FAQs About Fabulingua

The NEW mobile game version of FabuLingua

My child finished the Tutorial Story, collected her keys but Location 1 did not unlock like it should have, and she is stuck. Can you help? +

This issue has been fixed with the latest update to FabuLingua. Please delete the app from your device and download it again, using your same credentials. As you know, each account has up to 6 Explorer profiles available. Unfortunately that profile is now a faulty profile and you will need to create a new profile and delete the old faulty profile.

1 - Create a new profile in the Parent Portal. (Go to Parent Profile. Tap ‘Explorers’. Add Profile.)
2 - Switch which profile is the Active Profile - that way the faulty profile is no longer the Active profile. (This needs to be done because the Active Profile cannot be deleted.)
3 - Go back to the Parent Portal. Tap ‘Explorers’. Delete the old faulty profile. You can add up to 5 more profiles for a total of 6 profiles.

Check out this video for a step-by-step guide to adding and deleting profiles in the Parent Portal.

The new profile, and all subsequent profiles will now work perfectly. You will have to do the tutorial again to unlock Location 1 and the first batch of stories.

I keep on getting a black screen every time I open the app. What can I do? +

This requires deleting the app entirely and downloading the new updated version. These are the steps you would need to take to resolve things fully:

1) Delete the old version of the FabuLingua app from ALL your devices

iOS: view this video on how to delete apps properly… these steps won’t work if you don’t delete the app properly.

Android: if you are on Android please note that very occasionally it is not enough to delete the app on your device, and that your device may need manual clearing of data AND caches. If this step is necessary, you will need to delete and clear the data AND caches first, BEFORE deleting FabuLingua from the device. (This document spells out the step-by-step instructions on how to manually clear the cache on your Android device.)

2) Go to the App Store/ Google Play Store and download the newest version of FabuLingua onto ONE of your devices

3) Log into FabuLingua with the original credentials that you used to create your account.

4) Keep your WiFi on the whole time that you are doing the above

5) AFTER you have successfully re-installed and accessed your account on one device, THEN you can log onto your account from another device. (Do not try to log into your account from two devices at the same time.)

I have an Android phone and even when I follow the steps above I still have a black screen +

In a very small minority of cases, Android phones will need to manually clear their cache for the FabuLingua app. This document details the step-by-step instructions for manually clearing your storage and cache on your Android device.

Back in 2022 I had a FabuLingua account, and it doesn’t seem to work anymore. If I want to check out the new mobile game version of FabuLingua, should I create a new account?+

In January 2023 FabuLingua became a mobile game, and all users had to create a new account. If you have an old FabuLingua account from 2022 or earlier you will need to create a new account. When you download the FabuLingua app please tap “READY TO EXPLORE” on that opening screen, go through the onboarding and CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT. At this time, ignore any buttons or text that say “I already have an account” since your old FabuLingua account (from 2022 or before) will not work in the new app. (You can, however, create your new account with the same email and password that you had in the old app.)

I have an existing subscription to the old version of the FabuLingua app, how can I retain that existing subscription and retain my grandfathered pricing? +

This is only relevant to people who had an ongoing subscription from the old version of the FabuLingua app. If this is you, please read this whole section carefully, to the bottom, for some very important information to retain your grandfathered pricing.

If you are an existing FabuLingua subscriber, then the first time you download the new version, download it ON THE SAME DEVICE WHERE YOU ORIGINALLY BOUGHT THE SUBSCRIPTION (or on a device with the same Apple ID/Google Play ID that you used for the original subscription). This step is essential so your previous subscription can be matched with your new account.

These next steps are different depending on whether you bought your original subscription on an Android or an Apple Device.

IF YOU BOUGHT YOUR ORIGINAL SUBSCRIPTION ON AN ANDROID DEVICE:

Go to the ‘Settings’ on your device and go to ‘Subscriptions’ to double check whether you had subscribed to a monthly or annual plan.

At the end of the onboarding, after you’ve created a new account, you will come to the Subscriptions/Purchasing Page. , and sSelect which plan you used to have (monthly or annual - it is important to select the same one you had! If you had the semi-annual plan before please stop and write to us at support@fabulingua.com). Then press the orange “Start Now” button, and then on a subsequent screen, it will tell you that you already have a paid subscription and Google will activate your account!

