Article: Helping Kids Learn French
Starting kids on foreign languages at a young age seems to get the best results. Children's brains are primed to pick up and absorb languages almost effortlessly. Some products that teach kids French use an immersion approach, which literally "immerses" children in the language. Other products use a bilingual approach, where words are translated. Experts tend to agree that an immersion approach is better for younger children, and the bilingual method is best for older children and adults.
We evaluate many children's foreign language aids. My children attend schools with 40% of the instruction in French and the rest in English. As such, we actually use the products and have naturally selected some of the products as favorites. What follows are what we feel are the best selections of music, software, and videos that will help kids learn French as a second language.
Music/Audio
One
of our favorite series of children's
foreign language products is the Teach Me series. Teach Me French
(A Musical Journey Through the Day) is an exceptional and easy-on-the-ears product for children of all
ages, but especially young children. The tunes are catchy, and both French and English are spoken
(and sung) so that beginners are never overwhelmed.
Both the CD and cassette versions come with an activity book so that kids can follow along. The songs roughly follow a child's day, and in between tunes, children talk about their day. Some standout songs include Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes, Alouette, and Six Little Ducks. Some of the things kids will learn with this set: the alphabet, parts of the body, days of the week, and numbers.
Once kids have enjoyed this audio recording, they can graduate to Teach Me More French and Teach Me Even More French.
This audio recording and book set uses a bilingual approach—kids are talked to in both English and French.
[For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Teach Me French (Paperback and Audio... CD/book; or for the cassette/book package: Teach Me French (Paperback and Audio... - Affiliate links]
Baby's
First Steps in French by Living Language
is a high-quality, professional, and well put together audio CD
and book set specifically designed to be played when children are
babies, from ages Newborn to 24 months. The CD offers a
combination of songs, rhymes/rhythms, and dialogues that emphasize
the unique sounds of the French language. The book in the set is
designed to not only explain the philosophy behind the CD, but to
offer parents some helpful tips for developing children's language
skills. This is a superior product that is both palatable and
useful. See our full
review of Baby's First Steps in French for more information.
[For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Baby's First Steps in French (Baby's First Steps) at Amazon.com - affiliate link.]
Uni-Verse of Song: French
by Music for Little People uses simple songs and basic phrases to introduce children to the
language. Both French and English verse is included so that true
beginners are not overwhelmed. Classic French songs like Frere
Jacques and Sur le pont d'avignon are here, along with familiar
children's favorites like Happy Birthday, Mary Had a Little
Lamb,
and so forth. Conversations in between songs help round out a fine
children's recording that teaches as it entertains.
[For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Uni Verse of Song-French at Amazon.com - affiliate link.]
Top
Pick. For kids a little older, an excellent audio CD and
activity book set is Learn in Your Car for Kids: French by
Penton Overseas. We love this set! Kids learn French words, phrases,
and sentences as they follow along with the CD, in which children
are on their way to a "fete". The reusable,
laminated full-color activity book contains exercises that help
reinforce the vocabulary learned on the audio CD, and the set
includes reusable stickers and an erasable marker. Bilingual
songs are featured on the CD, in addition to the dialogues and
vocabulary drills. See our full
review of this Learn French CD/Activity Book set. We rated this
set with a grade of A+.
[For more information, user reviews, or to buy: French: Learn in Your Car for Kids ; Activity Kit (Learn in Your Car for Kids) at Amazon.com]
A nice book and cassette set,
entitled Bonjour Mes Amis, Hello My Friends, provides a
pleasant, bilingual introduction to the French language. The
narrator on the tapes speaks English, and she is accompanied by a
French-speaking guide on their tour of France.
Songs, conversation, and an activity book bring French to life for young participants. This set is best for beginners in the language, ages 5-9.
[For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Bonjour, Mes Amis!/Hello, My Friends! :... at Amazon.com - affiliate link]
Children's French Games & Audio
LinguaFun!
French: Language Learning Card Game offers
an ingenious approach to learning French words, numbers, phrases,
and sentences, including sentence structure. Kids play popular
card games like Go Fish, Gin Rummy, Solitaire, and Concentration
with cards that include French phrases. Putting the color-coded
cards together means kids instantly form sentences. This set
includes an audio CD that helps model the pronunciation of the
included phrases, which include cards from two decks: the Family
series (everyday words and sentences) and the Travel series (words
and sentences commonly encountered or used when traveling). Appropriate for children ages 7 or
8 and up, and for adults too!
[See our review of the LinguaFun series. For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Linguafun! French: Language Learning Card Games (Linguafun) - affiliate link]
Children's French Instructional Videos and DVDs
Bilingual Baby: French
introduces young children (not limited to babies) to basic French
words and simple phrases in a step-by-step fashion. Live-action
video is featured. The video is quiet, never frenetic, and
well-paced. Children learn French vocabulary of familiar objects,
like apple and dog, concepts, like numbers and
colors, and learn common expressions, like thank you and you're
welcome.
The Bilingual Baby video series also includes videos for different languages, and each follows a similar format. The screens are uncluttered, and the vocabulary is clearly spoken. New vocabulary is introduced one word at a time before it is combined into a sentence. For example, in Section 1, the French equivalent of boy, eat, and apple are introduced one by one, and then the sentence, The boy eats the apple, is spoken and illustrated. Each new vocabulary word is illustrated in two different ways--for example, two women in different settings illustrate the word for mother.
Appropriate for children ages 1-6.
[See our review. For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Bilingual Baby, FRENCH, Vol 1 video - affiliate link]
Another video designed for young
children is Brainy Baby: French. This video is designed to teach children simple words and
phrases in the French language.
