How to Use the TalkBox.Mom Program
We're so excited for you to talk in another language with your family, and that's exactly what you'll do the first day you start!
Each box is part of a proven roadmap to help your family speak the language.
To help you jump in and start talking, follow this guide, which can be completely tailored to your time commitment, family members' ages and abilities, and language goals.
In this How-To Guide:
- How to Complete a Practice Session (Reading Time: 1-2 minutes)
- When to Move onto the Next Challenge (Reading Time: 1 minute)
- How to Use TalkBox.Mom with your Child’s Age & Abilities (Reading Time: 1 minute)
- How to Review Phrases (Reading Time: 1 minute)
- How to Work through a Completed Challenge (Reading Time: 1 minute)
How to Complete a Practice Session
Follow the three steps below as you move through the challenges.
Phrase Practice Session
1 to multiple per day
Time: Typically 2-4 minutes per phrase.
For shorter practice sessions, choose fewer phrases. For more practice time, complete multiple practice sessions at different times of the day.
Step 1: Choose your Phrase(s)
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If you already completed a practice session, check off any of the previous 1-5 Focus Phrases that you practiced and are using in your life. (Yes, even if you need to reference the language guide or audio to say the phrases.)
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Choose 1-5 Focus Phrases from your current challenge. If you’re carrying phrases over from your last practice session, these count as part of your 1-5 Focus Phrases.
Tip: For faster progress, choose fewer phrases while doing more practice sessions per day.
Step 2: Practice your Phrase(s)
- Practice the first phrase with the audio by announcing the phrase in English, repeating after the native speaker, and then saying what the phrase means in English to improve recall, fluency, listening, and pronunciation.
- Practice using the phrase in short situations where your family could add the phrase to your life. This will empower everyone to use the phrase outside of Phrase Practice. Replay the audio as you practice.
- Practice the phrase with varying emotions (happy, sad, in a silly voice) to help deepen the connection and make the phrase your own. Replay the audio as you practice. If you choose 2-5 phrases, repeat this step with every phrase until each phrase is practiced.
Step 3: Use your Phrase(s)
- Work together to use your focus phrases as many times as you can before your next practice session. Remind others what a phrase means if needed.
- Situation permitting, replay the audio to help family members say phrases or play the audio after they’ve said the phrases.
When to Move to the Next Challenge
According to your pacing, spend 1 - 4 weeks per challenge completing as many practice sessions as comfortable for your family. When your time is up, move on to the next challenge.
Your family can complete multiple practice sessions per day, one a day, or one every couple of days. If you feel like you missed several days, we recommend completing at least 10 practice sessions before moving on to the next challenge.
- For example, to complete a minimum of 10 practice sessions:
- for the "Monthly" pacing, you can complete two practice sessions per weekday.
- for the "Every 2 Months" pacing, you can complete at least 10 practice sessions over a 15-weekday period.
- for the "Every 3 Months" pacing, you can complete at least 10 practice sessions over a 20-weekday period.
Of course, your family can have practice sessions on the weekend and complete way more than 10 practice sessions. In fact, we hope you do! This is just the bare minimum.
Wait. What if I didn't finish all the phrases?
You'll notice that we provide a lot of phrase options, and it’s expected that you will not learn to use every phrase the first time through a challenge.
Rather, you'll continue to use the phrases you learned the first time through. When you return to this challenge to work through it again, your family will learn the other phrases faster because you have such a strong foundation from your first round.
This means you'll make progress if you move forward when your time is up instead of trying to finish every single phrase the first time through. If the theme has grown stale, it’s definitely time to move to the next challenge.
How to Use TalkBox.Mom with your Child’s Age & Abilities
TalkBox.Mom has phrases for newborns to teens to parents. With any age, focus on phrases you can add to your life—even if you don’t normally say them. This will help you to speak the language.
Nonverbal
Talk out loud to your little one and those around you even if your child can’t answer back!
Pre-reader
Reader
Focus first on hearing how phrases sound with the audio before reading them in the language.
Teenager
To practice speaking, your teenager might need to speak more than they’re used to by offering you help and asking you questions.
Always practice phrases in situations that are appropriate for your child’s age.
How to Review Phrases
Reviewing previous focus phrases in the current challenge
Frequency: Daily or every couple of days
Time: 1-5 minutes
Reviewing previous focus phrases in past challenges
Frequency: Weekly. Choose a new challenge each week. (For more intense review before a trip, daily to every couple of days)
Time: 5-10 minutes
Recommended in lieu of a phrase practice session.
How To
Go to your challenge and review the checked-off phrases. Play the audio as you review.
Review Options:
Pick an option best suited for your family and the challenge you’re reviewing.
- Say each phrase in the language. Ask what it means. Say what it means. Say the phrase again in the language.
- Say each phrase in the language together. If someone asks what the phrase means, say it in English and then the language again.
- Make a conversation out of the phrases.
- Go down the list of checked-off phrases saying each one with a different emotion.
- Go down the list of phrases quickly acting them out in situations as you say them.
- Play games with TalkBox.Mom printables to review your phrases as you play.
How to Work through a Completed Challenge
If you would like to learn new phrases from a previous challenge, you will learn the phrases faster if you have moved on from the challenge and have continued using the phrases you previously learned in the challenge.
We recommend reviewing the current challenge before adding in new phrases.
To work through the challenge with new phrases, use this challenge for your practice sessions. If you choose fewer phrases, for example, 1-2 phrases, you will add these phrases faster to your day.
You can work back through previous challenges after completing all nine boxes in the series, during summer break, or periodically as you finish other challenges or boxes.