As a loyal customer, your subscription will be grandfathered in at the old price by Google as a “legacy price cohort” and you will continue to be charged the old price. From Google Play’s website: “If there are any users with existing auto-renewing subscriptions, their price does not change. Instead, the user enters into a legacy price cohort, where they keep their existing price until they change subscription plans”.

IF YOU BOUGHT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION ON AN APPLE DEVICE: As a loyal customer, your subscription will be grandfathered in at the old price and you will continue to be charged the old price so long as you restore purchases using the method described below. Please read to the bottom. If you cancel your subscription and resubscribe by pressing ‘Start Now’, you will be charged the new price. We will be unable to reverse this.

At the end of the onboarding, after you’ve created a new account, you will come to the Subscriptions/Purchasing Page. DO NOT PRESS “START NOW”. Your existing subscription will persist into this new version of FabuLingua, but ONLY if you tap “RESTORE PURCHASES”” to regain full access. The “Restore Purchases” button is located at the bottom left side of the screen in pale gray.

Please explain my options when I get to the Subscription page in the new version of the app? +

At the end of the onboarding, after you’ve created a new account, you will see the Subscription/ Purchasing screen.

i) If you want to buy a new subscription right away and get a 7 day free trial, then choose your subscription plan and press ‘Start Now’.

Note: the free trial is only available to new users that have never had a subscription to FabuLingua in the past. If you have previously had a subscription the App Store/Google Play will detect your AppleID/Google Play ID and won’t let us offer you a free trial - some people have used their partner’s devices that never held a subscription and got a free trial that way 😉

ii) If you don’t want to subscribe yet, and you want to try the free story, then press ‘Not ready yet?’and you can try our free story which represents about 5 hours of learning. See details below (basically, you will land on FabuLingua Island, tap the Tutorial Beach location, tap the fox, do the tutorial story til the end, tap the keys to collect them in your wallet, tap the folded map icon on the bottom left to get back to FabuLingua Island and then location 1 will unlock, tap it to open up the Peaceful Pond and tap the first story on the left, the frog, to get your free story with the full learning path that includes 4 free modes and four free games).

iii) I want to re-activate my pre-existing subscription to retain my grandfathered pricing. Please read the answers to the above question before proceeding!

How does this new version of FabuLingua differ from the old version?+

The new version of FabuLingua is based on the same award-winning, story-based learning method that has always been loved by teachers. (Did we mention that we were recently awarded a patent on our unique methodology?!)

But now, all those stories and pedagogy are part of an exciting mobile game! It’s the same fundamental teaching method, but it produces more engagement and delight than ever before and will take your child’s language learning to new levels!

At FabuLingua, we are creating the best digital solution for kids to learn a second language, and we are committed to delivering an ever-improving language learning experience for your child.

Please make sure you have auto-updates turned on for FabuLingua so your child always has access to the latest feature, game or story!

My child had a certain level of progress and stickers they had collected in the old app. Will that progress be transferred to the new app?+

Unfortunately, no. The new app is built on a completely new backend, and we are not able to port their progress back in. But your child will earn keys that open treasure chests with new playing cards and stickers as they make progress. We believe that they’ll find the journey through FabuLingua island more fun and rewarding than ever!

My child’s Fabulingua app is suddenly not working. When we open it it’s just a black screen.+

If this happens please delete the app from your device and dowload it again. This should take care of the issue. If it does not resolve it, please email us at support@fabulingua.com

Are you open to feedback? +

Always! We always want to hear back from you 👂👂👂, be it positive or negative feedback. Please emails us with comments (good or bad!) at support@fabulingua.com

Technical Help

I updated the FabuLingua app and turned off my WiFi and I got a black screen, help!+

When you download an updated version of FabuLingua, please make sure you have WiFi turned ON while you log in. After installation, the app needs to get your data from the database at the initial start of the app. After that, you can turn WiFi off. But please note that the app will need to be online the first time you enter a story since it needs to download that story. After the first time you enter the story you then will not be required to be online.

