Learning French For Kids Through Music

Are you aware of the fact that learning French for kids is easier when they learn the language through songs and music? The fact is that kids easily catch, memorize, and understand a song especially when they tend to sing it by heart. This will then allow them to have an attachment to the song, allowing them to naturally understand what they are singing.

In the tender years of a child, teachers and parents work hand in hand to teach children nursery rhymes and repetitive songs to the kids. By doing so, this will allow the kids to have a quick grasp of their language or native tongue. With this kind of technique, you will know that this is truly one of the oldest techniques imposed by many language educators even to these days.

And since children simply adore singing songs, they can easily memorize them even in just a short span of time. Because of this, learning a particular language through songs has become a favorite technique of children. As a matter of fact, it is considered by many language professionals as the most effective way by which one can learn a particular language.

The French language can be a very challenging thing to learn. Even when it is related to the development of the universal language which is English, both have distinct speech patterns, basic sounds, and syntax rules. Because of this, language experts consider learning French for kids can be easily done and achieved through songs and music.

One great advantage of learning a new language like French is that your voice used in singing is not as confined to your native tongue as is in your voice which you use for speaking. Because of this reality, you can easily tell that a singer mainly sings without following the accents of the given words or lyrics. Obviously, these lyrics or words are plainly recited as the song’s melody, diction, and meter require.

Because of the singing structure which is mainly different from speaking structure, it is much easier for everyone particularly children to learn a difficult language like French. When a child listens to a song and has decided to learn how to sing it, this would allow him to have an easier grasp of the language until such time that he is capable of understanding and interpreting the song word by word.

French actually comes with many different words and finding an occasion to use them frequently is hard. In this regard, when you sing a French song, you will have the best time singing them casually, allowing you to remember them most of the time. As of the students learning the language, it will be much easier for them to remember the words taught to them. And when the French language is taught through music or songs, it will be easier for them to recall.

So if you want your child to learn the French language, keep in mind that learning French for kids through music or songs is truly the best way for you and your child to do it.

 

French Learning resources

 

Another Saturday, Another Poem

Hello,

Today's pick is a cute little poem about Halloween.....again
http://frenchhandmadeteachingresources.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/french-poems-for-children.html

And the slang word is a happy one
http://frenchhandmadeteachingresources.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/french-slang-words.html


I wish you a very relaxing weekend

Halloween in France

 

 

Halloween Poster 

 

 

Halloween became popular in France in the 1990's, partly due to tourism and to the English people living in the country.

The children wore costumes and, pumpkins were carved and lighted up.

 

However, Halloween is not part of the French culture and the novelty soon wore off.

 

It is also a controversial festival, as this pagan celebration takes place just days before the traditional "All Saints Day" - La Toussaint.

 

 

 

 

 



The Importance Of Teaching Children French

Since being able to speak different languages is a big asset, teaching children French is such a good thing to do. When you want your kids to learn the French language, there are several things that you should be doing. Getting the right tools and educational materials is very important because this is the first stage in learning the language the right way. You must create a good step by step learning plan in order for the kids to absorb and recall the lessons easily.

The primary thing that you need to do is to gather all the necessary and relevant materials that will help you with the lessons. Doing so will greatly help the children when it comes to learning the language. There are many teaching kits that you find whether online or in your local bookstores that are really good for children. You just have to be sure that the materials you are getting are effective and easy to learn. Comparing the materials can help you choose the best one to use.

Creating an environment that is suitable for learning is also important. You have to make certain considerations if you want to provide the best learning for the kids. Teaching children French is not that easy, but it is not that hard either. As long as you use the right approach and use the right materials, you will definitely be able to provide the kids the best learning experience. Think out of the box because your kids have different needs. What might work for one child might not work on the other one. That is why you have to come up with new ideas every day. Make sure that your children will learn something new without forgetting the previous lessons.

