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Fun Language Products for the whole family

Published: Fri 10 Nov 2006 09:31 AM
Fun Language Products for the whole family _ 5 x $100 Vouchers to Giveaway!
Until recently in NZ, learning a second language was something you did at High School or at a Night School, and the thought of a preschooler learning a language, was indeed, foreign.
Within the last 10 years, parents have learned that exposing young children to Classical Music is good for their brain, and the Baby Einstein series is a familiar adornment in the homes of preschoolers in NZ. The latest revelation is that of exposing your baby or young child to the sounds of _other languages_ _ the earlier the better!
All over New Zealand Preschoolers and Primary students are attending language classes and absorbing themselves in languages, like Spanish, French and Chinese. Children are showing their parents that they have a natural ability to learn languages when they retain words and phrases learnt off TV programmes such as Dora the Explorer.
Children learning languages is the new wave in Education. 42% of Primary Schools now teach a second language. Prime Minister Helen Clark is reported to have expressed concern that most New Zealanders speak only one language and the Ministry of Education has recently released the new draft NZ Curriculum, proposing to introduce second language learning at Year 7 & 8. "It's going to be good for us commercially and good for us in terms of building our ties with the rest of the world", Ms Clark said. "In a sense, it doesn't matter whether that language is Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French or Italian. The key thing is that we make an effort to communicate in other people's languages."
Young children are like sponges, they will absorb everything that they can, and parents will often find that if a child starts learning a different language from a young age, their pronunciation and accent will soon start to resemble that of a native speaker.
Research shows that, on average, children who are bilingual outperform those with only one language, improving communication, cognitive development, and cultural awareness and promoting brain development.
Research clearly shows that the benefits for people who are bilingual are significant, in a world where cross-cultural communication is becoming increasingly important to international trade. The opportunities that are opened up for people who are multilingual are increasing.
It is predicted that the Big Languages of the future (2050), will be Chinese, Hindi/Urdu, English, Spanish and Arabic, with other significant trade languages being Malay, and Russian. Why not prepare your children for their future by exposing them to a second language today, and therefore make second language learning easier for them tomorrow.
More information on the _science_ behind language learning can be found at www.newbeginnings.co.nz . New Beginnings specialises in products to teach people of all ages, languages. New Beginnings has fun interactive computer software for all ages, audio CDs, DVDs, games, books and dictionaries. They have a product_s from Teach Your Baby French, through to Rosetta Stone, a product used by the US Military, NASA and many other organisations to teach adults languages, through to Lonely Planets guides and CDs. Be sure to enter their FREE November Giveaway of 5 x $100 Vouchers at www.newbeginnings.co.nz and begin your journey of learning languages today.
After spending a year overseas, and only speaking English,New Zealand couple, Chris and Ross Perkinson wanted their children to be bilingual. After 2 years of research New Beginnings, a website based company selling foreign language products, was birthed in 2003. Since then, they have seen an increase in parents wanting to teach their young children a foreign language.
Parents are now wanting more, and New Beginnings sells a variety of products, including DVDs and CDs for children that are designed specifically to teach them a second language. A man who has taught French to preschoolers in New York, for over 30 years, has designed a DVD pack. He has created a cartoon-based DVD programme with Professor Toto and his funny animal friends. Chris and Ross have a two year old, and the only thing he asks to watch on TV is _Toto_. _When he is watching television, we make sure it is in German,_ Chris says. Ask him his body parts in German, and he will respond accordingly. Research shows that children who are exposed to a second language early in life develop tonal memories on the rapidly growing brain cells that will enhance language acquisition possibilities at a later time.
New Beginnings is a company has a variety of learning tools for children, from interactive computer games to travel books, dictionaries and music cds in over 100 languages. Children get absorbed in the cartoons on the DVD, while they are absorbing a foreign language.
Parents can often be a bit wary of introducing new languages to their children when they themselves are unable to speak them, but New Beginnings does have products suitable for the whole family. New Beginnings have products suitable from birth, such as Teach your Baby French, which helps a parent who does not speak French, begin to teach their baby. The children do pick up things a little easier than the parents but that adds to the fun and enjoyment for the children.
ends

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