Do I need to be online to download a story?+

The app will need to be online the first time you enter a story since it needs to download that story. After the first time you enter the story you then will not be required to be online.

I can't hear any sound.+

Check that your device is not on 'silent mode' as it will silence the app. On iPhones, the silent switch is located on the left side of the phone. On iPads, there is a "soft" silent button that can be accessed in the screen pull-down settings menu.

For a sound check please go to the lightbulb icon at the bottom left hand corner of the overworld and click 'sound check'.

Also, check that you are not connected to another bluetooth speaker elsewhere in your home.

My phone's alarm went off while I was on the app and now I can't hear. I dismissed the alarm but the sound didn't come back! +

Try minimizing the app briefly. If that doesn't work, restart the app.

I can't get the sound through my earphones when I use my iPad.+

We're working on this bug! In the meantime, if you unplug and re-plug your earphones, they should work.

I can't hear the recording of my child's voice.+

In the CopyCat level, you will need to use the device's microphone. The first time that you play this level, you will get a pop up from your phone asking if FabuLingua may access your microphone. Sometimes, if that happens when a parent is not present, a child will close out of that pop up and the required access will not be granted. The pop up only comes up once. To manually grant access to your phone's microphone, please go to the Settings of your phone -> Privacy -> Microphone -> Fabulingua and toggle the microphone access to on.

I can't exit out of the app.+

You quit the FabuLingua app the same way you quit all apps on your phone: by going to the home screen of your device. The method for going to the home screen is different on different phones. If there is a physical ‘home button’ just press that. If there is no physical button:

Apple: Access to the home screen is always by swiping up from the bottom of your screen, regardless of the orientation (portrait or landscape). FabuLingua is always in "landscape", so place your finger at the bottom of the landscape screen and swipe up quickly from the bottom - that takes you to your device's home screen and you’ve exited FabuLingua.

Android: On Android phones, access to the home screen ONLY happens from one FIXED location - it is at the base of the phone (just above the charging port). Since the FabuLingua app is always in "landscape", the home button on Android phones will NOT be at the bottom of the screen (like it would be in "portrait") but you will find it at the base of the phone (just above the charging port). Swipe inward and the icons normally at the base of your phone will appear.

How do I download FabuLingua? +

You can download FabuLingua for FREE from your device on the App Store or Google Play store by clicking here.

Is FabuLingua available on the web?+

Right now, we're available on the App Store and Google play store, but we are also developing a version that will be available online in the not too distant future.

Is FabuLingua available on a Chromebook?

FabuLingua operates as an app. It’s not available online. But many Chrome books support Android apps, so it would be available on those Chromebooks. You can find the list of Chromebooks that support apps here

Is FabuLingua available on Kindles?

No, FabuLingua is not currently available on Kindles.

I have an Android phone, and when I open the app it says ‘Download failed there are missing files’, and I'm told to redownload the app.+

We are so sorry you experienced an issue with the install. Unfortunately, this is a known issue with relatively large apps hosted on the Google Play store. This can be fixed with the following steps:

First, uninstall FabuLingua.

Next, you'll need to clear invalid data from Google Play:
1. Go to Settings
2. Select "Apps and Notifications"
3. Search or find "Google Play Store"
4. Select "Storage & cache"
5. Select "Clear Storage"

Finally, re-install FabuLingua from Google Play.

We are working hard to solve this problem permanently in a future release! Please email support@fabulingua.com if you need additional help.

I have Apple's “Family Sharing” activated, and it seems I can't buy a subscription from my child's device. +

You are correct. Apple does not allow in-app purchases to be made through “Family Sharing”. So our suggested solution to the problem:

1. Download FabuLingua onto the parent Apple device. Once inside FabuLingua go to ‘Get Started’ and then go to ‘Sign in’ and create a Fabu account in-app. Press the 'Subscribe' button and follow prompts to purchase a subscription.

2. Download FabuLingua onto your child’s device, and press ‘Log In’ (or ‘Sign in’ if they are already in the overworld), and sign into that same Fabu account you just created on the parent device (by using the same credentials you just used to purchase the app).

