Speekee TV is a UK-based online series of Spanish episodes aimed at children 2-10 years of age. I had the pleasure of watching all 10 episodes currently available via subscription with my son. Though he speaks fluent Spanish already, he loved the program and asked me to watch it every chance he got.

The format of the videos is great for any age. They feature Speekee (a cute, purple lemur) and a couple other animal puppets, Jim (the company’s co-founder), and five Spanish children speaking, dancing, and singing. Each episode is about 20 minutes long and has a theme based on location: for example, “El Parque” or “La Fiesta.” The images are a mix of real-time video – filmed in Spain – and interesting animations using items on the screen.

I love that the introductory and concluding songs are always the same, though the imagery changes depending on the episode’s theme. Kids can pick up on the lyrics quickly, and they’re the type of tunes that are sure to get stuck in parents’ heads all day! Both the songs and dialogue have Spanish and English subtitles, which make the videos applicable to older children who can read. In addition, there are useful downloadable activity pages with every episode that summarize the new vocabulary.

Cute video and kid-friendly music could describe any Spanish lessons. What sets Speekee TV apart is its quality vocabulary. Speekee has full conversations with his viewers, consistently asking “y tú?” With no prompting from me, my son answered him every time. I imagine that this would be the case even for children who have not been exposed to Spanish before, because of the smart repetition of key phrases. Because it is a European production, Speekee TV features Spain-specific vocabulary and customs, which is great exposure for any of our children who are accustomed to only Latin American Spanish. I highly recommend Speekee TV to all young Spanish learners because it is engaging and contains a variety of conversational topics. The videos are funny and educational, and your children will want to watch them again and again. I, for one, can’t wait for the second installment of episodes: “Speekee 2!”

All of Speekee’s products are perfect for the SpanglishBaby community, especially because they were created by parents with interest and expertise in language learning. Along with Speekee TV, there are DVDs and teaching products available, including a forthcoming Homeschoolers Curriculum and forum. An online subscription is FREE for the first two weeks; thereafter, it is just $7.50 per month (with an option to cancel at any time).

To start your adventures with Speekee, enter the giveaway to win three free months of Speekee TV access.  Go here to enter giveaway –>

THE GIVEAWAY!

Speekee TV is giving away a three month free subscription to one winner.  To enter just leave a comment telling us why you think your child will benefit from Speekee TV.

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This giveaway ends Sunday, May 1st at midnight EST and is open to everyone over 18 years of age.  Check out the Giveaway Rules.

Disclosure: We received a sample to review the product. All opinions are our own.

“I have 2 sons: a 6 year old and a 3 year old. We read books in Spanish, watch v-Me, sing songs in Spanish and my husband and I communicate to them mostly in Spanish. However, my 6 year old refuses to speak it. He understands most of what we say to him but seems to have trouble recalling words when he needs them, so he’d rather not try.

At the moment I’m homeschooling my kids and I try to incorporate Spanish into as much of what is being taught as possible, but being that I only studied Spanish in elementary school I sometimes have to fall back to English to explain the subject more clearly. Sometimes, it seems like no matter what I try, English will win the race. Can you give me some suggestions on how to motivate my son to speak Spanish?”

Hola Marlene ~

First of all, I commend you and your husband on making certain to bring Spanish into your daily routine for your sons.  Daily exposure is the key to making certain that they learn and retain both Spanish and English.  I have presented at several homeschooling conventions, and there are two things that stand out in my mind that I feel you might want to incorporate as soon as possible to help your 6-year-old begin to verbalize his Spanish more often and with enthusiasm.

1.    Enlist the assistance of your older son to be the maestro/teacher for your younger son.  Have him sing a song with his younger brother while using props to make the song come alive or bilingual language cards to bring the learning to life!  If they are watching a segment on TV in either language, ask your older son to help explain the main vocabulary words from the segment to his brother.  (Perhaps you and he could create a word list from the show – about 6-8 words per segment should be sufficient.)  Begin having him read a book to his brother and have him ask his brother questions in Spanish about the story, the characters, the pictures, etc.  Giving him the chance to show off for you and his brother might be just the spark of motivation he needs!

2.    Across our country there are homeschooling co-ops, and I urge you to join one in your local area that will provide your sons an opportunity to learn with other children – whether it’s on field trips, co-op group meetings, or perhaps language sessions – these occasional co-op meetings might be the key to showing your sons that it’s cool to speak more than one language because all of the other children are learning a second language as well!  *One note here:  If this does not appeal to you, I urge you to find a playgroup or start one of your own that focuses on Spanish learning for young children.  Your boys need to witness other children enjoying speaking more than English.

Remember that your children go through ‘stages’ in many things, including their desire to speak in different languages.  They will default to what is easier (just as you expressed that you do) at times, and the key to success is to stick with it with a smile!  Try your best to model what you want from your sons – flowing back and forth between English and Spanish is fine and will give them the clues and cues that they need to feel success in both languages.

I will never forget the day I visited a preschool as ‘Ms. Music,’ and a group of 5 year olds insisted that they knew their days of the week in Spanish from a Spanish song they have been singing for months.  They proudly sang through the song (with wonderful pronunciation I might add!) and when asked, after the song was over, which day of the week was ‘Monday’ not one of them could tell me.  Nor could they tell me the word for ‘Friday.’  My point here is that, as your children are learning one language, it’s easier and often times more effective to give them both languages.  So, don’t worry if you end up speaking English even though you were hoping to use only Spanish.

You are doing what a minority of parents around our country are doing and that is to give your child the gift of a second language before the age of eight!  ¡Excelente amiga!  Excellent friend!

Beth Butler.-Bilingual educator of young children and strives to create better communication within our increasingly diverse society. She is the founder of the internationally acclaimed Boca Beth language learning series which has garnered various parenting awards. Ms. Butler lived in Chile and Mexico where she learned Spanish as her second language and has been bilingual and biliterate for more than 30 years. She has spent over 25 years in the field of preschool and elementary education writing and recording four bilingual music CDs in Spanish and English, as well as producing three bilingual educational movies for children. Read Beth Butler´s answers here.