Published
Languages for Young Minds
The Language Hour
You don't need to speak the language to help an 11- to 14-year-old learn it well. This book gives your family a daily Language Hour in five steps: take in language your student mostly understands, make words stay, then use them with real people and check what they can do. Along the way your student takes the lead, with clear, calm rules for tutors, online safety, and AI tools.
Editorial principle
Understand first; then try it for real; check what you can do; a little every day.
- Chronology
- 2026
- Length
- ~63,000 words
- Reading time
- ~4.5 hours · 153 pages
Authors
Michael Gannotti
The voices
1 figures across 2026. Each speaks in their own voice, through their own texts.
The parent-teacher
nowLanguage hour
Core question: What can you actually do in the language now?
One adult, a daily Language Hour at the kitchen table — and the student increasingly in the lead.
Chapters
14 chapters. The disagreement is not resolved.
- Complete
Welcome
Welcome
Why is a daily Language Hour worth it at 11–14, even if the parent doesn't speak the language?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
How to Use
How to Use This Book This Week
How do we choose a language, place our student, and run our first week starting Monday?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Five Things
If You Only Remember Five Things
If we forget everything else, which five habits keep language learning on track at this age?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
The Hour
The Language Hour
What happens in each of the five steps of a Language Hour, and who runs it as our student grows?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 1
What Language Learning Looks Like at 11–14: Goals, Can-Do Statements, and Choosing (or Continuing) Your Language
What can our student honestly expect to do in a year, and how do "I can" goals help us choose and track the language?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 2
Taking It In: Listening, Watching, and Understanding More Than You Can Say
Why does understanding come first, and how do we find listening our student mostly understands?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 3
Words That Stay: Vocabulary, Chunks, and Practice That Sticks
How do we help new words stick for months instead of days?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 4
Real Reading: Easy Books, Everyday Texts, and New Scripts
How do we build a real reading habit, including in a new script, without it turning into decoding drills?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 5
Conversations for Real: Asking, Answering, and Keeping It Going
How does a nervous 11- to 14-year-old learn to keep a real conversation going?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 6
Writing to Someone: Journals, Messages, and the Patterns You Notice
How does writing to a real reader help our student notice how the language works?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 7
People and Places: Tutors, Exchanges, Heritage Homes, and Your Community
How do we bring real speakers into our student's learning while keeping them safe?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 8
Tools and AI: Dictionaries, Translators, Apps, and Chatbots — Under the Terms and Checked
Where do dictionaries, translators, apps, and chatbots help, and how do we keep them from doing the learning?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 9
Records, Portfolio, and Transcript
What should we keep so a stranger can see what our student can actually do in the language?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 10
Resources
How do we choose courses, readers, and help that fit our student, starting with people and the library?
Voices: parent-teacher