Use visual aids like flashcards or posters. Kids are actually more visual. They find it easier to learn when they see a picture. The reason behind this is that children can easily associate a word or an action when they see it illustrated. It takes less effort for them to retain the lessons when you use appropriate visual aids. Aside from using visual aids, be interactive. Create fun activities that will involve your kids. Challenge them into playing games that is still connected to the French language. For example, you can do charades and act out the word so the children can guess it. Then you can also let them do the action so it could be more fun. Creating simple yet intellectual activities can really help.

Teach children the basics first. You do not want to bore them with advance lessons.
Start with the alphabet and then with the numbers. Once you are certain that they have mastered it, you can then move to the simpler words (animals, food, colours...). Theaching children French can be really fun and satisfying to do. When your kids grow up, it will help them boost their confidence as well as boost their chances of getting a good job. Being able to speak multiple languages is a plus factor, especially French. It can definitely add a certain appeal when a person speaks it fluently.

Flashcards with Pronunciation

Posters with Pronunciation

Hello,

My weekly poem has been posted on the following page http://frenchhandmadeteachingresources.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/french-poems-for-children.html

It is an Halloween poem which I like very much. I hope you will too.

I also added 2 slang words. Have a great weekend.

School Related Words in French

Children have been back at school for six weeks and the shelves in the shops are still full of school items. Maybe not so many schoolbags as they take lots of room.

 

 

 

Flashcards - School related words

 

 

 



The word schoolbag is relatively new. Until the end of the 20th century satchel, was the term children used to describe the bag which carried their text books and their school supplies.

In France, however the word cartable has not lost its flavour, on the contrary it is now used when talking about a server online or a USB key ( le cartable électronique).



Learning French Verbs - Don't let French Verbs Get You Down

If you happen to be learning French verbs then you have already realized that the verb system of the French grammar is considered as the most complicated. For those who do not know yet, the French grammar consists of twelve thousand verbs, each is being conjugated in a number of tenses. Additionally the verbs used in French language are also very notorious in terms of their spelling and irregular verbs. You may want to perceive that learning the French language is hard and daunting: the truth is you're right. The fact is that you have to undergo certain logic procedures and strategies in order for you to learn the verbs precisely.

There are four easy steps for everyone who has the heart and the interest to go learning French verbs.
They are easy and simple steps that will lead you to mastery and perfection when followed accordingly.

Get a French verb handbook.
The handbook is a very essential thing you need to have when you want to learn French verbs the fast and easy way. With the handbook, you will have the source on the different key verbs, the index that contains thousands of verbs such as model verbs, irregular verbs, etc. The handbook will also teach you different ways by which a particular type of verb is conjugated. So instead of browsing the internet for the French verb guide, it is still best to make use of the paper, the handbook so to speak.

Focus your attention to irregular verbs
When making use of the different tenses such as past, present, and future tenses, conjugation is highly required. Through conjugation, the form of the verb is being modified making it much easier for you to understand and memorize them. The same rule also applies to the different pronouns such as I, you, he, she, etc.

Focus on the major tenses
Based on your handbook you will see that there are sixteen tables designated for each verb. However, you will realize that some are rarely used especially when spoken. The tables can be downright confusing. It is advisable to get by at least four or five of them and that suffices. Keep in mind to learn the present tenses of French verbs because they are considered as the most flexible among all other forms of verbs in the French language.

Focus on the more commonly used verbs
You will learn from the start that French verbs consist of thousands and thousands of verbs, yet only less than a hundred are used in an everyday conversation. As a matter of fact, only nine irregular verbs account for about forty per cent of all the verbs used in an ordinary conversation. Such irregular verbs include être, faire, avoir, aller, dire, savoir, pouvoir, vouloir and devoir. In short, if you already speak a little bit of French, you would use or encounter these verbs frequently. Of course when you want to go learning French verbs, you want to make sure you're learning by heart.

