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By:
NicoleFlesvigBruland
On:
12/18/2011 1:10 PM
The winter holidays are upon us and many parents, grandparents, and caregivers might be thinking about what to do with all of these children who will soon be out of school. Next year, the answer will certainly be: Let's go to the Golisano Children's Museum of Naples! I know that our family will be there!
The holiday season is a good time to help kids learn about the various holiday traditions celebrated in their community and by their friends.
Learning Creatively &...
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By:
NicoleFlesvigBruland
On:
8/16/2011 1:53 PM
As children learn to speak, parents often worry when children have trouble making certain sounds. For the more difficult sounds, children will often substitute one consonant for another, such as: “ffff” for “th”, or “da” for “the”, or “wa” for “la”. You may hear your child say, “movie feater” or “I wike dat” instead of “movie theater” and “I like that”....
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By:
NicoleFlesvigBruland
On:
7/13/2011 2:42 PM
When people think of learning language, thoughts often turn to foreign languages. While the optimum time to introduce foreign languages to a child is as early as possible in life, but before puberty for maximum benefit, it's equally as important to develop your child's native tongue.
All too often, one's native language (or native languages, if being raised bilingual from birth) can be taken for granted. Parents might expect that a child being raised in a specific...
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By:
NicoleFlesvigBruland
On:
2/27/2011 11:42 PM
Lost in Translation: Differences in Dialect Can Be a Funny Thing
In an effort to expose my children to the French language, as spoken by native speakers (as well as snow) we have traveled to the province of Québec, Canada for the last two years. During our first visit, in 2010, we got off of the plane and drive straight from Montréal to Mont Tremblant, about 1.5 hours to the north, in the beautiful Laurentian Mountains. Being in a resort area, the French that we...
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By:
NicoleFlesvigBruland
On:
1/16/2011 12:05 PM
As a mom, and an educator, I'm always looking for new and exciting ways to expose my children, and my students, to foreign language learning. Not a big fan of sticking to the textbook, I advocate breaking down the walls of the classroom (or home), bringing the outside in and facilitating hands-on exploration.
A great resource to support all types of learning, including foreign language learning is Teacher Tube. There, you'll find all kinds of learning resources,...
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By:
NicoleFlesvigBruland
On:
9/23/2010 11:55 AM
In a previous post, I talked about some FREE language learning resources offered through the Collier County Public Library. Don't forget that C'mon partners with the Collier libraries to offer some wonderful programs!
Summer "Curious Kids" programs in partnership with WGCU Public Media for children going into the 1st through 4th grades, which combine science experiments, cultural games and stories, and literacy activities. These programs are also available at select Lee County...
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By:
NicoleFlesvigBruland
On:
9/17/2010 12:15 PM
Getting started with learning another language can be daunting and private lessons can be expensive, however there are many great FREE resources out there to get you started. My latest find is located at the Collier County Public Library, which offers both in-print resources and a great way to get started online through Mango Languages.
Mango Languages is an online language-learning system teaching actual conversation skills for a wide variety of languages. While it does not...
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By:
NicoleFlesvigBruland
On:
3/18/2010 11:46 AM
At birth, we are born with the ability to discriminate and repeat the sounds of any world language. As we begin to live and function within the language of our society, we slowly lose the need to produce these other sounds and the brain eventually shuts off this ability. This is why we see many toys (such as Around the World See and Say), cartoons (Dora, Diego, & Ni Hao Kai Lan), and video series (such as Baby Einstein and the On Demand programs cited here) designed to...
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By:
NicoleFlesvigBruland
On:
2/27/2010 11:48 AM
In a recent interview with NBC's Bob Costas, Canadian skater Joannie Rochette spoke about her mother's impact on her life. When asked how she started to learn English in the Canadian province of Quebec, at a time when very few from the area were bilingual, Rochette said that got her start by watching English language TV.
Rochette's parents, who spoke only French, felt that learning another language would be a vital skill to Joannie, allowing her to eventually live and work outside of...
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By:
NicoleFlesvigBruland
On:
2/25/2010 6:43 PM
(Entry 1 of multiple on this topic)
In my travels, I have encountered so many parents who would like their children to learn a foreign language. The conversation usually begins something like this: "I wish I could teach my child(ren) a language, but I don't speak one myself." This is usually followed by: "Languages are not offered in my child's school." or "Languages aren't offered until Middle or High School in this area. I'd like my child(ren) to start...
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