The format is sequential and well-paced, quite repetitive, and rather predictable. This means that the video is best viewed in segments. The learning content is excellent, with questions and answers for review. Mostly live-action video clips are employed to teach children such things as action words, colors, numbers, and familiar phrases (like "bonjour"!). Brainy Baby French is also available in other languages, and has been released on DVD as well. Very recommended!
Note: This video is very similar to the Bilingual Baby French mentioned above--sort of a revamped version--so we wouldn't recommend buying both of them. This one is available on DVD, however.
Appropriate for children ages 1-6.
[Buy Brainy Baby - French at Amazon.com - affiliate link]
Software
There are a number of software titles designed for kids to acquire foreign language skills--all with different approaches and styles. KidSpeak French, for example, is a full-immersion approach that involves kids in simple games. Language Excelerator, on the other hand, uses a straight-shooting approach to learning. Our favorite of the titles currently available is EazySpeak French.
Top
Pick Ages 10-up:
Eazyspeak French Levels 1 and 2 (PC & Mac) - affiliate link
This is a very unusual program for a number of reasons: the
cartoon characters are quirky, the humor is irreverent, and the
format is free-style. What sets the title apart is the huge
content spread over two levels, as well as the fresh approach that
draws kids in. Read our
full review of
EazySpeak Spanish here for more details. (Note that the format
is the same as the Spanish title).
Good Choice Ages 4-up:
Rosetta Stone French Explorer - affiliate link
This is a great program that can be used as effectively by a four
year old and an adult. Mind you, younger users won't be able
to participate in the reading and writing exercises, but they'll
still benefit from the many other exercises that rely on beautiful
photos and multiple-choice questions.
Once users understand the different options, they sail through the exercises that painlessly boost their listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills. Of the programs available, we like this one the best. Although you won't get a full foreign language course in one box, this one is the first program to buy. Unfortunately, this title is now difficult to find. It is included in Instant Immersion French Pro (see below), however.
Ages 3-6: JumpStart Languages
JumpStart Languages is a moderately educational CD-ROM. Kids
have the opportunity to explore any of 4 areas ("language pavilions"),
each corresponding to a particular language (French, English,
Spanish, and Japanese). There
are a few few games
and activities to play in each pavilion. Children play a board game, look for matching
pairs, listen to stories, and more. Each pavilion features the
same types of activities, but is hosted by a different guide. The learning environment is playful. We thought the program
could be better, but it does a decent job of introducing languages
to preschoolers. It is currently difficult to find, as it is a
discontinued product.
Ages 6-9:
KidSpeak 6-in-1
KidSpeak Languages 6-in-1 includes 6 foreign languages on CD-ROMs,
including French. This is a strong title that uses a full
immersion approach to learning new languages. The
learning is embedded into games, and no multimedia flashcards are
used. Consider this point when purchasing a foreign language
software for your child. Your own child may prefer a more
straightforward learning environment. However, the approach used
in this title can be very effective because children learn the
language almost effortlessly. Games
include tic tac toe, jigsaw puzzles, dominoes, connect-the-dots,
and bingo. Songs are incorporated into the program and include
Happy Birthday and The Alphabet Song. Vocabulary learned includes
days and months, greetings, fruits, school items, body parts,
numbers, clothing, and more. A total of 6 languages are
covered in separate sections -- Spanish, French, German, Italian,
Japanese, and Hebrew. See
our full review.
Instant Immersion French Pro (7 CD-ROM)
Instant Immersion French
Pro includes two particularly child-friendly CD-ROMs
mentioned above: Rosetta Stone French Explorer and the
French CD-ROM included in Instant Immersion Language
Starter. There are 7 CD-ROMs in this bundle, and the package
is rather confusing as a whole, but it is a good buy simply
for these 2 CD-ROMs.
Learn French with Popular Characters: Caillou!
The Caillou character is a native French speaker! Although the Caillou television show was only recently picked up by PBS, it has been running in the French (and English) language for many years. The television series is based on the Caillou books.
Caillou's
Holiday Movie
Released in the final quarter of 2004, Caillou's first full-length movie is a real treat. An advent calendar generates anticipation for Christmas, and Caillou takes part in many winter activities as he gets ready for the holidays. The movie explores and introduces children to holiday traditions in different cultures as well. The DVD edition is well worth purchasing, not only because of its extras in the form of an animated interview with Caillou and two multi-level games, but because it can be viewed in English, French, and Spanish. The multilingual feature is of particular interest to families who want to encourage second-language acquisition at an early age. Highly recommended. Our Rating: A
[For more information, user reviews, or to buy: Caillou's Holiday Movie (DVD) or Caillou's Holiday Movie - affiliate links (VHS)]
A collection of Caillou songs is found on the audio CD, Caillou: Les Chansons de Caillou. These songs are pulled from the original French series. Includes tunes like, "Gilbert, mon chat", "la chanson des chiffres" (numbers song), "manger, manger", "cours, Papa!", "Caillou au zoo", and more. Very fun--and educational! You can buy Les Chansons De Caillou (audio CD) at Amazon.ca. (American customers: remember that the exchange rate is in your favor. For example, if something is priced at $10.00 Canadian, you will pay approximately $8.00 US.) - affiliate link
Also available
are Caillou videos in French, such as Caillou L'explorateur (which
is also available as Caillou the Explorer in English). The
language used is perhaps a little advanced for young children just
learning the language, but kids can benefit from the video,
especially if a family owns both an English and French copy of the
video. Surrounding children in a completely French environment,
even for half an hour, can be helpful.
You can buy Caillou l'explorateur
(video) at Amazon.ca. (American customers: remember that the
exchange rate is in your favor. For example, if something is
priced at $10.00 Canadian, you will pay approximately $8.00 US.)
Looking
to buy books, music,
and videos in Canada?
Amazon.ca (affiliate link)
has a wide selection
of French children's video, CDs, and books in their French
Boutique.