When Parker was just learning to talk, we had a real squabble about the French word for a banana. I was consistently introducing French words into our conversations, and he wanted a banana. As I handed him the banana, I said “C’est une banane. Une banane.”
He looked at me and said “nana.”
I smiled, withdrew the banana and repeated “une banane.” This repetition consistently worked just fine to encourage the other children to repeat the French word correctly.
“Nana.”
“Banane.”
By now, Parker really wanted that banana. He leaned forward in his highchair, reached out with both hands and quite firmly said “nana.”
I gave him the banana, with a final “C’est une banane.”
About 6 years later, we still laugh about this story. He insists that a banana is a “nana” in any language. Sometimes an eight-year-old’s logic just wins.
In case it isn’t obvious yet, I have a confession to make. I am a self-professed, passionate Francophile. I love all things French. It was my favorite class in high school. I majored in French language and education in college, and I went on to undertake a master’s degree in French education. I taught French to high school students for several years.
When my twin grandsons Jackson and Wyatt were born, their parents and I decided I would speak French to the babies. The boys would call me “MieMie,” somewhat closer to a French moniker for “Grandma.”
My personal and professional background clearly gave me a leg up, so to speak, when committing to teach my grandchildren French language and culture. Beyond my own family, my passion and training also drive me to encourage an appreciation of this beautiful language to as many other people as I can. I’m kind of a self-appointed ambassador for franco-american relations!
I will regularly post tips and ideas that can be applied by anyone to any language or culture. If you are lucky enough to have a family member who speaks another language and wants to share that language with your children, you can replicate how we made this work in our family.
It was convenient and effective for me as the grandparent to create a routine outside the children’s normal life to speak French when they were with me. If you speak another language, but you want the majority of your communications with the children to be in English, you might designate a specific day or a certain room in the house where you always speak the second language. A friend of mine whose own family spoke Spanish, but English was the main language with her husband and children, always spoke Spanish to her children in the kitchen.
If you don’t have the ability or resource to turn to, you could decide to learn another language together with your children, possibly for upcoming travels or to tap into your family heritage. I will share some convenient and child-focused online resources at the end of this blog that often include French and English text. I’m sure similar resources are available in other languages, as well.
I think the most important factor is that you are able to commit to the learning and be consistent. Their little minds are like sponges at this point, and they will learn whatever you share.
In the beginning, I sang French lullabies and read French children books. I found several children’s songs online and learned to sing them. They still want me to sing their favorites when they spend the night at my house.
They have learned a lot of French without even knowing they were learning. Moon, star, sky, sunshine, happy, love and the alphabet are sung in many nursery songs. Children learn the words to songs easily, and the words become part of their vocabulary.
As they got a little older and began speaking, everything was a French lesson. Parker and I once spontaneously made up a silly song about how to eat a pear: Should we eat it like an apple or like an orange or a banana? A lot of laughter and a solid moment of learning the French words for pear, apple, orange and banana, as well as to eat.
An easy goal is to have the children learn simple, common words. Memory card games are popular before they can read. I found some French memory cards online, and they loved playing this. The little ones can actively play this game, just have them repeat the words as they find the pairs.
Even as they get older, we continue to play this game, and I’ve added the step to say a sentence about the pictures they turn over. It can get pretty funny with the 10-year-olds as the cats start eating the bananas, or the butterfly put on the boots.
One lesson I have learned with my grandkids that would apply to most other languages is to be sure to teach the gender of the word as they learn the word. It makes it much easier to understand intuitively this concept, which is unknown to English speakers, if they initially learn that it’s “la grenouille” and “le crayon.”
Single word board books provide a fun visual introduction to help your little one learn simple vocabulary. They will love learning to “read” French! I found these online also. The books also come in red and yellow versions.
Common everyday activities provide great opportunities to learn new words. A trip to the grocery store can be a search to find “des bananes,” “du lait” or “du pain.” A visit to the zoo includes looking at “les giraffes,” “les éléphants” or “le lion.” A drive in the car involves looking for things that are “rouge,” “bleu” or “blanc.” You can count “un, deux, trois” as they walk up steps.
That’s already a lot of simple words that make a good foundation for language skills. If you are also working on learning the language at the same that you are teaching your children, you can look up maybe 10 new words for your outing and you can all practice them together.
My grandkids love to play games and compete with each other. I think this is pretty common among siblings and cousins at this age. Jackson and Wyatt enjoyed going on outings on Saturday mornings and a popular destination was the bird sanctuary to see the eagles, owls and bats. A large painting on a wooden fence showed a bird’s beak, head and claws. That became a quick challenge to see who could be the first to touch “le bec de l’oiseau” (the bird’s beak).
Of course, from my perspective, they had to know what “le bec de l’oiseau” meant before they could be the first to touch it. They also counted the bunny rabbits and the snakes. These fun activities can be replicated anywhere. They are suddenly learning when they just think they are racing each other to win a challenge!
Teaching your young children a second language can seem daunting. I always find the first step for any big project to be the hardest. Set some goals. Why is the language important to you? Do you have some natural resources to tap into? Can you manage taking baby steps to lay some foundations in the target language?
I will continue this topic in future blogs to help you along this journey.
Here are links to some of our favorite songs, with the French lyrics on the screen (sometimes in English, too):
Au Clair de La Lune (a bit harder to learn, but the favorite and always ended up with the kids asleep!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLG_NRmCyQA
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ebisolg-00
Frère Jacques: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI0abuwq31g
Itsy Bitsy Spider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuAa-7HeR4Q
Row Row Your Boat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez5IBFvmnAw
You Are My Sunshine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be4ii19yaH0
My grandkids and I absolutely love Alain Le Lait’s videos. Here are a couple:
Counting 1 to 20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsEz58BblMY
Greetings: In French: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY0Uc7-loC0
In English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eECBSFwNtp0
This was very interesting and has so many good ideas that many parents and grandparents could use! You’ve given so many easy sites to find help on the internet! Thank you!
Thank You!