Anyone tried live language lessons via Skype?

Early Learning Teaching Your Child - Signing, Speaking, Languages
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I’m keen to teach my daughter French and Spanish, and have been mainly using Little Pim, Brainy baby Spanish, and LR spanish files so far.

I’m most keen for her to learn to speak and understand the languages (rather than read them), as we are focussing at the moment on learning to read in English. Also, I think that understanding and developing an accent are some of the most difficult skills, which are most easily learned by very young children.

I speak rusty Spanish and school French, and have also been trying to talk to my daughter, but I’m probably not consistent or confident enough. There are some language classes locally for both languages, but they don’t take children until the age of 3, which I don’t think is early enough.

So, I’ve been wondering about taking language classes myself at home (starting with spanish as I speak this the best), with my daughter in the room, so that she naturally picks up what we are talking about. She seems to pick up everything else that I say!! I was hoping to ask the teacher to focus on subjects that are of interest to her and we can include her in the lesson but just informally to minimise pressure. I would also have more focus about what to do with her in between lessons. She’d get the benefit of hearing a genuine native speaker. BUT, lessons are just too expensive on a one-to-one basis in the UK.

Anyway, I did an internet search and found that you can actually have language lessons via Skype, which are much more cost effective, with native speakers from Latin America (spanish) or Africa (French). I thought that’s quite amazing really! I quite liked the sound of the following website, because it seems like it’s a social enterprise supporting developing countries, rather than a purely profit making organisation: www.glovico.org

I’m not exactly sure how easy it would be to use Skype with a 2-year old running around the room, and whether it would be too abstract for her.

Has anyone done anything like this? Any recommendations for online teachers / organisation or how to make this work?

Thanks!

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Hello :slight_smile:

I am not familiar with the website you posted, but I have had some experience with language exchanges through skype and they worked out just fine. I was able to include my son in the lessons by allowing him to listen in on them and even talk to her/him one on one at the very end of our lesson for a few minutes. He knew what days I was having my lessons so he would ask for one of his educational videos in that particular language and go back and forth between rooms during that time. Hope this helps and take care!!

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lzp11,
I do not have experience with that web site nor any other giving lessos through Skype but why not try to set a time when we can get together and do it once in my language and the other in your language. The thing is that we would have to work out a plan and first decide if we want the child to participate or if it would be directed to the grown up. For me particularly it will be target to the child because i am not that interest in learning myself if not for my grandson.
One problem we may have is the time difference that would make it difficult to coordinate. I am from peru so just send me a message if you need any help with your Spanish or you think any of this can work out.

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Hola Amiga ~

I HAVE used Skype to take personal tutoring in Spanish to maintain my fluency after living in both Chile and Mexico.

I used www.MYPLT.com (My Personal Language Tutor) and it was SUPER as far as the quality of the tutor, the mediums used to teach my adult brain and the cost.

I encourage that you check them out.

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Thanks everyone. It’s really helpful to know that others have had success with this method.

Bocabeth - thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely check out that website.

2010Bebes - thanks also for your very helpful offer. I think at the moment I do need some one-to-one lessons with a tutor to try to improve my standard. I can tell from your brilliant posts on this site that you are WAY more fluent in English than I am in Spanish!!! But hopefully after a few lessons I will have improved so much that we could see if we can find a time that suits us both.

I’ll keep you posted as to my progress!