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Professor Toto’s producer, the Language Workshop for Children, has specialized in language lessons for kids of all ages since 1973. CNN called Francois Thibaut “…one of a very few experts in teaching languages to small children.” Only Professor Toto gives your child the same top-quality technique and language learning tools that have been successfully used, in LWFC classrooms, to teach tens of thousands of children for more than four decades. No other producer of animated educational videos has a comparable track record or the expertise of François Thibaut’s Language Workshop for Children.
Children possess a unique neurological capacity to absorb and remember the sounds of many different languages. This ability diminishes over time. A child’s critical language learning period typically ends at about the age of 13. The sooner you begin your child’s language education, the easier it will be for your child to learn.
We created Professor Toto as a flexible, interactive language learning tool so there are myriad ways for your child to enjoy his kit. Very young children are typically content with watching Professor Toto Part I in the target language right away. Some children can only watch it in small bursts, while others are perfectly happy to watch the entire series. Just pay attention to your child’s preferences. There’s no perfectly right or wrong way for a youngster to watch Professor Toto.
Children ages 6 to 12 may probably feel more comfortable watching the English version before they watch the Target language (French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, or German). A ten-year-old might read the foreign language script as he watches the foreign language Toto videos. As he or she develops more understanding of the language, he can eliminate the English script and continue with videos on their own!
Finally, we recommend that you let your child learn at their own pace. Professor Toto is a lifetime investment for your child, and there’s no need to rush.
They are immensely valuable tools with which to teach children a new language, songs:
The Language Workshop for Children’s Professor Toto songs are filled with friendly child-relevant words, sentences, and common grammatical patterns. This way kids can learn grammar naturally, not through the boring language acquisition drills.
Since the United States is rapidly becoming a bilingual nation, Spanish-English speakers command a premium in the US workplace. French is melodious, romantic, spoken by 80 million people, and remains one of the major languages of diplomacy: Mandarin Chinese, the business language of China, is spoken by about 875 million people and requisite to do business with one of the world’s major economies. About 60 million people speak Italian, and although it is quantitatively less important, Italian remains one of the world’s most beautiful cultures and important for fashion, home decor manufacturing, and other fields. Finally, since Germany remains a world-leader in engineering, medicine, chemicals and a host of other specialties, German is another sensible choice.
That depends upon how well he is speaking Spanish. For example if he acquired most of his Spanish intermittently and could use more work building vocabulary, learning grammar, and practicing pronunciation, I would choose Spanish. But if the child became fluent by only speaking Spanish with a parent, his Spanish is probably strong enough to select a new language. It should be easier for him to learn a third language because he already understands the fundamentals of his first two. Generally if a child is under three, it is easier for him to acquire a fourth language.
Children who have already developed the ability to store and process one or two languages can more easily acquire a third or fourth. We store our talents in our brain. So, like a sports skill, if our brains already hold the hand-eye and motor skills we need to play tennis, it is easier for us to learn play lacrosse or basketball.
When introducing your child to Professor Toto, it’s important to remember that learning another language should be fun. Please don’t make Professor Toto a chore or homework.
Every child is unique and Professor Toto is designed to accommodate different learning styles. Mix the elements of the kit to best suit your child’s interest.