Verb Posters with Pronunciation

French Slang Words

Le falzard - trousers



Ex: Mets ton falzard

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La bécane - bicycle

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Le gamin - child


~~~~~~~~~~~~

La valoche - Suitcase

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Le bahut - Sideboard

Ex. Ce vieux bahut

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Un soupçon - A little

Ex. J'en prends un soupçon


~~~~~~~~~~~~

La clope - Cigarette

Ex. Il fume sa clope

~~~~~~~~~~~~

La bouffe - Food

Ex. Achète la bouffe

~~~~~~~~~~~~

La flotte - Rain

Ex. Sous la flotte

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Rafistoler - To mend

Ex. Il rafistole son pantalon

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Le pieu - The bed

Ex.  Je vais au pieu

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaser - To gossip

Ex. Elles jasent toute la journée

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Le barouf - the noise

Ex. Ils font un tel barouf!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~


La loupiote - little light

Ex. Allume ta loupiote


~~~~~~~~~~~~

La frousse - to be frightened

Ex. J'ai la frousse

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Se bidonner - to laugh heartily

Ex. Je me bidonne


~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Turbiner - to work

Ex. Il turbine toute l'année

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Se balader - to go for a walk

Ex. Je me balade dans le parc

~~~~~~~~~~~~


Se barrer - to leave/to escape

Ex. Je me barre tous les soirs

~~~~~~~~~~~~


Déguster - to suffer

Ex. Ce que je déguste avec elle!!



~~~~~~~~~~~~
Le pépin - umbrella

 

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Le pif - nose

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Le bouquin - book

~~~~~~~~~~~~


La godasse - shoe

