Last year the kids requested that they start pursuing a foreign language. Dinomite wanted to learn German. Bulldozer wanted to learn French. Princess wants to learn every language, but decided that Spanish would work for now, since neither of her brothers were pursuing that language.
I purchased some books and materials in each language. The kids dabbled with it last year to determine if they were sure about their pursuit and language of choice. This year they're quite serious about moving forward.
Learning a foreign language can be quite challenging. It's requiring the kids to study, which is a new concept. There are no tests in Montessori school through elementary, unless they're required by the state.
The first part of the school year has been all about understanding and developing study habits that work. One method the kids have tried is studying with this FREE Pleasantries BINGO Printable Pack in English, Spanish, French and German.
How to Use the Pleasantries BINGO Printable Pack in English, Spanish, French and German
This printable pack comes with three cards in English, one in Spanish, one in French, and one in German.
Each card includes present tense conjugations of the verb to speak as well as vocabulary from the Pleasantries: Hellos and Goodbyes section of the kids' phrase books.
The kids used glass beads to mark their BINGO cards as we played.
We've played BINGO in two different ways.
Option 1:
I call out the phrases and verbs in each foreign language and the kids mark the English definitions on their cards.
Option 2:
I call out the phrases and verbs in English and the kids mark their foreign language cards.
The FREE Pleasantries BINGO Printable Pack in English, Spanish, French, and German is Subscriber's Only Freebie. Be sure to follow the directions at the bottom of this post to obtain your free copy.
What Phrase Books Do You Use in the Classroom?
Foreign language is a passion of mine. In high school and college I studied Spanish and French. There was a time when I was fluent in Spanish and pursued career paths that required me to speak it at all times.
As a classical music student in college focusing on vocal studies, I was required to sing in Italian, French, and German. Part of that process was taking diction classes where I was trained in pronunciation.
When I went looking for resources for my kids, I wanted to find books that would be of value to them. They're not fans of workbooks. Textbooks are somewhat foreign to them as we've pursued a Montessori education for so long.
What I did want to find was a way to encourage independence in learning in as many ways as possible. The Rick Steves series has done that perfectly.
All phrases come with an English translation and a pronunciation guide. If I'm not around, the kids can learn to pronounce words themselves.
The other pro to using the Rick Steves series was that a book in each language the kids were learning was available with the same layout. This allows us to learn together, even though everyone is learning a different language.
My kids love the pocket size of the books as well as they can take them anywhere with ease!
To ensure that the kids are understanding the speaking and pronunciation aspect of their foreign language of choice, each week they have the assignment of watching a Disney+ movie in their foreign language with subtitles also in their foreign language.
As they watch the movie they are to write down ten new words or phrases they learn in English and in their foreign language.
This is one of their favorite assignments each week. They've had so much fun with it. There are some movies they now prefer in their foreign language of choice rather than in English.
My guess is that you're not teaching English, Spanish, French and German all at once, but it's my hope that you can use some of the resources provided here.
Enjoy!
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