French for the faint of heart?

[DragonflyAcademy]

I took several years of high school french, my husband also took college level french, in addition to HS french.. but neither of us would be considered fluent or proficient by any stretch..

 

I really really want my kids to take a foreign language.. and since DH and I both are passable at french.. I've chosen french.. 

 

Please tell me your favorite Learn To speak French programs.. Plusses if they are not break the bank $$ (I've got 4 kids that would be using this 3, 6, 8, 12) and great if it is geared to multiple ages.. 

 

Our library has Mango but it is way too fast paced.. and Rosetta didn't mesh well.. again.. seemed very quick and more adult oriented..

 

It is ok if it is mildly christian.. secular is great...

[Julie Smith]

For the most part what we did was get the various stuff from the library and listen along. 

 

Beth Manner's Fun French for kids:

This is a great CD introduction for children who have no experience with the language. It was not a hit with my boys but that was because they were older then recommended when we tired it, and already had a beginner grasp of French. 

http://www.amazon.com/Beth-Manners-Fun-French-Kids/dp/0966287622/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378932772&sr=1-2&keywords=Beth+Manner%27s+Fun

 

Soyons amis: Easy to Learn French Songs for Children

I liked these French songs. The CD goes in a diffeent order then the book. It can be fun for inspiring a desire to learn the langauge. You can find cute youtube videos for some of the songs.

I can't dfind a link to this on amazon. But here is a favorite song from the CD that has been made into a youtube movie.

 

DJ French: 

The target audience is early teens or older, so my kids didn't like it. But it seemed okay. I have it out from the library right now. (Last time I checked it out my kids where maybe 5 and 7)

http://www.amazon.com/DJ-French-Edition-Howard-Beckerman/dp/981246686X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378932882&sr=8-1&keywords=%22DJ+French%22

 

Hear and Say French:

This is a fun unique way to do French. No English is on the CD. Instead you hear a sound such as popcorn popping and are told the word for Popcorn. My boys really liked it when they were 5 and under. Youngest still likes it and we are listening to a section a day. The CD is a little over an hour long

http://www.amazon.com/Hear-Say-French-Learning-Language-Edition/dp/1560156759/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1378932895&sr=8-4&keywords=Hear+and+Say+French

 

Teach me French, Teach me More French, Teach me Even More French:

I recommend any of the above 3 book/CD options if you can get them from your library. My boys were young when they listened to them and would likely be okay to hear the songs again - but I'm done with them.

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-French-Paperback-Audio-Cassette/dp/0934633029/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1378932912&sr=8-7&keywords=Teach+me+French

 

Play and Learn French:

Are currently favorite and what we use when we study french in the morning. The CD has 28 tracks, each track tells 2 stories. I use the word story lightly. It comes with a book that contains the French and English version of all the stories. We will listen to each story three times with me translating every line of French into English. My kids will then act out the story using teddy bears. (I can give a more detailed review of this is needed. If you can get it from your library I highly recommend it.)

http://www.amazon.com/Play-Learn-French-Audio-Edition/dp/0071759247/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378932933&sr=8-1&keywords=Play+and+Learn+French

 

 

PowerGlide French Juniour:

I bought this used for oly 15 dollars. My kids liked it at first, and tolerate it to the end of level 2. I don't recommend buying it unless you can get it used for a price close to what I paid. ... Or better yet from your library. 

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Glide-French-Junior-Additional-Learner/dp/1582042209/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378932950&sr=8-1&keywords=Powerglide+French+Junior

 

ETA: Added links

[Julie Smith]

French on the move for kids:

I really liked this one, espically for in the car learning.

http://www.amazon.com/French-The-Move-Kids-Guide/dp/0071456929/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1378931655&sr=8-2&keywords=French+on+the+move

 

French for children:

Get this or French on the move for kids. Same audio tracks used in many causes. This one is nice because it comes with a book. But we never used it because I quickly realized it was the same as "French on the move for kids". Since the audio CDs are longer I'm guessing they have other stuff. But when we got it we were SO done with "French on the move for kids" we weren't willing to listen to this one to find the new material.

http://www.amazon.com/French-Children-Three-Audio-Edition/dp/0071744975/ref=pd_sim_b_10

 

French with Pim:

Cute Panada teaching French, Good for younger kids, you can find samples on youtube. It was a DVD so not liked at all.