I’ve created my child’s profile, and we are sampling the stories, but we cannot find the Magic Sticker Book. +

• When you first open up a new profile for a child, they won’t have played before and therefore will not have collected any stickers yet.
• We did not want to show an empty sticker book to the kids, as it’s not much fun!
• So we decided to only have the Magic Sticker Book reveal itself once you’ve collected your first package of stickers (which happens once the child has read through her first story the whole way through till the end.)

What are the minimum system requirements for using FabuLingua? +

Apple devices:
* Apple A9-based device or better (iPhone 6s or iPads based on A9chips and above)
* Running iOS 9.0 or higher

Android devices:
* 2 GHz ARMv7 CPU
* 2GB RAM
* Running Android OS 4.1 or later

Chrome: Most Chromebooks are able to run apps from Google Play, and those Chromebooks will therefore be able to run FabuLingua.

Recordings are not saving? +

Recordings in the second mode in a story (called CopyCat) are not saved. It is only recordings in the final mode (called Read by Myself) that are saved on the device.

CopyCat mode is a practice mode, where children get to practice mimicking the narrator but the recording is not stored. The idea is that they automatically hear how accurately they copied the narrator immediately after they complete their imitation, and can even hear it again by pressing the play button again, but once they’ve turned the page that recording vanishes. This makes their recordings feel like a ‘low stakes’ endeavor, not an item that can be graded/ judged by parents or teachers. The important thing is that by not keeping a recording we lower the anxiety associated with these practice sessions (thus encouraging more practice). You can visit this page to understand how important it is to ‘lower the affective filter’ of a learner.

By the time they reach the fourth and most difficult mode, (called Read by Myself) then we DO store the recordings on their device. And these are all stored on a single sound file that can be shared with teachers/ family. By then they’ve had ample ‘low stakes practice’ and feel pretty confident about their pronunciation on that story so the fact that it’s recorded feels less daunting and produces less anxiety.

The NEW FabuLingua Merch Store

Do you do returns?+

Our t-shirts are print-on-demand and as such each one is custom printed for you. This means that we don’t do returns unless the item you received is faulty. If the item is in any way faulty please send pictures of the item to support@fabulingua.com.

Why do you do print-on-demand t-shirts? +

We love the print-on-demand model because we truly believe it is is better for the environment. We only print what customers want, and as a result, we don’t get left with the typical leftover merchandising at the end of the season that often ends up in landfills. It also allows us to create many more t-shirt designs for you, because we don’t have to do large print runs for each design. So come back regularly because we intend to add new designs often!

Why does your shipping take so long? Do you have an express shipping option? +

No, sadly we don’t. Print-on-demand involves custom printing each item for you, and this takes time and cannot be rushed. Our provider does not provide express shipping options. So expect our t-shirts to take their time to reach you, and don’t leave shopping to the last minute if you’re buying for specific occasions like birthdays.

How reliable are your delivery windows?+

We work with the world’s best print-on-demand supplier. And while we love their t-shirts and the quality of their printing, we must confess that the shipping is a bit slow. We recommend adding a day or two to their delivery window, just in case.

I have a design idea for one of your t-shirts, do you ever take design suggestions?+

FabuLingua ALWAYS loves hearing from our customers, whether it’s compliments or concerns that pertain to the app, to the teacher dashboard or to our merchandizing. We’re always open to suggestions and will gladly hear your suggestions.

All your t-shirts are white. Do you have any colored t-shirts?+

We’re hard at work exploring color options and ensuring the print quality meets our standards. We hope to have colored t-shirts soon.

Do you have any baby sizes? +

We will have baby sizes shortly.

How To Use FabuLingua

How many profiles can I have on one account?+

There are 6 profiles included with each account, which means you can have up to six children using an account at anytime, and FabuLingua will keep track of their progress separately, and will keep track of their stickers and stickerbook art separately.

Note: If a child accidentally works on another child's profile, all the stickers and progress metrics will go to that other child. We cannot ‘re-set’ the progress stored in that profile or move stickers between profiles. So tell your children to double check they are playing on their own profile before the start of each session.

What is the ‘Spanish Only’ toggle in the Settings area?

When you turn on the 'Spanish Only' toggle you will no longer hear the Magical Translation® when you go through the first level of any story. This is recommended for children who already have an advanced level of Spanish and already understand the stories.