~~~~~~~~~~~~


Le fric - money

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Le canard - Newspaper

~~~~~~~~~~~~


La bicoque - House

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~


La nippe - Item of clothing

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

La bagnole - Car
 

 

 

Another poem

Today I posted another poem on my page dedicated to them http://frenchhandmadeteachingresources.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/french-poems.html

I chose an autumn poem.  I hope you enjoy it.

Vintage School Days

With old school books we rediscover the time of innocence!

Collecting old books is a passion of mine. I see it as keeping a link open with the past.

Looking back to the Vintage School Days, we can immediately notice how much has changed in the learning process. Going back several decades, the books were much more basic and compact. The pages were stuffed with small font's in order to cram as much information in as possible. In the Vintage School Days, there was little to no research about the human brain. Scientists did not understand how children learned, and how they could further improve their learning experience.

 

School Books from 1882 

 

 

Livret one





Livret two

 

These school books concentrate on Writing, Reading and Spelling

 

 

 

 

 

The books used in the Vintage School Days are remarkably similar to the ones still being used today though. In some French learning books, publishers understood that children would need to be engaged to benefit the most from their learning. As such, some old books have parts at the end where the children could draw objects or shapes. This would let them engage through drawing, while reading about the French language, and actively learning the language. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can probably expect, the paper was low-quality material and almost brown colored in nature. Additionally, there was hardly any color print in books at all. Colored ink back in the Vintage School Days was extremely expensive, and neither schools nor publishers could afford to cover books from start to finish with color.

 This book is a Grammar book

 

 

 

 It is from 1955

It was used by children of 10 and 11 years old


As you can probably notice today, the ability to contrast between different colors in a book is a great visual aid.

 While times have changed, and learning resources have been more extensively developed for the better, some material from the Vintage School Days are still extremely similar to what we have available to us today.

 

 

Tips on Learning French

 

Home studying can sometimes be boring and unexciting since you don’t have your friends that will make it more enjoyable for you. But it also has many advantages such as allowing the students to learn at their own pace and letting them create their own style of learning. Learning about the things you like is truly a different matter. It seduces your interest in learning and captures your imagination into creating unique but effective ways of learning.


French language is the primarily language spoken in 29 different countries including France. Most people consider French to be one of the languages that are difficult to learn. But it sure is interesting, exciting and challenging. Time, effort, and patience are what you need to achieve your very main goal which is to learn the French language.


Still, the French Language is also one of the most beautiful languages spoken around the world even though it is quite difficult to learn. But don’t you worry for here are some tips you will need to make your home learning easy and fun.

Learning the French language takes a lot of time so you don’t have to be in a hurry. Just enjoy while you learn. You can start learning the French words of common phrases like greetings. You can also begin counting in French.

Movies can be of help in learning French words. You can watch French movies with subtitles and hopefully, you’ll learn some words and their meanings including their pronunciations. You can also have knowledge and some understandings about conversational French through watching movies, reading subtitles and listening to the exchange of thoughts.

Flash cards are the oldest and the most common tool of learning. It may sound childish or silly but these will definitely add more fun to your home learning. You can also think of the French counterpart words of things you commonly see at your house or in your surroundings.

You can also read French Versions of some Comic strips or Children’s book or stories that you are familiar with. These will be useful in understanding the language.

Have some reference books with you and read some of it from time to time. Reading helps you widen your knowledge in French vocabulary.

You can also familiarize yourself with songs or poems written in French language. It will help you in learning and familiarizing French words.

Do your own research about the French language. You can do it online or in some educational places like the library.

  

You can also play games that involve language learning like finding the correct meaning of a specific word. It can be very entertaining.

Easy and fun, right? Why don’t you start now and have fun while learning the French language. Fun and learning could definitely work hand in hand. Just follow the tips above and you’ll surely learn how to speak in French in less time than what you have expected. Also, remember these phrases: Small steps can lead to big accomplishments. Vouloir, c’est pouvoir. Profitez de l’apprentisage!

French Alphabet Flashcards

Each card measures 7cm x7.5 cm.

 

They are laminated with rounded corners for safety

 

They feature upper and lower case



How to Teach a New Topic in French

 

There are typically a number of determining factors on how effective a teacher will be when teaching a new topic in French. Some of these factors will consist of the instructor or teacher, the material being used, who is being taught, the age group, their primary language, and the actual topic itself. In the information that follows, you're going to discover some important facts about teaching new topics in French, some of the materials that will be required, and how you can be more effective when working with children, teaching French in primary school, or working with the French language in general.

Traditional methods of teaching French language

Those teachers that have been working with students for a considerable amount of time are probably aware that a lot of the language materials available such as text and, older reading, have suffered from being ineffective, joyless and, extremely repetitive. In fact, many students whether young or old, simply get bored before ever understanding one word of a new topic being taught in French. Whether teaching French in primary schools or other settings, you will find that there are alternative methods that can be used that will help students grasp new ideas, concepts, and topics in French.


Audio, Podcasts, and visual powerpoint presentations

Some of the newer concepts available for teaching French to children and adults will come in the form of audio, Podcasts, and visual powerpoint presentations. These tools are extremely effective at capturing the student's attention which makes it easier to present new topics in French. By having an audio that comes in the form of a story, this will capture the imagination and allow young people and old people alike to associate words with what is actually taking place in the story. 


By utilizing a powerpoint presentation, this will also work to capture the attention of the individual who is learning the French language.  An instructor teaching French language will be able to utilize a presentation with an embedded audio, or they can simply use a voice-over which allows the student to associate what is being said - with what is taking place during the presentation. These are effective tools which can be used on a consistent basis to teach a new topic in French.


Comprehension exercises, Grammar exercises, and Flashcards

Although Comprehension exercises, Grammar exercises, and Flashcards are of a more traditional nature, they are still extremely effective when an audio can be played along with an activity. The bottom line is, students like to be engaged in what  it is they are learning. Quite frankly, if a child or an adult has difficulty understanding what is presented, this makes it very difficult to comprehend or retain any information whatsoever. By utilizing audio and visual together, this will go a long way in teaching new concepts and topics in French.


Although the information provided here focuses on an audio/video approach for teaching a new topic in French, the major responsibility will always fall in the lap of the instructor or teacher. The reason for this is, regardless of your skills and abilities to speak the French language, unless you can gain the interest and the attention of the student, your methods may end up not being very effective. By staying abreast of some of the new ideas for teaching the French language, you will be able to easily teaching French to children and adults alike.


 

Develop French Listening skills

Listening requires an active involvement on the part of the student.

It teaches the child to focus, select and recognize specific words or phrases.

This is why worksheets with listening exercises are an effective tool.

Matching pictures and initial sound

Some exercises are about filling the gaps

Some are based on a little story

And others give multiple choice