programs than my son’s class…
Movies might be advanced, unless they are kid’s movies, which he probably won’t want to do. But there are websites as mentioned above that will have easier language patterns,
I talk to myself in the car in a foreign language sometimes (only when alone!), that helps. Like others have said, watching films, reading, looking over vocab… You won’t lose it over a few months, you may just have to recap some stuff