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Original poster

Muzzy? Worth the money??

19 replies

nicand2 · 09/02/2010 18:27

I am considering getting the Muzzy DVD's for my 3 year old but wanted to know if they are any good before I commit myself to the payments?

OP posts:
GrimmaTheNome · 09/02/2010 18:31

IME no - DD watched them a few times, loved the characters and incorporated them into her favourite, longest running pretend game. The only detectable learning of French was the ability to pronounce 'Jean' correctly.

Having said that, they do french in her primary school and she got a prize last year despite it being one of her least favourite subjects so maybe something sank in.

cornsilk · 09/02/2010 18:32

no

MollyRoger · 09/02/2010 18:33

no. no, no, no, no!

Mine still sits there in the corner, 8 years later, goading me...
What was I thinking??

MrsSantosloves2010 · 09/02/2010 18:42

I decided against it after reading a lot of negative comments on here over the past couple of years. There is something called Speekee Spanish which I have wondered about. Or I could teach the kids myself (French & Spanish) but frankly I don't have the time or energy. The classes from La Jolie Ronde sound good and the social factor is important for language learning but to £££ for me.

wordsonascreen · 09/02/2010 18:52

god no

the animation is shocking its like watching a 70's porno.

Bumperlicious · 09/02/2010 19:42

Really? I've been thinking about it too. Would love for DD to learn spanish, but mine isn't good enough to teach her.

MrsSantosloves2010 · 10/02/2010 09:52

"70s porno" - doesn't sound good does it?

wolfbrother · 10/02/2010 10:31

So glad to hear that it's not fantastic.

Have always felt ridiculously guilty that I didn't do this. Can now throw all subsequent advertising in the bin with a light heart.

turkeyboots · 10/02/2010 10:40

It is very expensive for a poor quality cartoon. Mind you saying that my daughter loves it (we have it in German) and it keeps me reminded of what bits of the language I remember. Don't reget buying it, but won't be getting the second stage.

BarkisIsWilling · 10/02/2010 21:20

Would suggest you search MN to see what others have recommended in place of Muzzy.

Lighteningbugs · 11/02/2010 14:28

no I know loads of people who have it sitting on their book shelves unused.

HennyRettaBadaBada · 13/02/2010 20:54

I'd recommend actually going to live in the country. Anything else is a complete waste of money. Sorry. (I speak as a former university languages teacher).

DD has a German boy in her class. His family are here solely so their children can experience a different culture (they have four children). They've been here since September, and the children speak English as if they had been born here. Unless both parents are speaking another language at home all the time, this really is the only way to do it. Language learning isn't some kind of toddler target: it's a living, breathing thing, and is only meaningful within a real context.

Bumperlicious · 14/02/2010 11:56

That's all very well Henny but not all of us can afford to up sticks and live abroad just to teach our kids a language. Does that mean we shouldn't bother trying anything else? I seem to do all right when I go abroad having just done a few GCSEs/A levels/taught myself at home.

And I don't want to do it just as a target, I want to instill in my daughter a love for learning new languages, and the evidence is the earlier you expose them to the skill the easier it is later to learn, even if you have forgotten everything.

grumpypants · 14/02/2010 12:01

nooooooo - not just a case of watching the dvds and it all sinking in, I never found the time to do any of the parent stuff. Finally chucked ours out, and taught them some Italian myself.

HennyRettaBadaBada · 14/02/2010 18:12

You are of course quite right, Bumper (though for the price of Muzzy, one could probably afford a holiday in Spain!) I just think that language 'courses' for small children are an utter waste of money, and they will not instil a love of learning languages in a small child. Sadly!

mumoftoomany · 15/02/2010 11:53

Another No vote here. We tried out the German and French Muzzy courses (they had a free trial) and, as others have said, the sound and picture quality is terrible...

We now buy German dvds directly from amazon.de and find that the kids benefit more from this.

darcymum · 15/02/2010 11:59

no

princessparty · 16/02/2010 16:32

Rosetta stone is supposed to be better , but I think its about £200 for home use internet access.

MathsMadMummy · 22/02/2010 09:00

I'm getting the free trial of parts 1 and 2. It's not out of any pressure to get my LOs ahead in languages (they're 2.8 and 6m btw!) but partly because I had the French one when I was little. It worked wonders for me, I learnt loads from it and loved French as a kid (still do). I seem to be in a minority though which I'm surprised about.

It is an awful lot of money and if it doesn't live up to my nostalgic expectations we'll send it back. I've asked my parents for money towards it instead of birthday pressies in summer - they have way too much actual stuff anyway, they don't need any new toys (and we have no room left) so they agreed to contribute to this as we see it as an investment IYSWIM.

I think this sort of thing is what you make of it TBH.

3m

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