However, if a child comes across a word they don't understand, they can still touch the word to hear its syllabic breakdown in Spanish and it's translation into English.

It seems most of the levels are locked, how does my child unlock them? +

The levels are all the different ways of interacting with the stories (Magical Translations, CopyCat, Games, Spanish Only, and Read by Myself). They get progressively more challenging and take your child through a specifically designed learning path of understanding, reinforcement, pronunciation practice and reading.

Only the Magical Translations level is available when you open a story for the first time. Once your child has played the whole way through a story this way, it will unlock the next three levels for that story. Play through all three levels, and you will unlock the final level.

Tip: If your child is not up for the more difficult levels yet, you could try to show them how you are brave enough to try them! If this does not work, don’t worry! Your child can always repeat the easier levels many times over and get ample ‘comprehensible input’ to aid their language learning.

Because they get a new assortment of stickers every time they read a story through, you’ll find they're very willing to go back and read the same story again so they can expand their sticker collection and make their own illustrations!

What happens in each level? +

Magical Translations™
In this level your child listens to the story and its Magical Translation®. Once the narrator is done speaking, the page will become alive with interactions. Encourage them to explore and discover by touching around.

Some of the interactions will allow them to hear the Spanish word for an object or the sounds an animal makes, others will invite them to count objects, and on a few pages there are mini-games to be discovered. Let your child know that the new words that they discover by touching different parts of the page will help them get a better score in the 'Game' level when that opens up!

CopyCat
This is the level where you and your child get to be copy cats and practice and improve your pronunciation (and giggle at the sound of your own voices!)

Listen to the narrator read a phrase. When they finish, a red ‘record’ button will pop up. Press it and have your child repeat the phrase the narrator just read, then press the ‘pause’ button to pause the recording. The narrator will then go on to read the next phrase, and the child once again immitates, records and then presses pause.

When you get to the end of the page, you will automatically hear the narrator’s playback followed by your child’s version. If you’re satisfied, press on the check mark. If not, choose whether you want to hear it again (triangle) or re-do it (circular arrow).

Note: This is a practice level, no recordings will be stored in this level.

Games
This level features a collection of games associated to each story that reinforce the learned vocabulary.

"Jugar a emparejar” is a matching game. Drag the character/object to the correct destination bubble in Spanish. If you can’t remember the English word for a character/object, touch it to hear the word.

If your child is a pre-reader and cannot read the Spanish in the destination bubbles, she can touch those bubbles to hear them read out loud in Spanish.

Each time you play you’ll have a new random selection of words to play in the matching game, so play often!

'Los Articulos' is a game where nouns from the story fall from the top of the screen, and the player has to assign the noun to an article ('el' or 'la') before the word falls on the floor. If you don't get them all right don't worry, you learn more each time you play, so try again! Each time you get a perfect score in any of our games you win a sticker! So play the games often to win more stickers!

Spanish Only
In this level your child can listen to the story narrated only in Spanish. Given that this level will only be available once they've played the story in previous levels, they should have a general understanding of what the story is about. If you think they don’t understand it at all, encourage them to do the first level with the Magical Translation a few times before moving onto the second level of Spanish only. They can also touch any of the words to hear them sounded out in syllables and translated to English!

All the same interactions from the previous level become available after each page’s narration. Have your child explore some more, they often discover new interactions on this second read through.

Read by Myself
This is FabuLingua’s most challenging and rewarding level, where your child becomes the narrator of the story. It is unlocked once they has done every single other level at least once. In this level, the phrase they're meant to read out loud will be highlighted. Press the red record button, allow them to read the corresponding segment, and press pause.

The recording of your child’s voice will play back at the end of the page. You can choose to play it back again (triangle), re-record it (circular arrow) or save it (check mark). The approved recording for each page will be stored locally on your device.

At the end of the story, your child will be rewarded with the full story on a single page of text with the sound of their voice reading that text out loud in Spanish! Currently this file is stored locally on your device, but soon we'll have sharing capabilities to share these audio recordings with teachers or grandmothers!

