This article is in collaboration with Great Commission Language.
Members of the TOS Crew have been broadening their foreign language skills using programs for French and Spanish published by Great Commission Language.
Great Commission Languages (GCL) officially released their first product in December 2004. GCL is owned and operated by Marie Filion Sherwood and Peter Sherwood, a homeschooling family (since 1996) committed to providing quality language products to both the homeschooling and general education community. The products are unapologetically written from a Christian perspective. Extensive cultural information, as well as scripture verses in the foreign language in question, is provided with all our products in the hopes it will assist those desiring to carry out the Great Commission. Having said this, we would also like to point out that our products are not Bible curriculum per se, and the scripture memorization components are optional.
You can pick from French or Spanish and crewmates are reviewing from the four products listed below. Each comes with pdf files of all consumable pages so that it becomes an economical choice for families learning together. All four programs tap into the Charlotte Mason Method, Bloom’s Taxonomy and high order theories by Dr. Jeanne Chall for learning with a variety of activities to engage your child in learning. The regular levels can be used with younger students over several years, with schedules for up to 3 years of learning. Or, you can check out their Junior levels for early elementary (K-3) students.
Le Français Facile! Junior
Le Français Facile! Level I was designed to be great for a family with multiple children of different ages. If you have mostly younger children though, you may want to consider the new Junior level which is targeted specifically at K-3 grade levels. It contains 34 all new lessons written to a younger audience. The character illustrations have even been redrawn as younger versions of the Level I characters (Cherie is VERY cute as a young kitten). There is more focus on the stories and songs (more new songs have been incorporated), and less focus on grammar and writing – perfect for younger children.
Le Français Facile! Level IA
Check out the new format! At customer request, we’re making an alternative format available for purchase. Level IA is the first half of our existing Level I curriculum, updated with a few different stories to make the program appeal more to an older audience (Grade 7 or so and up). In addition, we’ve integrated grammar and other exercises right in the textbook, meaning no messing around with printing out activity sheets, preparing binders, etc. This new format will appeal to those who like a more structured, step by step curriculum. All the required audio now fits on a single audio only CD; there is also a data only CD that contains the answers to all the exercises presented in the textbook. In addition, we have separate test booklets and answer keys available for purchase – see below. One other advantage to the new format is that, although Level I is less expensive than IA and IB combined, this way you don’t have to spend as much in a single year, which is handy for those on a tighter budget! Note: you will need a set of the Phonogram Cards ($10 on cardstock) – you can reuse it throughout all the levels though.
¡El Español Fácil!, Junior Level
Includes 2 enhanced audio CD’s. The Junior version is aimed at a K-3 audience. There is more focus on the stories and songs, and less focus on grammar and writing – perfect for younger children. The audio CD’s (featuring the voices of native Spanish speakers) have been digitally mastered, bringing you nothing but audio excellence!
¡El Español Fácil!, Level I
Includes 2 enhanced audio CD’s. Put them in your stereo CD player to follow along as Marita travels from Tulsa OK to visit her cousin Belicia in Ensenada, Mexico. It gets even more fun (and educational) when cousins Erika and Miguel also arrive from Venezuela. Hear the Spanish scripture memory verses and practice the Spanish phonograms. Put the CD’s in your computer, and you can print out free activity sheets your children can do again and again!
Note that this is a 3 year program for younger students, or 1 to 2 year curriculum for older students! It has over 400 pages, and includes beautiful, professional illustrations. The audio CD’s (featuring the voices of native Spanish speakers) have been digitally mastered, bringing you nothing but audio excellence!
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Special thanks to Laura O in AK at Day by Day in Our World for writing this post!
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