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A Bilingual Audio Book for Children to learn Spanish

A Bilingual Audio Book for Children to learn Spanish

Parents who look for a way to help their children to learn a foreign language (or to learn theirs) often rely on bilingual books for children. Since it may happen to be difficult to make children read, their efforts are not always rewarded. The latest language learning software, bilingual audio books for children, solves the problem.
The Canterville Ghost has been chosen to become the first English-Spanish bilingual audio book. The sentence-for-sentence alternation makes it an easy language learning tool while sparing the learners the misunderstandings they often get when they listen to an audiobook recorded only in the language they learn.

According to MultilingualBookstore chief publisher, the choice of The Canterville Ghost, by Oscar Wilde, was made because it “meets linguistic, trade, and technical requirements.” The book to record should treat of a general subject, so that the vocabulary would be useful for anyone; it should be suitable for listeners of all ages; and not only should it allow cutting, but also had to keep its qualities despite the cutting.

The English-Spanish audiobook presents the recording of the original text (for the English part) that is to say: some sentences are quite long because, despite the classification “suitable for children” the book is a piece of art, not a teaching tool. The Spanish translation uses modern Spanish.

The Canterville Ghost is a parody of a ghost story. All the elements are in place: the old mansion, the armour in the hall, the blood stain, the chains, the secret corridor, etc, but they do not work the way they are supposed to. They are present, but the circumstances make them less ghostly than they should be, mainly because they are seen from the materialistic point of view of the American family, the Otises. For them, a detergent may remove the stain, the ghost’s chains may be lubricated, a syrup may improve Sir Simon’s awful voice etc.

Even things that are not related with the Otises refuse to work. When the ghost makes the terrible oath, using the “picturesque phraseology of the antique school” -something that is known to have yet proved its worth- though Chanticleer “sounds his merry sound” at once, then he remains mute, instead of serving Sir Simon’s purpose and allowing “deeds of blood” to be wrought. Everything goes wrong for the representant of the antique school, of the old England.

But in the end, it is the ghost who has a present for the new world. His legacy goes to Virginia, the one who will reconcile the two worlds by marrying an English duke.

While reading the story, children are entertained, not afraid.

Adult readers will enjoy the way Oscar Wilde pits an American family against a British ghost, one culture against the other. The inserted ads, that sounded so American one century ago, are still funny. The stereotypes of both cultures are reexamined.

In the Christian theology, the ghosts cannot exist, since a soul is or is not saved, but cannot choose a third way. No Christian can believe in ghosts. But it is the ghost himself who asks for someone praying for him, so that he can be forgiven; and it is Virginia, a believer and a member of the “Free American Reformed Episcopalian Church” who prays with and for him. The conclusion is clear: two choices are not enough.

Almost all Multilingual bilingual audio books, for children ???or not, follow a sentence-by-sentence alternation. It is what best mirrors the side by side bilingual books. It makes them perfectly suitable for beginners. The bilingual audio book Spanish-English works the same way, so that the beginners do not have to do guess work, they learn the easiest possible way almost as they learnt their mother tongue, except that they do not ask their mother to repeat when there is something that escapes their understanding, they simply hit the “Replay” touch.
The bilingual audiobook is a little less than three hour long. Each one of the seven chapters of the Canterville Ghost has its own corresponding mp3 file, so that even children may listen to the story since the length of a file is within their ability to focus.

Many adult listeners who are looking for a handy tool to refresh their Spanish will also find pleasant  to stop saying: “I have not read it yet,” when asked what they think of Oscar Wilde’s tale and instead will proudly reply: “Actually, I prefer to listen to it in Spanish.”

Find More Audio Books For Children Articles

The Things You Need To Know About Raising Bilingual Children

The Things You Need To Know About Raising Bilingual Children

When I was growing up, the only way to raise a true ‘world denizen’ was at an exorbitantly priced Swiss boarding school. Luckily, such elitism has been thrown out the window, and now parents raise bilingual and multicultural children themselves. The children grow up just as world-savvy and sophisticated — and actually know their own parents! Still for the do-it-yourselfer, a few tips can smooth the way.

