Introduction:

French, a Romance language, is widely regarded to be among the most beautiful languages in the world. French is a beautiful language. And it’s increasingly popular to learn. Thanks to France’s rich history and influence, the language hides a fascinating background too. Learning about this can help you appreciate the language even more. With nearly 80 million native speakers and over 274 million speakers worldwide, French is one of the most popular languages in the world. In fact, French is the official language of 29 countries and is the sixth most spoken language in the world.

Wondering how to teach your kids French at home? Or maybe learn French along with your child? Sounds like a great plan and I’m here to help! 

Whether you want your child to reconnect with French roots or simply to raise him/her as bilingual, this article will help you reach that goal.

Before anything else, let’s talk about the reasons why our child should learn French and why it’s a good idea to share the experience with them.

There are a lot of benefits to being bilingual, but here are some of the specific reasons that make a good case for teaching French to your kid.

• Children’s minds are more receptive to learning a new language so it will be easier for them to learn French while they’re still young.

• It will help them appreciate the culture and connect to their cultural background. Some parents who are partly French might want their kids to get in touch with their roots—learning French is a great way to do that. But even if you do not have any French blood in you, it would still be a good way for your kids to be exposed to French culture.

• It’s a perfect chance to bond with your child. Whether you already know how to speak French or you’re planning to learn together with your kid, the time spent learning together is a priceless bonding activity.

• It will build their emotional intelligence. Studies show that bilingual children have more empathy and higher EQ!

• Bilingual kids could relate more to a wider group of people. Being able to communicate with a larger group of people will help broaden their relationships and experiences.

• A second language boosts a child’s self-confidence. No explanation needed there!

• It broadens opportunities for your child, gives him a competitive advantage in school, and sets him/her up for career success. Now who doesn’t want that?

• It increases your child’s cognitive abilities.

• Start with the alphabet and numbers.

For learning the very basics, you can try some fun activities such as:

A. Sing along to the French ABC song.

B. Play ABC Bingo. 

To do it, prepare a card with 16 squares. Each square would have a different letter. Pick out a letter from an envelope and the child would cross all the mentioned letters from his card.

C. Devise some fun counting games that you could play: 

Count the number of items in the house (how many chairs/ pillows/ toys/ windows, etc.), play Price is Right with your child (think of a number and ask him/her to guess!)

• Introduce simple vocabulary and make it fun!

Start with fun vocabulary that your kids would enjoy such as shapes, animals, colors, common objects, parts of the house, fruits and veggies.  

You can also:

• Label simple objects around the house with French words.
• Draw shapes together and learn the French words for each.
• Work on a coloring book together and use the French words for the names of colors.
• Color-code objects around the house to indicate their noun genders (blue or green for masculine words and pink or yellow for feminine words).
• Use flashcard apps on iOS or Android such as French Baby Flash Cards.
• Make your own flashcards using the complete French vocabulary e-book below.

• Use music.

Music is a great way to have fun while learning a new language. Teach your kids some French nursery rhymes and sing along with them to the tunes! Here’s a playlist you can use (+ use your device as a karaoke!)

• Two words: MOVIE NIGHT!  

Cozy up on the couch with the entire family and watch French movies that are great for children. 

• Comics are a good idea!

Introduce your kids to Asterix and Obelix, Tintin, The Smurfs, and more!

• Watch French cartoons.

There are plenty of sites that offer French cartoons such as Bandgee.com  and Tou. tv Jeunesse.

• Use different types of learning materials that the kids would enjoy.

Here at Talk in French, I have prepared a bunch of materials that would be great for your kids. The following e-books with audio would surely help:

a. French Storybook with Audio

This bilingual picture storybook is great for young children. Full of visuals that your kids would love, the story, “Where’s My Ball?” features vocabulary to help kids learn basic words like shapes, sizes, colors, as well as how to introduce themselves—in both English and French.

b. Bedtime stories with audio

Each e-book in this 3-volume comes with 10 short stories that are great for children and are written in parallel text in both French and English. Perfect not just for bedtime but for any time of the day. The best part? It comes with audio recorded in both French and English. You and your child can listen to this together at bedtime!

c. French Fairy tales

Read and listen to 10 fairy tales you know and love–written and recorded in both French and English!