II. Website usage tips for Kids

1. Have fun with language and geography. Think of it more as “exploring” and less as “learning.” This is our number one goal.

2. Dive in, start learning and you will see how quickly you soak up new things. But don’t be disappointed if you are unable to speak a language well without a lot of effort. This takes years to develop. Practice as much as you can when the opportunity arises and you will see how rewarding it is to speak to someone from another culture in his/her language.

3. Sit alone when you really want to practice your speaking and how to say things; there is no stress of a teacher to make corrections or other students to hear mistakes. But do sit with your family or friends to look through all of the fun materials on the site.

4. Language learning is done best in small bits of free time. Spend short amounts of time as many times as possible during the week accessing our site.

5. Go through the video materials over and over again to help you learn and recall. Remember when your parents read “Pat the Bunny” to you so many times that you could say it yourself? Or when you watched a favorite TV show or movie so many times that you could say the lines before the characters even spoke? The same is true of a language. The interview clips and lessons can be repeated very often as well. Exercises and information are updated a lot.

6. Do not expect to understand everything! Just get the ideas and then, after viewing more and use of the tools, you’ll understand more in-depth. Background noises such as cars tooting and buses flying by are included on purpose. It is all part of the real world.

7. Watch the videos carefully even when you think you know all the information. Gestures (hand movements) and facial movements vary from culture to culture and much can be learned while viewing even with no sound. Who moves their hands the most when they talk? Who is the most emotional? Who smiles the most?

Lip movements greatly aid in helping you learn how people in other places say things in their language (“pronunciation”). Watch how people move their mouths and tongues.

Look at the colors in the background. Notice, for example, that in Germany, taxis are all a very light yellow Mercedes. No bright yellow taxis there! Notice things like the different mailboxes, telephone booths, and the like.

8. Enjoy the view! Talk about what you see in the background. Use vocabulary from previous units (such as colors and adjectives) to describe scenes. What do the “taxis” look like in Venice? Why, they are boats!

9. Wander the site from language to language. This is great! You should be exposed to as many languages as possible while you are young. Sounds you hear and imitate now will not be as hard to say when you are older. Do you know a kid who rolls his/her tongue really well? Chances are they learned to do this as a baby!

10. Read as many books as you can in which characters travel to foreign lands or live in neighborhoods in the U.S. where people speak many languages. Also, read about all of our native cultures in the U.S. Rent movies shot in foreign locations or in places you have never been in the U.S. Reading and seeing language in action helps it all come together for you. See our recommendations and be sure to check out our new book series The Suitcase Sleuths!