February 26, 2020

Sneak More Spanish Into Your Day With This Adorable Show

While limiting screen time for young kids is important, there are ways that shows in Spanish can be beneficial for your child learning Spanish.

Listening to a show in Spanish can build engagement and interest in learning Spanish. The show can also expose your child to new vocabulary and another fluent Spanish speaker.

There are a plethora of Spanish shows to be found for kids online. One popular site is Netflix where you have the option of switching the audio preferences for the shows that you select.

[A caution here: the subtitles do not always accurately reflect the translation of the audio; so don’t rely on the subtitles to help you see the words that they’re saying in another language.]

If there’s a show that your child already enjoys, a great way to sneak more Spanish into their day is to set the audio settings on their show to Spanish.

They won’t miss the meaning of the show as they’ll be able to rely on their knowledge of the show and the animation, and they’ll pick up more words that you think!

A note on getting Spanish audio on Netflix:

Changing the audio in Netflix isn’t challenging but there isn’t a convenient way to search for Spanish shows. In order to see if a show is available with Spanish audio you need to first select the show. Once the show has started you can select, “Audio & Subtitles” – it has a speech bubble graphic next to it. Under “Audio” you can then select “Spanish”. I recommend not including Spanish or English subtitles since the subtitles often don’t accurately reflect what’s being said in the show.

One of the best ways to boost language engagement is to watch the show with your child. If you’re also learning Spanish, it will be huge benefit to you as well.

Watching together not only allows you to reap the same language learning benefits as your child gets, but it also gives you common language around a shared topic to have conversations about.

My personal Netflix favorite for my daughter is “Puffin Rock“.

I introduced the show to her when she was almost three years old and it was an immediate hit! It’s an adorable cartoon that comes with a lot of benefits for Spanish learning as well.

If you’re looking for a great Netflix show that’s NOT a cartoon, check out this great informational Spanish animal show for kids:

An Educational Spanish Kids Show That You Need To See!

There are several reasons why this show was a good choice for us on our language learning journey and why it’s a good starting point for children 3-6 years old.

Here’s what I like about “Puffin Rock”:

Short Episodes:

Each episode of Puffin Rock is about 21 minutes and actually includes three mini episodes. This turned out to be a nice feature for our family for a couple of reasons. Since each mini episode is short and contained, there is rarely down time, action scenes, or times where dialog is not moving the story. This allows for a lot of talking and a lot of exposure to Spanish in a short amount of time. The mini episode also allowed for me to expose my daughter to Spanish when we only had short time spans or as a quick reward for something.

Rich Language Content:

Puffin Rock has strong Spanish content because it not only provides the back and forth banter of the various young characters, but it also has a narrator.

This combination allows the listener to hear lots of strong dialog as well as descriptions of the scenarios. Listening to dialog between the friends is important because it’s a natural way to hear common conjugations of words and phrases that you would want to use in your informal Spanish speech.

Hearing the narrator’s descriptions of the action is helpful for building vocabulary and hearing more mature language used. It’s amazing how many phrases my daughter has picked up from listening to the show and all of the vocabulary that it offers!

Language Speed:

Some of the Netflix shows that were suggested to me for Spanish learning were very slow paced. I wanted my daughter to be able to hear a fluent Spanish, but something that was articulated well and that she could understand. Puffin Rock is a good mix here because the dialog speed isn’t so fast that a learner or young child would get lost, but it’s also not painful and deliberate like some shows geared toward younger audiences. The characters have clear tones and speak in a natural way that makes the Spanish audio super accessible for a young learner.

If you’re on the go or in your living room at home and looking for some more Spanish immersion, this show is a great way to listen and learn. Listen to some fluent Spanish and rich dialog to improve your listening comprehension and to gain some new phrases!

Since we started watching “Puffin Rock”, we haven’t really explored other shows that are good for kids.