Search - Kids Love Spanish: Volume 1 - Basic Words on DVD

Over $1 per word!

Molly Grue | SF Bay Area, CA USA | 11/16/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Here's the good news. This is a professionally edited DVD filled with attractive children posed in natural settings or against interesting cartoon backdrops. The background music is pleasant, and the participants seem enthusiastic.

Now for the bad news.

First, the opening and closing songs are in English, and the opening song is repeated over the closing credits. That's a lot of program time spent on music in English!

Second, only eighteen Spanish words are taught: hello, food, water, mother, father, house, dog, cat, baby, good, yes, no (which, in Spanish, is "no"!), more, friend, ball, car and goodbye. The DVD costs $20, so the consumer is paying over $1 per word---an expensive way to learn Spanish!

Third, this is not a green company. The Kids Love Spanish series contains seven volumes, and each volume is only 30 minutes long. Why waste resources and clutter people's shelves with four DVDs and four DVD cases when you can sell the same amount of information on one disc with one DVD case?

Fourth, because most of the participants are not native speakers, the pronunciation can be iffy. Everyone on the disc (even the adults!) pronounces the Spanish word for water, agua, as "ah-wah" (silent "g"). When a couple of kids say perro (dog), it comes out as pero (but). Carro (car) sometimes sounds like caro (expensive).

Finally, there are some puzzling errors in the DVD. Why, when the Spanish title is "Palabras Básicas" (Basic Words) does the child accompanying the title just say, "palabras" (words)? Why, when the visuals show that the word for "friend" differs according to the gender of the friend (amigo for a male, amiga for a female), does the voice-over during another scene say, "She's a new amigo!" Ack!

I know that DVDs are expensive to make and production costs are high, but I do expect more in exchange for my family's hard earned money. I therefore suggest that if your family really wants to watch this DVD, you save your money and borrow it from your local public library."

Please don't waste your money

LESLIE MARTIN | Chevy Chase, MD | 01/13/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"My 3yr old & 4yr old did not enjoy this. They basically learned to say hello & goodbye. The songs were all in English, as was most of the DVD - not a good learning tool. $20 down the drain."

A simple, fun and educational DVD

Midwest Book Review | Oregon, WI USA | 07/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kids Love Spanish Volume 1: Basic Words is a simple, fun and educational DVD for children of all ages, offering an introduction to Spanish words anyone can use every day. Created by two mothers who happen to be sisters and grew up speaking Spanish, one of whom is a credentialed bilingual teacher, Kids Love Spanish Volume 1 is a great way to expose young people to the wonder and creative potential of learning to communicate in a new language. Highly recommended. Approximately 30 minutes, color."