French Curriculum for.......

[Gretchen in NJ]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a French Curriculum for someone to teach her dds to speak French along with herself?

 

 

Gretchen

[GailV]

Ooooh, I was thinking about posting this question myself.

 

What ages are your dds? Mine is 8. And I do NOT know French, so something that involves me modeling correct pronunciation isn't going to work.

[Cornerstone Classical]

Jessica from Trivium Academy is teaching her dd french and raves about her curriculum choice. You can find out more about it by going to her blog

 

www.triviumacademy.blogspot.com

 

she has it listed on the right side bar...

[Melissa B]

Memoria Press and Galore Park both have good beginner programs.

[LadyAberlin]

What about The Easy French?

[Sarah CB]

Our family is using two different levels of The Easy French this year. Dd (12) is using level 1B (8th grade) on her own. It's set up really well for an independent student and includes grammar, culture, and conversation.

 

I really appreciate the Charlotte Mason approach to learning a second language. There is a big emphasis on listening to the CDs, on carrying what is learned into everyday life, and on enjoying the process.

 

I'm using The Easy French Jr. with my little guys (ages 5 and 7). I love that it's taught us things like how to play hide-and-go-seek in French. They actually use French outside of our French lessons.

 

The Easy French is really easy to use and promotes an understanding of French that goes beyond being able to fill out a page in a workbook.

 

I am also excited by how far it goes. Level 3 will be out soon. This program goes from the very beginning to high school level French. Being from Canada, where we have official languages and one of them is French, it's very important to me that my kids will know French. This program is helping me get there.

 

I have tried a number of different programs and The Easy French is the only one that I've had success implementing in my home.

 

http://www.theeasyfrench.com

 

Sarah

[Leslie in TN]

I would ditto Sarah's comments about The Easy French. Truly being able to speak and use the language is the emphasis in this program, which does not seem to be the case in others out there, strange as that may seem.

 

We also used and enjoyed L'art de Dire, which is a deceptively simple, all-oral program that introduces many beginning French concepts and vocabulary. It was an excellent precursor to The Easy French, and I'm glad we started with it.

 

:001_smile:

[Trivium Academy]

I tried The Easy French and a few other items. What has finally worked for us is Écoutez Parlez! French Oral Program, watching Bonjour Les Amis DVDs, playing games such as LinguaFun French, concentration with French nouns from TeachersDiscovery.com and just consistent practice. For me, nothing has been better than Michel Thomas for oral skills in French and learning the basics of French through reading sources. I can read french better than speak it at this point b/c I've gotten out of the habit of listening to Michel Thomas daily.

 

I do know enough to help dd7 through Écoutez, Parlez! Book 1 though. You can see Ecoutez Parlez at RainbowResource.com

 

Hth

[Gretchen in NJ]

Ooooh, I was thinking about posting this question myself.

 

What ages are your dds? Mine is 8. And I do NOT know French, so something that involves me modeling correct pronunciation isn't going to work.

 

My dds are 10 and 8. My husband speaks French. This was suposed to be his thing, but his last lesson was March 22, 2007.:001_huh: Need I say more.:tongue_smilie:

Gretchen

[GailV]

Not to further highjack Gretchen's thread, but I have more questions on The Easy French:

 

What does your day look like? What about your week? Do you use one lesson per week? Do you do written work with your little ones, or is it all oral?

 

I think there are some sort of phonetic cards so you can learn how the written word is spoken -- something akin to SWR (I know I'm probably botching what these are, but I'm hoping if you're familiar with the program you'll get what I mean) -- do you use those? Would it be better to use those for my own learning, and then not use them directly with a child of 8? My 8yo reads well, btw, so that isn't an issue.

 

My dh took French through high school, so he knows more than I about pronunciation (not setting the bar too high there, as I can't emphasize enough that I know NOTHING about French pronunciation, and tend to stink at my pronunciation of most languages I try -- vocal mimicry isn't my strong point). BUT, I think his involvement would be about like Gretchen's dh, which is to say "not much".

 

My understanding is that Galore Park has very little insofar as audio support. And we've tried Memoria Press products such as Latin, and one of us finds them so soul crushingly boring that she's starting to dread anything from that publisher (that would be me:rolleyes: -- shh, don't tell anyone).

 

I need something that's sort of all-inclusive. I like the concept of pulling together various pieces to make our own customized program, such as Jessica mentions, but the reality is that I'm not going to get around to it. My other dd is studying Spanish (a language I somewhat know) and wants to start Greek (new to all of us), and we're all studying Latin. We are quickly reaching our saturation point on languages.

[danielle]

I certainly hope my book for Memoria, First Start French, isn't soul crushingly boring, but I'm always open to suggestions for revisions in future editions. There is a point, however, where things like foreign language and music require some toil in memorizing and practicing that just isn't the most gripping, albeit essential, education experience. As my daughter says, it isn't much fun memorizing all those words, but it sure was fun being able to talk, read magazines, and watch tv the last time we were in France. And being able to read "Petit Nicholas" has been more than rewarding.

 

The reason First Start French focuses mainly on grammar is that I don't believe that it is possible for a teacher/parent who doesn't speak French to give their child a total immersion experience. However, it IS possible to give the child a very solid introduction to vocabulary and prononciation, and a firm foundation in grammar, which will allow the student to fly once they are mature enough to take advantage of other great programs--like French in Action--that are only suitable for a much more mature learner. In the meantime, students using my program will acquire a store of vocabulary, basic grammar, and a great deal of cultural information (I hope), all at a much more affordable price than other French programs.

