So waaaaay back in May, my husband and I took a little jaunt to our first-ever homeschool convention. My biggest goal was to network with some publisher's I've worked with in the past and meet some new people. At the very first booth we stopped, I met this vibrant, energetic gal name Adelaide. This was the first time I was introduced to TalkBox, a foreign language learning system for your whole family. She's a homeschooling mama just like us and has an incredible vision for families learning together for the most meaningful foreign language immersion experience.
I didn't have the greatest experience with learning Spanish in high school or college. My husband will tell you he and his sister were in the same Spanish class in high school and they succeeded by making friends with the native Spanish speaking gal in their class. I've been soooo hesitant to begin any kind of foreign language at home in a formal way, and, I'll be honest, I almost didn't even stop, but I'm so very glad I did!
As we chatted with Adelaide we began to understand this was no ordinary foreign language course. No grammar, no textbooks, no tests...the longer we talked, the more sure I was that this was something I could get on board with. I knew when my husband piped up as we walked away and said, "We should definitely look into this..." there was something special about TalkBox and we were excited to talk to our kids when we got home about it!
The folks at TalkBox have graciously given us the opportunity to review both the Use French at Home start-up book, and the first French Talkbox: The Snacks & Kitchen Box. After the conference we gathered the girls together, and chatted about which language we might like to try. They all wanted to try different languages so we put it to a vote. Our decision to learn French was also largely influenced by a state-side mission trip my husband and I took to Clarkston, GA. We worked with refugees officially recognized and vetted through a several year-long process. Many were Christians feeling persecution in their native countries and quite a number of those were African nations which spoke French. We worshiped with a French African congregation which such an amazing experience!
So how did we feel when we first opened that box? Pretty much like this...
We have been so excited to learn through this method, so let me give you some highlights of what you can expect when learning a language the TalkBox way.
1. We started with the phrase book. I took about 45 minutes going through the book and marking the phrases I knew we already used. That really isn't that long. I then used sticky tabs to mark the first phrases we would learn. Here are the ones I choose initially.
~Good morning & Good night
We learned these in the first couple of nights. Well, my kids picked it up super fast! It took me a little more time, especially with the longer sentences, but I can absolutely whip those out with no problem now. Our adult brains take a little more time for recall, but your kids will love that you are learning along with them and will encourage you!
All of the phrases are recorded by native speakers and accessible either online or download to your computer or phone. We downloaded them to a file and did that initially on my phone, but then realized that the website was much more user friendly.
Great news! There is an app coming VERY soon which will make it even easier!!!!
The biggest reason this excites me is the girls will be able to access the phrases we are learning on there own whenever they want on their own tablets! I'm just over-the-moon about this!
2. Consistency is the key to learning this way! So we choose bedtime as a part of our routine. We have our family Bible time (one reason we chose that first phrase!) and the study French together. We quiz each other on the ones we've learned, and by we, I mean the kids are asking my husband and I as well as us asking them. Throughout the day we use our phrases with each other. Even when we don't say everything in French we may still say a word or two. If my kids ask a question my almost automatic response now is, "Oui," or, "Non."
3. The book is on the beginning! Your boxes are really fun to "unbox!" For our next one I'm going to post a video of the girls unboxing it because they just had so much fun looking through it all! Each box has a different topic so you are focusing heavily on one area. The first box for every language is the snack and kitchen box. What a great one to begin with! I posted the gorgeous pages on the refrigerator, the wall behind our table, and the pantry so we have easy access. I realized through this that I was beginning to pick up on French pronunciations just by hearing other words. So I can sort of get the gist of how to pronounce simple words even if I haven't heard them yet.
The charts are so easy to use and very well organized. I love that we can all just walk up to the chart to refresh our memories of how to say, "I would like an apple, please."
There are also these awesome small cards which we posted all about the kitchen with appliances, furniture, tableware, and more along with phrases you would normally say with those things, such as, "Set the table." I tried to stick them in logical places. Sometimes my kids disagreed and moved them...and that is fine! If it helps them learn better, then great!
4. The best part is THE BOXES KEEP COMING!!!! You are not done learning after this. You can subscribe to get the boxes every month, every two months, or every three months. We are option for every three months. While I love to think we could go faster, it just won't be possible at the moment. I also like that this gives us plenty of time to practice, practice, practice before moving on to a new subject area. One box is equivalent to 600 private tutoring hours. Wowza...that's incredible!
5. There is an online community! The community facebook group for those who are a part of the TalkBox family is so encouraging! I love popping in to ask questions, share stories, or read about other's experiences. You can also ask about translating specific words or phrases you may want to use. I asked how to translate "ice pack" because I wrote up our chore list in French and one of the reminders is to put away these little rice packs we keep in the freezer and they use at night when going to bed. So cool!
6. Unexpected Smiles...There have been many times when things came up that I didn't expect as a fun part of this experience. One of our dear friends from church speaks fluent French and we found out because she heard me talking about how much fun we were having! So she has been helping us some and conversing a bit along the way with our family.
