redsquirrel Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 (edited) Oh dear. I can sort of fake it with Spanish, but I've never taken French. Our local library has Pimsleur The complete course, and it also has Mango for free. My only problem with Mango is that there is no written component. What I really want is something like Lively Latin but in French. So, grammar heavy, written to the student and made for homeschoolers. Lots of chanting of endings are a bonus, lol. I could then supplement with Mango or Pimsleur for the audio component. I just want him to feel free to dabble in this. I'm not sure he wants to work that hard, lol. He's going into 6th grade and he's also a ballet dancer. All of the ballet terms are in french and many of his teachers speak french, so that is where this is coming from. I also know that many of the older dancers in the school take French as their language in school. Any suggestions for curriculum or maybe some workbooks or easy readers that won't feel like a baby book to a 6th grader? I would also be interested in checking out any video classes if you think they are worthwhile. He has a year of Latin and will be continuing with that. ZOMG my public library has 54 pages of 'french language' resources. I have no idea how old most of it is, but there is a lot of it. I had no idea Edited August 11, 2016 by redsquirrel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Try duolingo, maybe? On the computer there is typing required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Duolingo on a iPad or some non computer device Even easier is memrise, less typing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Getting Started With French, but it is soooo rudimentary. Easy to dabble, though, and hits the early grammar stuff. After that, golly, I'll let you know what I find. I have several older textbooks, but they are all meant to be used by a teacher who knows French, so not what you asked for. Duo is great, but gives you barely any grammar support. I've heard good things about YouTube channels, but I haven't gotten to research any yet. I have found a lot more Spanish stuff for homeschoolers than French. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I wish we could swap. I can fake it with French, but my boys want to learn Spanish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I wanted to add that I am comfy with French, but my Spanish is from 4th grade and mostly consisted of colors, body parts, and requests to go to the bathroom. Spanish was very similar in vocab and grammar forms. My biggest hurdle continues to be speaking without things coming out sounding French. (I get the biggest laughs when attempting to use my Spanish conversation skills on natives.) So, you might find that you are more comfy with this than you think since you have the oral component covered. I have not heard great things about Memoria Press's First Start French or I would send you in that direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_Bear Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I have Le Francais Facile. http://www.theeasyfrench.com/ Cathy Duffy reviews it here: http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/foreign-language/french/le-francais-facile-the-easy-french Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted August 12, 2016 Author Share Posted August 12, 2016 I have Le Francais Facile. http://www.theeasyfrench.com/ Cathy Duffy reviews it here: http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/foreign-language/french/le-francais-facile-the-easy-french I saw that, but discounted it because we are not christian. I don't know what 'witnessing vocabulary' is, but I see that it claims to get the student ready to spread the gospel? I don't have a need for that. Is it possible to skip those parts? I have been pretty good at dealing with R&S grammar's heavy handed religion, but that is because I just change the sentences into something dealing with Doctor Who or Hobbit or Star Wars and my kids love it. I don't think I can do that with a language I don't speak, lol. When I look at the table of contents I see that there is regular memorization of bible verses, but that seems to be the most overt religious part. If we skipped those, does that make the program largely secular...or close enough? We do use R&S grammar, so obviously in some things we are able to deal with overtly christian material, but I don't want to have to skip or tweak so much that it feels like we are missing half the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraBeth475 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I'm trying to get my girls to want to study French instead of Spanish. I've taken a few years of French, but can't pronounce a Spanish r for anything. I'll have to try the ballet angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 French Prep, Breaking the Barrier French, French in Action, TV5Monde Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 This link has links for French online http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/605981-teaching-languages-you-dont-speak/?p=6979799 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Here is a link to the new free memrise courses made by the memrise staff. https://blog.memrise.com/2016/06/17/language-learning-for-the-rest-of-us/ It includes actual videos of al people in the various countries saying various phrases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I love Galore books for middle school. I think it's easier to use if you speak French, but I think it should be doable without. French in Action is good, but I would want to have at least 6 months of basics before plunging into it even though it's written for beginners. And stay away from First Start French. It was the most disappointing curriculum I have ever purchased. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 French in Action is good, but I would want to have at least 6 months of basics before plunging into it even though it's written for beginners. What components are necessary for French in Action and where to buy? Amazon was a bit confusing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 What components are necessary for French in Action and where to buy? Amazon was a bit confusing... This is the publisher's site. http://archive.yalebooks.com/fia/ You need all the components - textbook, workbook, aural excercises, and potentially a teacher's manual. You can get video for free online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 We haven't used it for French yet, but my son has had good luck with finding foreign language tutors on italki.com. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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