Ricitos de Oro - Ana Lomba transforms the fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears into a way to introduce kids ages two to seven to Spanish. It includes vivid illustrations, a mini pictionary, and frequent dialogs that model everyday communication. Accompanying the book is a 45-minute audio CD that features a lively reading of the bilingual story, in Spanish and English, helpful pronunciation basics, and fun games and activities.
Comment by the author: As language teachers and bilingual parents know, total immersion is the best way to teach young children to speak a new language. However, this is not an option for many parents. That's why I developed a strategy for teaching a new language to young children that even one-language parents can use easily. I call my system 'Easy Immersion,' and it has proven to be very effective over the years.
My books and CDs use 'Easy Immersion' by incorporating stories, music and pictures into a format that can be adapted to each learning situation. Reading the stories, with the evocative illustrations, or listening to the songs or dance tunes offers a chance to reinforce concepts and vocabulary. And just as a child learns a familiar story in their own language, repetition of these formats helps to build a strong basis for the new language.
But the key to successful language acquisition in the young child is the partnership between parent/teacher and child. After all, language is a social endeavor which requires interaction with other people in meaningful communication. Nothing can replace human interaction to learn languages.
The partnership between the adult and the child creates an active learning process which benefits from the shared experience of each. By reading, speaking, singing and dancing in another language with your child, you not only build memories, but you will also be building a foundation for language skill that will last a lifetime.
Hardback book, 42 pages and an audio CD.