I went away to a retreat last weekend and the girls and I texted a bit in French. Our spelling was ridiculous, and I had to look some things up I had forgotten, but that is okay! It's all about enjoying the process and learning together. My husband and I will sometimes text one another in French. He's having a great time with this. It's been incredible having dad in on this particular learning process because so much of homeschooling is directed towards the student, not the family. My husband is a ginormous supporter of homeschooling, but this is the first time that either he or I have had a chance to really learn alongside the girls.
1. We started with the phrase book. I took about 45 minutes going through the book and marking the phrases I knew we already used. That really isn't that long. I then used sticky tabs to mark the first phrases we would learn. Here are the ones I choose initially.
~ It's time to read the Bible!
~Good morning & Good night
~ I love you!
~ Let's get in the car!
~ Good bye
~ Please & Thank you
~Very good!
We learned these in the first couple of nights. Well, my kids picked it up super fast! It took me a little more time, especially with the longer sentences, but I can absolutely whip those out with no problem now. Our adult brains take a little more time for recall, but your kids will love that you are learning along with them and will encourage you!
All of the phrases are recorded by native speakers and accessible either online or download to your computer or phone. We downloaded them to a file and did that initially on my phone, but then realized that the website was much more user friendly.
 |
| This is how the website looks on my phone! So easy to use! |
Great news! There is an app coming VERY soon which will make it even easier!!!!
The biggest reason this excites me is the girls will be able to access the phrases we are learning on there own whenever they want on their own tablets! I'm just over-the-moon about this!
2. Consistency is the key to learning this way! So we choose bedtime as a part of our routine. We have our family Bible time (one reason we chose that first phrase!) and the study French together. We quiz each other on the ones we've learned, and by we, I mean the kids are asking my husband and I as well as us asking them. Throughout the day we use our phrases with each other. Even when we don't say everything in French we may still say a word or two. If my kids ask a question my almost automatic response now is, "Oui," or, "Non."
3. The book is on the beginning! Your boxes are really fun to "unbox!" For our next one I'm going to post a video of the girls unboxing it because they just had so much fun looking through it all! Each box has a different topic so you are focusing heavily on one area. The first box for every language is the snack and kitchen box. What a great one to begin with! I posted the gorgeous pages on the refrigerator, the wall behind our table, and the pantry so we have easy access. I realized through this that I was beginning to pick up on French pronunciations just by hearing other words. So I can sort of get the gist of how to pronounce simple words even if I haven't heard them yet.
The charts are so easy to use and very well organized. I love that we can all just walk up to the chart to refresh our memories of how to say, "I would like an apple, please."
There are also these awesome small cards which we posted all about the kitchen with appliances, furniture, tableware, and more along with phrases you would normally say with those things, such as, "Set the table." I tried to stick them in logical places. Sometimes my kids disagreed and moved them...and that is fine! If it helps them learn better, then great!
4. The best part is THE BOXES KEEP COMING!!!! You are not done learning after this. You can subscribe to get the boxes every month, every two months, or every three months. We are option for every three months. While I love to think we could go faster, it just won't be possible at the moment. I also like that this gives us plenty of time to practice, practice, practice before moving on to a new subject area. One box is equivalent to 600 private tutoring hours. Wowza...that's incredible!
5. There is an online community! The community facebook group for those who are a part of the TalkBox family is so encouraging! I love popping in to ask questions, share stories, or read about other's experiences. You can also ask about translating specific words or phrases you may want to use. I asked how to translate "ice pack" because I wrote up our chore list in French and one of the reminders is to put away these little rice packs we keep in the freezer and they use at night when going to bed. So cool!
6. Unexpected Smiles...There have been many times when things came up that I didn't expect as a fun part of this experience. One of our dear friends from church speaks fluent French and we found out because she heard me talking about how much fun we were having! So she has been helping us some and conversing a bit along the way with our family.
I went away to a retreat last weekend and the girls and I texted a bit in French. Our spelling was ridiculous, and I had to look some things up I had forgotten, but that is okay! It's all about enjoying the process and learning together. My husband and I will sometimes text one another in French. He's having a great time with this. It's been incredible having dad in on this particular learning process because so much of homeschooling is directed towards the student, not the family. My husband is a ginormous supporter of homeschooling, but this is the first time that either he or I have had a chance to really learn alongside the girls.
So is your interest peaked???? I certainly hope it is!
You can get start on the TalkBox blog with a free challenge in whichever of the languages you want to try!
AND
Use this code to get $15 off your first TalkBox! You will not regret this investment at all.
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Language Options
The hardest part is choosing which language to immerse your family in! Just click on the language above to go right to that page and check it out.
Which language would you like to learn?
Disclaimer: In exchange for my honest review I received Use French at Home and the Snack and Kitchen Talkbox. I am not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
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