How can my child earn stickers? +

When your child reads the first level of the story ("Escuchar y tocar") through completely, they will earn a pack of 3 colored stickers. Touch the pack to open it up! Then touch each of the stickers and watch them go into your Magic Sticker Book.

Completing the second level ("Escuchar en español") awards a pack of 4 bronze stickers. The last two levels ("Imitar y grabar" and "Grabar el cuento") award packs of 5 silver and 6 gold stickers, respectively. Finally, in the "Jugar" game level, your child will earn a new sticker every time they get 100% correct answers. This should motivate many children to stretch themselves and try the more challenging levels in order to win the more “special” stickers.

If your child doesn’t want to do the more challenging levels, that’s fine! Remember that learning a language is a long journey. To be successful at it you have to carry on showing up, and that will only happen if they enjoy it. They can still collect plenty of stickers in the easier modes :)

The stickers should keep them excited to go back and hear the same story again days later and get more ‘comprehensible input’ with each pass at the story.

What is the Comprehensible Input Hypothesis? +

Our Magical Translations® method aligns with the model of comprehensible input by [Dr Steven Krashen][2], the preeminent academic in second language acquisition. His research shows that new languages are most efficiently acquired not by memorizing grammar rules or vocabulary lists but when the learner is exposed to ‘maximum comprehensible input’.

What is ‘comprehensible input’ and how is it related to FabuLingua? +

It is new-language input into the brain which is ‘comprehensible’, which means that you more or less understand it even if you don’t understand it perfectly.

When interacting with FabuLingua, your child will see only the Spanish text, but hear the narrator’s rhythmic alternation between Spanish and its English translation. This Magical Translation®, is what makes the new-language input (or the story) ‘comprehensible’. Basically, it will enable your child to understand and follow the story in a relaxed and engaged way, which is the ideal state for language acquisition.

The more stories your child is exposed to in this way, and the more often they're exposed to them, the more ‘comprehensible input’ they're exposed to. When you have your child regularly use FabuLingua, you are creating a program of ongoing ‘maximum comprehensible input’ for him. And this creates the perfect conditions for acquiring a new language.

None of the interactions seem to work? +

You may have accidentally set that profile on 'Bedtime mode' which disables interactions. Press the purple pull out 'Menu' tab, and then select 'Settings' (the purple gear icon). In 'Settings' make sure 'Bedtime mode' is on 'off'.

Pricing & Subscriptions

What is the price? +

FabuLingua works through a subscription based model.

We will be adding new material every month, either a new story, a new game, or other enhancements to the overall experience.

Our current introductory prices are between $5.99/month to $8.99/month depending on your payment plan. See more details here

How can I subscribe?+

Download the app onto your device and press the 'Subscribe' button. Select a payment plan and follow prompts to check out in the App Store or Google Play store. See a video here with step by step instructions

Can I buy a FabuLingua subscription as a gift for my grandchild or nephew?+

We don’t yet have an easy, seamless way for you to buy a FabuLingua subscription as a present. But if you want to gift that special child the gift of a second language, here’s how you can do it at the moment.

1. Download the FabuLingua app on YOUR device.
2. Press ‘Get started’ and follow the onboarding instructions all the way through.
3. Create an account and password - but use the email address of the adult parent of the child you’re buying it for.
4. When you finish the onboarding and tutorial you will be taken to the overworld. Press the big orange ‘Subscribe’ button
5. Select your payment plan and follow the instructions check-out in the App Store or Google Play.
6. That email account and password now has a full subscription and full access.
7. Tell the parent of the child for whom you have bought the app to download the app onto their child’s device, and log in with the email and password you used to create their account.
8. When they log in with that account they’ll instantly have access to all our Spanish stories and the kids can start learning!

How can I cancel my subscription?+

Your subscription is handled by the App Store or Google Play store (where you purchased your subscription). Deleting the app from your device will NOT cancel your subscription. Cancel any subscriptions you have anytime through your the “Settings” on your device (not through the FabuLingua app).

For Google Play, please click on the below link for a web page with detailed instructions: https://www.fabulingua.com/cancellation-process-google-play

For Apple App Store, please click on the below link for a web page with detailed instructions: https://www.fabulingua.com/cancellation-process-apple-app-store

Here are the steps:
- Open your device "Settings".
- Tap your name.
- Tap Subscriptions.
- Tap the subscription that you want to manage.
- Tap Cancel Subscription.

