Mango Passport- Teaching children (and adults) conversational foreign language through easy to use online software

"Como esta usted?"

"Donde esta el bano?"

These are only a couple of pretty important phrases in the Spanish language that you and your children may want to know before traveling.  But learning how to say them, and what they mean can be pretty tough, especially if you want to teach your children as well!  Mango Passport is a great computer program that teaches languages in a fun and effective way.  There are 16 languages to choose from.  Each are presented in an oral, as well as written, format that will get you speaking the language in your first lesson.  Learning how to speak in conversation is one of the quickest and most effective ways to learn a language and is very user friendly for children. 

Pros:

* Simple lessons that use native-speaking teachers to teach words and phrases of the language

* Practical conversation skills, as well as vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and culture, are taught.

* You hear the word, then you speak it, then you repeat it, then you use the word with others in a phrase.

* Repetition, repetition, repetition that makes learning effective.

* The ability of the user to go at their own pace through the lessons.

* Instant download from the online website 

Cons:

* No way to print out the words or phrase for a notebook.

* The lesson is completely visual and auditory.  There are no hands on activities or using writing for other types of learners.

* No voice recognition software as in other language programs.

My son, age 10, was the original tester of this program.  As he sat down to listen to the voices teaching him to say "Hola" and "Como esta usted," his younger brother, age 8 was fascinated and joined him on his lesson.  They were both hooked from the first day.  I heard them from the kitchen repeating their words back to the computer, although there is no voice recognition included with the software - just their mother could hear if they are saying it correctly.  They liked the ease of flipping through the pages of the lesson and going from word to word and then combining them into phrases.  In just a short amount of time, they were able to say things that they could use in conversation if they were traveling.  For now, their father and I just hear them at the dinner table. 

Being a visual learner, my oldest son just had to make a list of the words he was using.  Much of his time in later lessons has been spent writing the words and phrases down into a notebook that he can refer back to.  I wish that the program had a printable list that he could put into a folder for later reference.  I wish it also included games, printing practice, or cross word puzzles - all the things that teachers typically use to reinforce their lessons.  These additions would be a great asset to this program, especially for children. 

This great program is offered at a price of $150.00.  For the convenient audio version on MP3, it is just $50 more (a saving of $50.00).  It offers a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee and a "Try it Now" for free.  I find this price to be a pretty good value, especially compared to other computer language programs, where a comparable price only offers a basic level of conversational skills. 

Bottom Line:

I would recommend using Mango Passport.  It is pretty fun to see - and hear - my two boys learn conversational Spanish.  It's amazing how quickly they are catching on! 

Note:

This complimentary product was received from the manufacturer to be reviewed by Trekaroo.  I received no other compensation, and was not required to express any particular point of view.