Dear Readers,

I absolutely love new gadgets, I must confess I’m a huge fan of apple products, not quite sure if I am a bigger fan of Apple or Steve Jobs, who did to Apple, what I dream to do with my business- bring monetary value to the same level of the quality of our product.
Back to the ipad, I need to share: it is a great gadget! I immediately started experimenting and downloading children’s books in various languages….found out an app for children practicing Spanish called Salta! Now I can sing songs, read bedtime stories and play with my son using a foreign language and everything is done on the ipad! Very interesting….
My son asked tonight, mom, where is the ipad? I answered, it is charging, he said, oh no! No story time tonight???
I know parents complain that technology drive children away from real interaction, family time…I just showed you that is not true!
Whether you have an ipad or not, please consider using technology to bring your little one closer to you, especially bringing a foreign language closer to both of you. Having that in mind, I am creating a series of videos for parents who wish to do something at home related to a foreign language, but don’t feel confident enough to do so. My videos and audio files will help parents use technology to do some cool things at home with the children, as well as follow our activity guide to bring more fun and a foreign language to their summer.

Summer Activity Book and audio files will be available here on the blog, under membership category. I will let all the parents know as soon as we have it up on the site.

Saludos!
Claudia Krusch

Some Parents came to me yesterday at an event I attended and said, their children don’t even speak English…..that inspired me to write this post about the FAQs on the subject “misconceptions of foreign language being introduced in early age to children”.
On the top of the list:

1)  My child doesn’t even speak – misconception

Even if the child doesn’t speak, the foreign language will at least stimulate the brain which is already working to produce language.

2)  My child already speaks two languages, I don’t want to confuse him/her – misconception

All the studies conducted with children who had learned more than 2 languages in early age show that there are infinite ways where the brain is wired to store and process a new foreign language and there’s no limit to it. Children will sometimes, use words from different languages with bilingual parents, but the language use is a social behavior, so they usually use the languages when they are required by the parent who requires…(speaks) Later on , they will separate the language use.

3)  My child has speech impairment, therefore I will not enroll him/her in a foreign language program – misconception

I currently have two children who have speech issues, especially with consonants in English, which is normal in early age, until the brain is processing sounds. But they presented no speech impairment in Spanish, so I came to the conclusion that there are different areas of your brain for different languages and your vocal system will be wired to use its tools to communicate in different ways, for different languages.

4)  Foreign Languages should not be taught later on – misconception

I strongly believe that our brain is being formed until the age of 12, which benefits the early learning process of a foreign language or acquisition of any languages, but that doesn’t prevent any individual who is motivated to learn a second language later on. I currently have an 88 year old student!

5)  My child is too young – misconception

It is never too early to introduce a foreign language to a child, I honestly believe the younger the better. We start mommy and me classes at 14months. Children love it!

I hope that this helps parents answer their questions regarding introducing a foreign language to children. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like recommendations on software and programs in other states or countries.

Saludos,

Claudia Krusch
EasyLearn Programs powered by CK translations LLC

Dear Readers,

This is a question I often have to answer. Parents are worried about children who don’t speak English yet, who have speech delay, can’t differentiate colors after 24 months and other concerns……they are afraid a foreign language will make the situation worse or will bring a problem to their children.

NNELL and our website: www.easylearnlanguages.com lists thousands of articles which defend the early introduction of a foreign language to a child, proven  not to be only beneficial but instrumental in early reading, math, reasoning and other skills which were more developed in children exposed to foreign languages in early age.

My students, we currently have 150 enrolled in our programs have demonstrated those studies to be true and their learning process to say the least, have brought a joyful and educational experience to them.

Next time you decide to give a gift certificate to a child on their birthday, think of that!

For more information on classes and programs, please visit our site or a school in your area.

Claudia Krusch

Director of EasyLearn Programs

Dear Readers, Moms and Dads,

We are happy to announce, after the amazing success of last week’s reading time that we will feature in this week’s free story time for children, the language Portuguese.

The children 2-6 will enjoy a story, song and craft, a 30min fun time, embracing the wonderful world of foreign languages.

When: Saturday, July 25th, 9:30am

Where: 1007 Mantua Pike S# 1 West Deptford, Nj 08096 ( R45, on the other side of LA Fitness)

I hope to see you there!

Claudia Krusch

CK Translations LLC and Easylearn Programs

A lot of the parents which come from families or are Brazilian have asked me to post vocabulary and suggestion of activities on different topics. This is the first of a series.

Spring Vocabulary:

Spring – primavera

Flower – flor

Spring colors- green – verde, purple- roxo pink- rosa, blue- azul, yellow- amarelo

Grass-grama

Garden-jardim

Bee- abelha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y9m_EYWOi0 – video with spring scenes in Rio

Coloring Page: http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/spring/color/bee7.gif

My favorite spring song: O Barquinho – Tom Jobim – This song always reminds me of spring in Brazil, but I don’t have a recording to offer to readers to check it out. Maybe in a Brazilian search engine.

Suggestion on activities:

1)Take your child to a garden or your backyard and show him/her the flowers, grass and bring the vocabulary on this list to life.

2)There is a children’s lullaby- O cravo brigou com a rosa….very nice, will put your child in a spring mood, right before bed: http://www.microvip.com.br/vipkids/ocravoearosa.htm. My son loves this song….the hard part was explain the flower names to him….cravo…..

If you are teaching your child how to read in Portuguese, spring vocabulary is great for asking the child to read the flower names, for example.

For more suggestions, information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I strongly advocate for introducing a second and many foreign language to children at early age, so it will be my pleasure to give any readers, any information to help them introduce or bring foreign languages to children.

Next posting will give some information on colors.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Tell us what you think!

Claudia Krusch

EasyLearnLanguages Director

www.easylearnlanguages.com