If FabuLingua's app does not come up on your list of subscriptions, then that means that you do not have a subscription to FabuLingua and are currently using the free version of the app.

FabuLingua Benefits

How is FabuLingua different from other second-language digital products? +

It’s an affordable and high-quality solution that kids will love; but, at the same time, the story-based experience is created around a thoroughly researched methodology that supports consistent language acquisition.

Surprisingly, this is a combination of traits we didn’t find in existing products.

More importantly, instead of using more traditional grammar-first methods, FabuLingua's story-based method focuses on gently and consistently exposing kids to natural language content in a way that renders it ‘comprehensible’; resulting in a more organic wiring of the brain to the new language in what feels like an effortless (and fun!) way.

What are the benefits of learning a language at an early age?+

• It benefits early brain development; especially executive functioning such as problem solving, the ability to focus, and switching between tasks efficiently.
• Studies by Harvard University suggest that learning languages at an early age has increased advantages over doing it later in life; like enhancing creativity and critical thinking skills.
• It provides academic and professional advantages, cultural awareness, emotional intelligence, empathy and self-confidence.
• Spanish is becoming a tool with exponential value. It’s already the second most spoken and widespread language in the world. An estimate of 140 million people in the USA will speak the language over the next 30 years.
• In the case of Hispanic or Spanish heritage families, it allows children to better understand their background, bond with relatives and connect to their culture and country of origin.

If we speak Spanish at home, and my child speaks Spanish, is FabuLingua still useful?+

YES! FabuLingua also works as a reinforcement tool.

Even for intermediate speakers, our method Magical Translations® method enables a gentle and organic exposure where your child will be entertained by the stories, games and activities and, at the same time, exposed to a method meant to strengthen vocabulary and language skills methodically and organically.

If your child is an advanced or fluent in Spanish and does not need the Magical Translations® to understand the stories, go into the Settings and turn on the ‘Spanish Only’ toggle. (If there are a couple of words he does not understand, he will still be able to press each word to hear it sounded out in its syllables and hear its meaning in English, so don’t worry).

Even if you speak Spanish at home and your child is a fluent speaker, the benefits of being read to a lot as a young child are well researched and documented. Stories provide a much wider range of vocabulary and use cases than most families typically have in their day to day life, so reading a lot in that language, even if you speak it at home, serves to increase your vocabulary and proficiency in that language. Your child will become a much better Spanish speaker if she has a lot of Spanish only stories read to her.

I don’t speak any Spanish, can my child still learn Spanish without my help? +

Yes, they can! Although it’s one of the most traditional forms of learning a language, a child’s parent does not need to be the one to teach them. With the FabuLingua app, children will be guided through stories and games with the voice of a bilingual narrator (our founder Leslie 😉). All you have to do is download the app and give them the device!

If English is spoken everywhere, why does my child need to learn Spanish? +

While you may be able to speak English with the majority of the world, monolingualism will decrease your opportunities both personally and professionally. (See our blog WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE AS A CHILD?)

Even if your child spends most of their life speaking English, the process of learning a language has some serious brain benefits that will impact your child for years to come. In a time of increasing migration patterns, however, learning and speaking more than one language is more important than ever.

My child is learning Spanish at school, should I still sign them up for FabuLingua? +

While having foreign language instruction in schools is great, classroom-based learning is often lacking comprehensible input, meaning the content is not being presented in a way that is effectively registering in the learner’s brain.

Combining FabuLingua with in school Spanish instruction is a great way to ensure that your child is receiving comprehensible input in Spanish, as well as increasing familiarity and confidence with the language.

I didn’t introduce my child to Spanish when they were a toddler, is it too late? +

It is never too late (and we’re not just saying this to get you to use our app)! While it is true that children learning languages in their early development years may be more inclined to learn them well and easily (we call these early stages the ‘magical window’ for language learning), it is never too late to learn a language. Oftentimes, it isn’t even our brain’s phase of development that is holding us back, it’s our ability to talk ourselves into thinking it’s too late!