LEARN A LANGUAGE BETWEEN ACTIVITIES
Arizona Republic
June 21, 2007
 (Phoenix, AZ) Author: Karina Bland, The Arizona Republic Estimated printed pages: 2

Between swim practice and day camp, baseball clinics and dance, these are anything but the lazy days of summer.

Parents can put all that time in the car driving from one activity to another to good use by learning to habla espanol or parlez francais. We're taking up Portuguese.

The car is a great place to learn and practice speaking a new language, and there are plenty of language programs on CD, some designed especially for kids. Here are a few:

* The Learn in Your Car series starts with one-word phrases, like "please"
and "goodbye," counting exercises and simple nouns designed to imitate a child's learning.

The series includes Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French, German, Russian and Spanish. Each contains two 90-minute CDs and a booklet. Uh, the book's not for use behind the wheel. About $35 at amazon.com.

* Drive-in Spanish for Kids is great for ages 3 to 8. The 45-minute CD features 22 songs in Spanish that are specially developed for easy comprehension. A booklet contains the lyrics in Spanish and English.
Drive-in French is also available. About $10 at amazon.com.

* Basic Brazilian Portuguese: Learn to Speak and Understand Portuguese with Pimsleur Language Programs. There's a lot of repetition, so you have plenty of chances to get it right, and each section within the lessons is short enough to fit in between stops. Other versions include French, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian and Japanese. About $25 at amazon.com.

* You can't color because you're driving, but the kids can. The Let's Learn Coloring Book series features pictures of new words, such as labandera, showing the flags of Spain and Mexico, and l'immeuble, showing a Parisian apartment building. Each contains 80 everyday words, such as animals and body parts. Get them in French, Spanish, Italian and German. About $5 at amazon.com.



Reach the reporter at karina.bland@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8614.
Edition: Final Chaser
Section: Cars
Page: AC2
Column: CARS & KIDS

Copyright (c) The Arizona Republic. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.
Record Number: pho170596520


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LEARN A LANGUAGE BETWEEN ACTIVITIES

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