Teaching DS another language...

[CheerfulYank]

I've heard that Muzzy isn't that great- are there any other DVDs, etc, that anyone recommends? I'd like to try Mandarin.

I live in a small town in rural Minnesota and DH and I haven't got the money to travel at this point, and I'm very concerned about DS growing up with a limited worldview.

Bumpity bump bump bump....

Norwegian is also good. Probably as useful as mandarine.

Jag alsker dig...oh wait, Swedish

Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world, though, isn't it? And also very useful if one wants to compete in the global economy or whatnot.

yup, because he needs that at preschool more than he needs reading pippi longstocking in original language (swedish)

I always find it useful to drop into conversation that I have read Homer and Plato in original, imagine his street cred if he was sat with Pippi Longstocking in actual swedish!

Oooh, or Children of Noisy Village!

Actually in Minnesota Norwegian or Swedish would come in handy, but we're Finnish you see and it's a matter of pride.

Nordic languages aside, if you're after Mandarin, it could be worth playing mandarin songs and nursery rhymes. I found some great cds on amazon, amongst which the Mei mei series is quite popular and takes young English speakers through snippets of vocab. I found her voice a little grating at first, but grew to enjoy its idiosyncrasies. Have a look at the reviews and judge yourself which would be most appropriate for your child.
With Mandarin, you're right to start earlier, as it's much harder to pick up the different sounds and tones with an older ear.
You'll get to a point where you'll need to be speaking with other people, so have a look for a chinese community group in your area and i'm sure they'll point you to some Saturday morning classes for your ds.

Also, the US site has much more available than the UK site.
Baby's first words in Chinese is a truly beautiful recording, the liner notes are thoroughly researched and very informative about western learning approach for languages. Don't be put off by the title, as it would be suitable for pre school also.

Try the Culture Cub DVDs. They have a website. www.culturecubs.com. Makes it fun with lots of good, not annoying music and cute cartoons. Also on Amazon.

Hey

Can I be ruse and steal the thread a little? Anyone know anything that is actually good for Norwegian?? Dh is norsk and we are bringing ds up bilingually, but anything that could increase his exposure would be great as dh has to work so much. Bergen dialect would be even better!!

Sorry for that - as you were...

Moonstorm

I know precisely nothing about Norwegian - BUT I think you will have more luck by posting a new thread in the language/bilingualism section.

See you there?

Ok - will do. Thanks