son had some speech and developmental delays requiring speech therapy, and
through these sessions, I learned a lot
about how children acquire language.
Although our therapist did not advise it,
I also took an additional step and added
French to our learning program. There
weren’t a lot of opportunities in our area
so I began to create my own opportunities to teach my son some French. We
spoke only French for one hour a day. It
was amazing how much his speech acquisition issues improved just by adding
another language! It was like a light bulb
went off in his head and his English dramatically improved! Soon, he asked me if
he could learn Spanish. I started inviting
a Spanish-speaking friend over for a few
hours each Sunday to immerse us in the
language. I created fun activities for her
to play with him that taught language.
I then started to train people to use the
activities I crea-ted to teach language. It
was a lot of work but I loved it and the
boys got so much out of it. It was so successful that my son decided he needed
to learn Chinese as well! I did this for a
decade with all three of my sons and they
are now proficient, if not fluent, in Spanish and Mandarin. I didn’t know it then,
but this was laying the groundwork for
Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids®.
TOS: What made you decide to create
and produce Foreign Languages for Kids
by Kids®?
Kit: I wanted to take everything I had
learned in the past decade with my
own kids, and also having a clear sense
of which teaching techniques to avoid
based on my negative experiences learning French, and package it for the benefit of others. I wanted to come up with
a way for parents who don’t speak other
languages to be able to teach (and learn
along with) their kids. I wanted to change
the way foreign languages are taught
and create a more effective program that
would work to introduce a second language earlier, when children’s brains are
primed to learn them!
TOS: What sets Foreign Languages for
Kids by Kids® apart from other foreign
language programs?
Kit: First and foremost, Foreign Lan-
guages for Kids by Kids® is, as its name sug-
gests, by kids. I realized that children are
fascinated by other children and wanted to
use this to help keep children engaged. The
appeal is in the script about family life that
we can all relate to, and yet makes us laugh.
Every word, set detail, color, etc. is there
to maximize learning retention. In addi-
tion, the program is broken up into short
video segments (most around 5 minutes)
that are manageable for even the shortest
attention spans! They are broken up with
fun graphics and visuals to engage visual
learners and yet incorporate the auditory
aspect of listening to the language for our
auditory learners. The story line is easy to
follow, even though it is all in Spanish. Al-
though the program was created for ages
3-14, it works well for learners of every age.
In response to requests, we are also crea-
ting Parent-Teacher guides that give tons
of hands-on ideas for kinesthetic learners
to help them connect with the lessons and
engage them in their learning.
The storyline is a typical day of family
activities, such as meals, playdates, birthday parties, and much more, but with an
added element of humor and surprise.
The dialogue is entertaining and uses conversational Spanish rather than broken-up
vocabulary that can’t be put together in a
fluent sentence. The program is taught
similar to the way our first language was
learned, making it easy to not only learn,
but more importantly, to retain!
TOS: Is there anything you would like
homeschoolers to know about teaching
their children a foreign language?
Kit: I have found that many parents are
reluctant to try to teach their children a
foreign language for two main reasons:
1) They feel, understandably, that they
cannot teach a language they do not
know well themselves, and/or 2) They
have previously tried a language program
(often a very expensive one) and it turned
out to be a bad experience.
I would like to encourage parents to
be open to new ways of learning foreign
languages. It really can be enjoyable and
add a very enriching dimension to their
school schedule and their children’s overall learning. One of the primary reasons
we offer a 100 percent guarantee with our
program is so that parents can feel comfortable taking the risk of trying a new
language program. Research has proven
that learning a foreign language in early
childhood boosts IQ, increases overall
performance in reading and language
skills in their primary language, and can
even (as in my experience) help with
speech and development!
My son who is now in 10th grade, the
one who had trouble speaking, and needed
speech therapy when he was two, just got
back from a summer in China through a
U.S. State Department Scholarship. It was
an incredible experience for him and it
opened his eyes to many aspects about his
life in America that he had never noticed
before. The benefits of learning a second
language early are incredible. In addition
to our guarantee, we offer everyone a free
trial to use our program to show you just
how easy and fun learning a foreign language can be for the children or even the
whole family.
TOS: Kit, thank you for joining us and
sharing your amazing program! I encourage our readers to visit www.foreign
languagesforkids.com to see how fantastic, easy and fun this curriculum is and
try the no-risk free trial. Or, contact Kit
directly with questions or for help creating a custom package that’s right for your
family at kit@foreignlanguagesforkids
.com.
Heather Mader lives in a household full of
music with her husband and 4 children.
“Have Faith, Have Fun” is their motto. She
loves to encourage homeschooling families
to heed the Lord’s leading in every aspect of
life, love, and education. Heather also loves
to bring stories to life as a voice over artist,
which is handy for family read-alouds.
“Right after the DVD
started playing, I heard
my children rushing
downstairs to join me . . .
maybe I can use it for a
dinner bell . . . to call them
to come down!” (parent
using our product)