 

Muzzy:

Don't bother getting it unless it's free from your library. It was a DVD program, so not liked at all. (My kids have something against anything on a screen unless it's a non educational computer game that they can play with Daddy. They would rather have a book or audio CD then a DVD)

 

Slangmany Learn French through Fairytales:

I liked these ones. You can check them out in detail online. 

http://www.slangmanpub.com/store.php#!/~/category/id=4548141&offset=0&sort=normal

 

Lyric Language:

My boys really liked listening to this, and even watching the DVD. Mind you this was 5 years ago before they developed a dislike for pretty much anything on a TV. 

 

Easy French Storybook: 

Worth it if you can get it from the library. They have a few of these storybooks.

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-French-Storybook-Chaperon-McGraw-Hills/dp/0071461671/ref=pd_sim_b_4

 

Bonjour Les Amis:

A learning French DVD. Seemed okay, but I never got past 10 minutes of it.

http://www.amazon.com/Bonjour-Les-Amis-Vol-1/dp/B00022XEG8/ref=pd_sim_b_29

 

 

[Julie Smith]

Berlitz Kids: Adventures with Nicholas

My old library had these, so I used them over 3 years ago. I remember liking them a bunch. My currently library only has them in Spanish.

http://www.amazon.com/Five-Crayons-Berlitz-Adventures-Nicholas/dp/9812468285/ref=sr_1_43?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378932459&sr=1-43&keywords=French+learn

 

Sing and Learn French with Professor Toto:

I even bought this, (about 5 years ago before the dislike for anything on a TV). I really liked it except for the Ding. During sections of it the right answer would be given followed by a Ding. I personally found the Ding to loud and by the time I mentally recovered from the Ding they had already said the next word and it woud Ding again.  But then I'm really picky about these things. I do recommend you check it out. 

http://www.amazon.com/Sing-Learn-French-Professor-Toto/dp/0975420542/ref=sr_1_52?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378932526&sr=1-52&keywords=French+learn

 

I Can Read and Speak in French

I got a hold of these 5 years ago. It would have been a perfect fit if I got a hold of it two years ago. You can look at it yourself on amazon. 

http://www.amazon.com/Speak-French-Berenstain-Biblical-Values/dp/0071440461/ref=sr_1_68?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378932643&sr=1-68&keywords=French+learn

 

 

[Julie Smith]

I recently got "Speak in a Week" and thought the fomat would be perfect. The audio CD comes with a little but very thick spiral bond book. But we had other French options and it wasn't picked. 

http://www.amazon.com/Speak-Week-French-Complete-Edition/dp/1591255430/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378932895&sr=8-1&keywords=Hear+and+Say+French

 

 

 

If you like any of the options are thinking of buying them let me know and I can give you a more detailed review. I have (unless otherwise noted) listed to all of them from beginning to end at least once. 

[Momling]

We plan to start Galore Park SYRWL French later on this year.  I have it on the shelf and it looks pretty good for older elementary/middle school/young high school kids.

 

[Roadrunner]

We are using SYRWL French as well. It's not geared at really young kids, but I have been pleasantly surprised at how well my soon to be 7 year old has done. 

You can use this program with the understanding that your younger ones might not be able to do grammar exercises as expected, but with an expectation that good deal of vocabulary will be picked up until they are ready for more formal grammar. Your older kids can use it as written. It's a very solid program, but we also add French phonics (we have an old french textbook for first graders) to make sure they are learning how to read in a systematic way. 

[Julie Smith]

We plan to start Galore Park SYRWL French later on this year.  I have it on the shelf and it looks pretty good for older elementary/middle school/young high school kids.

 

 

We are using SYRWL French as well. It's not geared at really young kids, but I have been pleasantly surprised at how well my soon to be 7 year old has done. 

