Speaking more French: little reminders

At church on Sunday, I saw a woman who is originally from Switzerland, and French is her native language. We have an understanding that she will speak French to me when she sees me, provided I can keep up. She often gives up on me, though. My comprehension far exceeds my production.

But I can speak, if given a little time to work out what it is I want to say. Sometimes I can't say the exact thing I intend, but I can think of an alternate way to get the same message across. On Sunday, I initiated conversation by saying (en Francais) "The sun is beautiful today, isn't it?" and she said "Yes, the spring is coming soon." In response, I chickened out and said in English, "We can hope." A moment later I realized I know exactly how to make that same response in French. I kicked myself, a bit, went back to her, and said, "Non, nous pouvons esperer." She looked a little startled, then smiled.

But it pointed out to me something I already know to be true about myself. I know more French than I make myself speak. But how to get it out? Honestly, it's a whole lot easier to speak in English. And the pace of homeschooling and keeping up with three kids under six is enough for any given day without adding something extra!

But I have begun to discover a few tricks. First, if we start the day in French, it's more natural to keep it going in French. To my shame, it's often my daughter (4) who initiates the switch. She's taken to calling me "Maman" instead of Mommy or Mama. That's often enough reminder for me to respond in kind. And although I despise TV in general, watching TV in French doesn't seem to have the same mind-numbing effect on my children, and starting the day with a French video can be just the thing to spur us to more Francais in the day.

We've also purchased French CDs--both the nursery rhyme/fingerplay variety and contemporary music. That helps set the tone, too.

I've noticed, too, that we speak more French after they've done their lessons, or during and after I'm doing mine. Mine are on MP3, and I'll listen to them while I'm in the kitchen, cleaning or preparing meals--with numerous interruptions, of course.

The other thing that's helped tremendously is learning the French that corresponds with a time of day--breakfast for example. Learning to set the table in French or have a bath using French words, for example, can mean that that ritual is done in French each time.

Naturally, we still slip and speak English when we could be speaking French, and I sometimes wonder if we'll ever really be bilingual, but we're working on it. The key is definitely a little French--somehow, someway--every day.

Site highlight: French fun

Here's an adorable--and really fun--site for learning French. It's called "French Fun," and it's a Blog Talk Radio broadcast created by Kelly Robic--an expatriate American living in France--and her son, Alex who teach French vocabulary lessons in 15-minute segments. It's designed for children 4-10.

Kelly leads Alex through teaching the lessons--and because it's Blog Talk Radio, you can hear the lessons! Alex has native pronunciation of French, and they do themed lessons. Recently, they did a lesson on love and Valentine's Day. Check it out!

Note: The broadcast starts with a brief, but somewhat annoying commercial, after which the broadcast begins. Just like TV, the commercial is several times louder than the rest of the broadcast. Also, note that the broadcast "loops." When it's finished, it will start all over again unless you close the site or navigate away from it.

French with children: winter weather

In Toronto, where we live, we've had one heck of a winter--the most snow I can remember in a winter for a long, long time. So I thought it might be appropriate to discuss some winter weather vocabulary:

What is the weather like today? Quel temps fait-il aujourd'hui?
Let's see what the weather is like today. Voyons quel temps il fait aujourd'hui.
It's cold/It's so cold/It's very cold/How cold it is!: Il fait froid/Il fait si froid/Il fait très froid/Comme il fait froid.

It's snowing. Il neige.
a snowstorm - une tempête de neige
snowman - un bonhomme de neige
two snowmen - deux bonshomme de neige
make a snowman - faire un bonhomme de neige
snowball - une boule de neige
make a snowball - faire une boule de neige
throw the ball - lance la boule
outside - dehors
winter - l'hiver

I put on (clothes)... Je mets...
Par example, Je mets mon manteau.

I take off (clothes)... J'enlève...
Par example, J'enlève mon bonnet.

(winter) hat - un bonnet
coat - manteau
gloves - une paire de gants
scarf - écharpe
boots - des bottes

fun & games

One of the things I know to "work" in language learning because of my experiences teaching English as a second language, is games. The problem is, when I taught English, it was relatively easy to find innumerable books full of suggestions for games and activities for the language classroom.

It seems that in the field of French as a second language teaching, it's not so easy. I've found a number of resources available in the UK, but with their price and shipping costs...well, I'm still looking for other alternatives.

I spent some time in the Modern Language collection of the local university library, and found some fantastic ESL-type activities that would be easily adapted for use in our home, with French.

In the meantime, here's a game Pierre introduced the other day. He and I taught the names of six objects. We used a candy (un bonbon), a pen (un stylo), a key (une cl), a ticket (un billet), some money (d'argent), and one other item I can't seem to think of at the moment. We also had a paper bag (un sac). The kids took turns hiding an object in the paper bag and the rest of us (including Pierre) had to guess what was in the bag by asking questions. For example, "As tu un stylo dans le sac?"

French with children: Nighttime

This will be a regular feature on this blog. I hope to pass on individual vocabulary words, but also phrases and sentences. We hope to be joined soon by an expert who can teach us even more:

Goodnight: Bonne nuit
Let's go to your bedroom: Allons dans ta chambre.
pyjamas: un pyjama
Put on your pyjamas: Mets ton pyjama.
First one arm and then the other: D'abord une bras et puis l'autre.
Go pee pee: Fais pipi
Let's go to the bathroom and brush your teeth: Allons dans la salle de bains et brossons tes dents.
Climb into bed: Grimpe dans ton lit.
Give me a goodnight kiss: Fais-moi un bisou pour la nuit.
Pacifier: une sucette, une tétine, une tutute
Here, take it: Tiens, prend-la.

If you'd like to try a French lullaby, here's a link to the sound file and lyrics for one:

http://www.mamalisa.com/blog/?p=31

If you have any corrections or additions (French isn't spoken the same way everywhere!) or any requests for a future vocabulary/phrase feature, please leave a comment.

Bonne nuit!