Mumsnet Talk

Does anyone have any experience of these? Thinking of shelling out, on the basis that maybe one or more of our 4 children (aged 8,7, 3 and 2) might benefit? But perhaps the whole thing will just languish on the shelf after a few weeks, and dh will say 'I told you so'! Again.

Yeah, don't do it.

You can buy second hand on Ebay for less. Always lots on. Got one for ds (2) and he quite likes it. He is absolutely fascinated by the idea of French and has quite a few phrases and can count in French now. I spend a lot of time with the dictionary ("mummy, what's hippopotamus in French?")

My dds go to a Welsh-medium school (ie everything is done in Welsh - teaching, social activities etc) and we live in a predominantly English-speaking part of Wales, so most children come to the school with little or no Welsh. They use Muzzy in reception to help speed the process. I presume they must rate it. However, it's obviously a lot cheaper for a school, as they can use it over and over.

We have the spanish DVD version. It's quite good and ds1 does enjoy it. I can't see that he's learnt any spanish from it though (he's 3 and a bit)... with hindsight I don't think it's worth the price brand new, but if you found a reasonable priced version on Ebay it might be worth it.

I think the factt hat the adveryt os vomit inducing shoufdl stop you form getting it - but yes the dsses alwasy look interested

" yes"! thats french they ar talking"

The ad is pretty off putting, just soooo patronising. Personally I resent the fact that the English version is screened free on BBC Learning abroad but if you want to learn another language you have to pay a small fortune.

Salut Serge is quite good, I think. Well, ds likes it. It all makes me wish rather desperately I knew another language really well as my son's curiosity makes me realise how little I do know.

ive been thinking about getting the spanish version for my dd`s. they love dora the explorer on nick junior & have got right into the idea of learning the language. i never thought about looking on ebay for one, will have to give that a go.

aloha, what is Salut Serge? And where are they sold?

Usborne do some great little books 'First 1000 French words' etc. They are really really good but you'd have to know the language at least a little bit to get the prononciation right. DD loves hers.

Salut Serge is a BBC course: It is usually shown during the night in about July, so you've just missed it! But you can buy it here

My boys enjoy watching it. Not sure how much French they've actually picked up from it though.

I think there is also a workbook and a cassette for sale if you browse on the BBC shop.

I've got the spanish one but I dont rate it much. I speak some spanish yet I find Muzzy and the other characters hard to understand.

My ds told me today that Bonjour was the opposite of Bonne Nuit, so he's certainly learning something.

Have a look at the Linguatots site...

They have some nice stuff on there and far better value than the rubbish that is Muzzy.

Salut Serge is great. Both of mine (3 & 5) have picked up loads of French from it. My 3 year old can count up to 10 in French and a Francophone friend of mine says her accent is very good. They watch it in fits and starts, but it seems to be going in. DD1, who is painfully shy, even has the confidence to ask for her jus d'orange or jus de pomme when we are out.

We also have the CD Rom "KidSpeak French" but I am not impressed with it at all. I think for this age, something like Reader Rabbit in French (if it exists) would be better.

paid a fortune and it's collecting dust the only bit the boys like is the english version tape. But they may use it one day.

I just thought it was rather weird though, did anyone else?

Right - decision made, no Muzzy! Will investigate Serge, however. Thanks for saving me some money, everyone!

I've had a couple of things through the mail about Muzzy and was wondering whether to get the Spanish version. My kids love Dora the Explorer and my kindergartener takes spanish at school. I guess I'll save my money. We have a Spanish CD-rom which both girls love to play and has helped both them (and me) learn some Spanish. It's here , but I don't know if it's available in the UK.

I would love for my kids to really get a good foundation in a foreign language as young children (and Spanish is the obvious one to learn in the US). It's so much easier as children and I like the fact that they get an appreciation for the fact that people all over the world speak different languages. We were in Spain over the summer and the girls were practicing their spanish, saying "hola, por favor, gracias and adios" to the waiters. The waiters in turn thought they were adorable! (Well, at least, they pretended they thought so.)

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