There have been a lot of reports lately over the right and wrong way to learn languages.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-wrong-and-right-way-to-learn-a-foreign-language/2012/06/16/gJQAK2xBhV_blog.html
I personally feel that different people work in different ways. I remember as an A Level student I liked to write lists and learn vocabulary in a methodical fashion- but how much of that stuck in my brain, I don’t know. What I do know is that when I moved to Spain and I could see the language working for me in its own environment, is when I truly became confident with my Spanish. Whether this was due to immersion or because I was putting the language to use and seeing it in context, is unknown. Our books, however are very different because I wrote and “designed” them in a way, that the words are not just new vocabulary but make sense to that child. An average child who is not brought up in a bilingual setting may never have come across the word “Socorro” before in their life, yet put it in an English context of where Lucia is struggling in the pool and all of a sudden it makes sense! The real test however, is can that child use it out of context? YES! I have heard testimonial after testimonial of parents contacting me saying “My child got stuck on the slide and shouted ‘Socorro!’ from the top” or “My child was being chased wildly by his siblings and shouted ‘Socorro, socorro!'”
This tells me that although our books do not claim to make your child bilingual, they DO start to gently introduce your child to foreign vocabulary and enable them to really learn and understand the words. The 32 flashcards reinforce the new words and make it even more fun, by using brightly coloured illustrations. Language learning should always be something to enjoy but it should also have relevance and I am confident that our books do just that!