You can use this program with the understanding that your younger ones might not be able to do grammar exercises as expected, but with an expectation that good deal of vocabulary will be picked up until they are ready for more formal grammar. Your older kids can use it as written. It's a very solid program, but we also add French phonics (we have an old french textbook for first graders) to make sure they are learning how to read in a systematic way. 

 

I want to start SYRWL French. But I'm afaird that with the miss mash of French we have been doing it might not be right for us. 

 

In anticaption of SYRWL French we have been doing extra English grammar. What level of English grammar should a student know to make it easier? 

[Roadrunner]

I want to start SYRWL French. But I'm afaird that with the miss mash of French we have been doing it might not be right for us.

 

In anticaption of SYRWL French we have been doing extra English grammar. What level of English grammar should a student know to make it easier?

I think understanding what is a verb, noun and a pronoun would be good. The way you study grammar for a foreign language is a bit different, so explain as you go. For example, when we learned how to conjugate first group of verbs (ER), I conjugated "eat" in English on the whiteboard and pointed out that other than third person singular, very little changes. Then did the same in French writing endings in red marker. Even my six year old uderstood exactly what I did. So on the surface of it, it looks like good grasp of English grammar should be needed, but in reality you can teach what's needed very easily as you go. Just be prepared to stay longer on a topic with younger ones. We spent an entire week congugating on the whiteboard various ER verbs. And review! Every lesson, we review one thing we already know.

[Laura Corin]

We are using SYRWL French as well. It's not geared at really young kids, but I have been pleasantly surprised at how well my soon to be 7 year old has done. 

You can use this program with the understanding that your younger ones might not be able to do grammar exercises as expected, but with an expectation that good deal of vocabulary will be picked up until they are ready for more formal grammar. Your older kids can use it as written. It's a very solid program, but we also add French phonics (we have an old french textbook for first graders) to make sure they are learning how to read in a systematic way. 

 

I'd be a bit cautious about using it with a range of ages at the same time.  I tried to teach my two boys together - they are about four grades apart - and I couldn't get the pace right.  Either it was too fast for Hobbes and he was frustrated by not really understanding, or it was too slow for Calvin and he was bored.  I finally split them up and took Hobbes back to the beginning of the book.

 

L

[Roadrunner]

I'd be a bit cautious about using it with a range of ages at the same time. I tried to teach my two boys together - they are about four grades apart - and I couldn't get the pace right. Either it was too fast for Hobbes and he was frustrated by not really understanding, or it was too slow for Calvin and he was bored. I finally split them up and took Hobbes back to the beginning of the book.

 

L

That would have been true for any curriculum though. Four years is a big gap.

 

In OP's case, no one program cab be done perfectly with12 and 6 year olds together, but the six year old will learn a lot even if instruction is geared at the older sibling. Ideally I would sign up a 12 year old for an online class and teach 8 and 6 year olds together.

 

We spend 45 minutes to an hour on French every day, so there is no way I can carve out another hour to split them apart (and luckily I don't seem to need it so far).

[DragonflyAcademy]

Thanks, I was able to find a few through our library....

[DragonflyAcademy]

Sorry, double post..

 

Interesting that I could find a whole lot of french resources on my library website if I put in specific titles.. but just searching for "french" or "learn french" in subject area didn't give me much

 

thanks! I have a  bunch of stuff on the way from the library

[DragonflyAcademy]

Where does one get the French 1 set for Galore Park SYRWL

[Roadrunner]

Bookdepository.com they are UK based and ship free to the US. You can also get it from Horrible Books.

[Julie Smith]

Sorry, double post..

 

Interesting that I could find a whole lot of french resources on my library website if I put in specific titles.. but just searching for "french" or "learn french" in subject area didn't give me much

 

thanks! I have a  bunch of stuff on the way from the library

 

Same also happens to me. Or I get thousands of hits including French style cooking books....

 

One other options is look on amazon and make a list of anything you find acceptable, then look for those titles on amazon. I always try to have two learning french audio things out at a time. One for daytime use during school and one to listen to for ten minutes before bed. 

[DragonflyAcademy]

Thank you everyone!!