The most common question people ask me is “How do I raise a bilingual child the best way?” “Easy, just talk to them!” is my tongue-in-cheek response. It seems almost impossible to imagine the baby transforming into a communicating creature, let alone one conversant in several languages. Although the miraculous progress from cooing to speech occurs in exactly the same fashion whether it transpires in one or in several languages, the practicalities are different.

Here are the first steps to raising your very own polyglot tot.

1. Family agreement: Even though agreement within the family is perhaps the most essential ingredient, I am sometimes asked, “What do I do if my partner doesn’t want me speaking to our child in a language he doesn’t understand?” An insecure spouse may fear being excluded from ‘the secret language’ between the other parent and the child. Discuss and compromise. It is very important that couples find some solution that is acceptable to both parents as well as beneficial to the child.
2. Enthusiastic, yet realistic: Once the idea of two languages has settled in, many people consider adding more. Usually the number of languages spoken within the household is enough for the child to absorb, but it’s actually possible to successfully introduce as many as four languages simultaneously — provided you can offer enough exposure and need for each one. Still, research suggests that a child needs to be exposed to a language 30% of his waking time to actively speak it, and since waking time is a finite quantity, so, too, is language acquisition.

3. The practical plan: Next, you need to make sure you have a plan. Agree on who speaks what language to whom and then stick to it. There are endless variations on the two most successful language systems. The most common involves one person who always speaks to the child in the ‘foreign’ language. Anyone who is spending a significant amount of time with the child can function as this primary speaker. The second common language system is where the whole family speaks in the foreign language. To add another language beyond those already spoken within the family, or if your family doesn’t speak any foreign languages, you’ll need to provide an outside source like an immersion program, a nanny or an au pair.

4. Get together: Building a support network is probably the most underestimated success factor, so find others who are raising their children to speak your language. You’ll benefit from their knowledge and be able to share both your doubts and your triumphs. It also ensures future play dates that will provide your child with the ultimate language teachers — other kids. Books, music, movies, and toys in your minority language are the most obvious ways to boost your child’s exposure, but there is also an amazing range of other household items such as place mats, tableware, posters, etc.

5 Be patient: Raising multilingual children requires patience, and there are going to be times when doubt sneaks in. As with most aspects of parenting, it’s a long-term commitment and there will be ups and downs. But remember, that’s happening to the parents of the monolingual children too! Don’t worry if your child doesn’t speak his multiple languages as quickly or as adeptly as his peers. Instead focus upon his successes and marvel at the development of his little brain. Always praise, praise, and then praise some more! Know that when your child says, “I want a hug” in your language, you’ll almost cry with pride. At that moment, it won’t matter that it took some extra effort or that you had to wait a bit for the result.

And, hey, remember, you’re not alone. Madonna, Andre Agassi, and Antonio Banderas are among those raising bilingual children. And if they can do it, why shouldn’t you?

The Advantages of Bilingual Audio Books

The Advantages of Bilingual Audio Books

A novel is meant neither to be easy nor to be difficult. The teller tells an anecdote. The story itself may be complicated, with innumerable characters who live mingled experiences, but its composition may be quite linear, without long words. On the other hand, a very unsophisticated story that engages only one character may use flashbacks, rare turns of phrases, and incomprehensible jargon.
To those factual points of evaluation, the most significant one , that is one hundred percent personal has still to be added: the reader’s predilection. The reader who does not like detective story will find difficult to read/listen to one, even if its writing is easily accessible.

For dual language books, the level of difficultness is commonly ascertained in accordance with the linguistics of the targeted language. If the linguistic degree is high, the text will be said for “Experts” or “High advanced.” The genre, for example, is hardly  ever considered, even if it is the principal criterion for the readers. It is not rare that the readership be confused and bilingual books for children seldom have their specialized section.

Since bilingual audio books have been added to the supply of language learning means, the learner should also know how they are ranked. Bilingual audiobooks are not judged on linguistics only. The audio part has to be considered.
What suits a beginner? His audio book will show the attributes he needs to learn from scratch. For example, he will listen to his mother tongue first, so that he will be able to understand the following translation. The sentences will be as short as possible. Those that are too long will be cut in several phrases.
On the contrary, considering an advanced learner, he may find that he does not need more than a brief summary in his language, while the intermediate student will most certainly opt to listen to the targeted language first and try to translate by himself what he hears before checking his understanding by listening to his own language.