 

Would I recommend anything else? Absolutely. First Start French (and most other language programs I've looked at) would benefit by some "real world" experience, both listening and reading. It all depends on how much time and interest you have to give to it. Some people want to spend 45 minutes a day on language and move on to other work, and my book will cover that. For some, language study will be a hobby and FSF (or other program) will be the springboard to much more involvement. This is just great--listen to songs, watch cartoons, read books! You might be interested in an article I wrote for Home Education Magazine about how I worked with my daughter to give her further experience http://homeedmag.com/HEM/244/foreignlanguage.html

 

Language (any language) study so enriches the mind that I wish I could do it all day long! Even a beginning knowledge gives immediate benefits. In addition to French, I've learned a little Japanese (got us through 3 weeks of independent travel in hinterland Japan), Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Latin (a really tough pursuit for me!)--some of these I know and speak better than others (none to real fluency), but all have been worthwhile.

 

Finding materials for the pre-high school crowd is tough. Any one program should be a floor, not a ceiling, to your language study. Begin with a solid program, then supplement it based on your own needs and time. Better to do something than nothing at all.

Danielle

[GailV]

Danielle, I do want to say that I made the "soul crushingly boring" comment in a light-hearted manner -- that's why I used such a wild exaggeration as "soul crushing". After all, it's just curriculum -- it isn't a life or death matter. We tend towards the overly-dramatic in our house in a spirit of fun, complete with wild hand gestures and rolling of eyes, followed by a laugh to indicate we all know we're going over the top. I forget that this doesn't translate well into the world of internet.

 

If you'd like, I'd be happy to edit my comments to delete that remark. I should have said that I seem unequal to using MP products in our home in a way that engages my children.

 

I felt a need to offer this comment and apology publicly. I certainly don't mean to denigrate your product, which I haven't seen or used.

 

I've looked at your French program so very many times, and have been so very tempted by it. I have looked over the samples, and come very near to ordering it more than once.

[melissel]

I'm using The Easy French Jr. with my little guys (ages 5 and 7). I love that it's taught us things like how to play hide-and-go-seek in French. They actually use French outside of our French lessons.

 

Whew, Sarah, thank you for this post! I nearly bought Level 1 yesterday for our first-grade year. It didn't even occur to me to scroll down the list on the Easy French site looking for a lower level, so I never saw the Junior option. I placed my order late last night :D

 

I also bought Ecoutez Parlez, because Jessica's been so vocal about how much she likes it, and one Bonjour Les Amis video, as well as Hop, Skip and Sing French (also both recommended by Jessica) and two other book/CD sets that looked interesting on Amazon. (Can anyone tell I'm really looking forward to starting French? :lol:)

 

Though I have to say that if I had known the author of FSF was a member here, I probably would have started there, darn it :001_unsure:

[Sarah CB]

We've been using The Easy French for two years now and the longer I use it the more I appreciate both the depth of the program and the ease of use.

 

The phonogram cards are French phonograms and make it very easy to learn to read, pronounce, and spell in French. I can't remember when Marie recommends introducing the phonograms - my dd has been using them since she started TEF but I haven't introduced them to my younger boys yet. I had planned on introducing them after we finished the Jr version and moved on to level 1.

 

TEF is very age appropriate and doesn't require writing for younger students. In level 1 there are specific instructions that detail how to go through the program depending on the age of your student. With a younger student, the first year is spent primarily listening to French and then using it in real life situations. Level 1 is meant to be used anywhere from 1 year (for older students) to 3 years (for very young students).

 

The new versons (1A, 1B, 2A, etc.) are designed with the older student in mind (grade 7 and up) and do require writing.

 

I plan on continuing on following the jr level with the original level 1 for my boys (they'll be 8 and 6 when we start level 1). We'll spend two to three years on level 1 and then move on to level 2.

 

My daughter is working her way through level 1B (8th grade) right now and will continue on with the independent version of TEF.

 

I'm relieved to have found a program that is easy to teach for a non-French speaking mom, easy to adapt to different age levels, and is also something that we can use for our entire French education - from kindergarten to high school (well, as soon as level 3 is out anyway: ).

 

I also highly recommend the book The Bilingual Edge. This really helped me to understand what Marie was doing in The Easy French. It explains how to effectively learn a second language and how best to help our kids learn - even if we don't know the language we're teaching. It confirmed my decision to use The Easy French.

[danielle]

Hi Gail:

Please, no need for apologies! I thought it was a pretty funny comment, actually! And, after 6 years of using all kinds of homeschooling materials, boy do I know what you mean. I, too, always have to be careful not to follow my normal, drama-queen tendencies and email is a place where my "humor" has often got me in trouble. Actually, to a writer, negative comments can be as helpful as positive ones. No curriculum will be right for everyone

 

I hope my other comments will be useful to anyone thinking about language study. I am certainly not the last word on language study, just a real enthusiast. I love this board and have learned so much from other peoples' expertise and comments, that I do want to try to be helpful when I have any experience that maybe someone can use.

 

To melissel: I think you probably did the right thing. First Start French is really geared for children at the earliest about 3rd grade level, not really young kids. It's intended for children who are at least nibbling at the logic stage.

Danielle

[Gretchen in NJ]

Danielle,

 

I have just started Prima Latina with my two dds and just love the CD and the pace of the curriculum so far.

 

I had 2 years of French in Action in college and the only thing I remember is how to say "Hello." The classes just went too fast for me. I happen to be clueless when it comes to a foreign language. I am a math geek. I would love to speak French myself also.

Do you think your curriculum would be good for someone like me? Do you have a CD?

 

Thank you,

Gretchen

[Guest]

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