Help jump start your child with a second local language

Learning Tools brings you Conversation Station and Viva Vocab

Have you ever wondered how to start learning another South African language?  Either for yourself, or how to start your children on a second language?  Here’s a good way to start:  Learning Tools, a trusted educational website, (www.learningtools.co.za) have two games to help jump start your child (and you!) with a second language. Conversation Station and Viva Vocab have been developed by teachers specifically with you in mind.  These games are ideal to use in your home to help build vocabulary, pronunciation and early sentence building in English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu.

For years, the popular methodology for learning a second language has been to focus on grammar and sentences first and then on vocabulary. Recently, however, many teachers have realised that learning vocabulary first, leads to an easier transition into the second language.  Learning grammar and how to construct sentences is easier once the learner has a reasonable base of vocabulary to draw on.

The development of Conversation Station and Viva Vocab is based on this concept of building a solid foundation of vocabulary before tackling other aspects of the language.  Studies suggest that most learners need between 5-16 'meetings' with a word in order to retain it.  By using these games from Learning Tools, learners will be repeatedly exposed to vocabulary building in different situations.

Learning a second language should not only be confined to the classroom.  The more exposure and practice a child has, the quicker and deeper the learning of the second language will take place.  This is why they are so perfect for home use!  Conversation Station and Viva Vocab can be used effectively in the home environment as they are ideal games for parents looking to assist their children with second language acquisition.  Siblings can assist one another, and parents can begin acquiring the vocabulary of another language.

Viva Vocab is a specialised vocabulary building game.  It is a flash card game – with a picture of an object on the one side, and the vocabulary word on the reverse.  The word is listed in English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu.  The game includes over 250 vocabulary words which are categorised, and each category is colour coded.  The categories include numbers, Days of the Week, Months of the Year, Emotions, Verbs, Nouns, and Greetings and Expressions to name but a few.  The phonetic transcription for correct pronunciation is included too.

Conversation Station contains 40 cards.  Each card has a truly South African photo on the one side, and critical thinking questions in all four of the target languages on the reverse.  There are also vocabulary words at the bottom of each card, relating to the photograph.  The game is designed to foster critical thinking through thought provoking and open-ended questions, stimulating interaction and conversation.  Learners draw on their own personal knowledge as they think about and discuss the photograph.

Conversation Station and Viva Vocab are both available at PNA stores in Gauteng, or at Play and School Room in Rosebank and online from www.learningtools.co.za. Conversation Station retails for R350 and Viva Vocab for R300. To hear more about these great products, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.