Doubtless, since there are levels within the levels, bilingual audiobooks do not obey a mathematical equation. A student may say he is a beginner because he does not know how to question  yet, but the student who does not know how to say “thank you” or “please” will think that the former is at an higher level.

The student who wants to learn a foreign language would be wise to aim at a level a little higher than his, without going for the stars.
The student at an higher level of knowledge should make the language he is fluent in his “source language” to learn a third one. If someone speaks Spanish and wishes to speak French, to choose a French-Spanish bilingual audiobook will help him to go on conserving his understanding of vocal Spanish -and ameliorating the way he pronounces Spanish as well- while beginning to learn French.
Given the state of the economy, to increase one’s chances of getting a well paid job cannot be detrimental. To multiply opportunities without effort is what makes bilingual audiobooks  the greatest language training software.

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Raising Bilingual Children: 5 Steps to Parenting Success

Raising Bilingual Children: 5 Steps to Parenting Success

When I was growing up, the only way to raise a true ‘world denizen’ was at an exorbitantly priced Swiss boarding school. Luckily, such elitism has been thrown out the window, and now parents raise bilingual and multicultural children themselves. The children grow up just as world-savvy and sophisticated — and actually know their own parents! Still for the do-it-yourselfer, a few tips can smooth the way.


The most common question people ask me is “How do I raise a bilingual child the best way?” “Easy, just talk to them!” is my tongue-in-cheek response. It seems almost impossible to imagine the baby transforming into a communicating creature, let alone one conversant in several languages. Although, the miraculous progress from cooing to speech occurs in exactly the same fashion whether it transpires in one or in several languages, the practicalities are different.


Here are the first steps to raising your very own polyglot tot.


1. Family agreement: Even though agreement within the family is perhaps the most essential ingredient, I am sometimes asked, “What do I do if my partner doesn’t want me speaking to our child in a language he doesn’t understand?” An insecure spouse may fear being excluded from ‘the secret language’ between the other parent and the child. Discuss and compromise. It is very important that couples find some solution that is acceptable to both parents as well as beneficial to the child.


2. Enthusiastic, yet realistic: Once the idea of two languages has settled in, many people consider adding more. Usually the number of languages spoken within the household is enough for the child to absorb, but it’s actually possible to successfully introduce as many as four languages simultaneously — provided you can offer enough exposure and need for each one. Still, research suggests that a child needs to be exposed to a language 30% of his waking time to actively speak it, and since waking time is a finite quantity, so, too, is language acquisition.


3. The practical plan: Next, you need to make sure you have a plan. Agree on who speaks what language to whom and then stick to it. There are endless variations on the two most successful language systems. The most common involves one person who always speaks to the child in the ‘foreign’ language. Anyone who is spending a significant amount of time with the child can function as this primary speaker. The second common language system is where the whole family speaks in the foreign language. To add another language beyond those already spoken within the family, or if your family doesn’t speak any foreign languages, you’ll need to provide an outside source like an immersion program, a nanny or an au pair.


4. Get together: Building a support network is probably the most underestimated success factor, so find others who are raising their children to speak your language. You’ll benefit from their knowledge and be able to share both your doubts and your triumphs. It also ensures future play dates that will provide your child with the ultimate language teachers — other kids. Books, music, movies, and toys in your minority language are the most obvious ways to boost your child’s exposure, but there is also an amazing range of other household items such as place mats, tableware, posters, etc.


5 Be patient: Raising multilingual children requires patience, and there are going to be times when doubt sneaks in. As with most aspects of parenting, it’s a long-term commitment and there will be ups and downs. But remember, that’s happening to the parents of the monolingual children too! Don’t worry if your child doesn’t speak his multiple languages as quickly or as adeptly as his peers. Instead focus upon his successes and marvel at the development of his little brain. Always praise, praise, and then praise some more! Know that when your child says, “I want a hug” in your language, you’ll almost cry with pride. At that moment, it won’t matter that it took some extra effort or that you had to wait a bit for the result.


And, hey, remember, you’re not alone. Madonna, Andre Agassi, and Antonio Banderas are among those raising bilingual children. And if they can do it, why shouldn’t you?

Find More Multicultural Children’s Books Articles