What is important is that you get involved. This is what will really get your kid's attention. Listen to a French CD and sing up a couple of words, enticing your toddler to do it as well. Sit down with your child while you watch a Disney movie in French and use simple sentences like "regarde! Mowgli mange une banane!" Get up and dance, and repeat “une banane! Une banane!” sing along with the songs, your children will love this special time and will definitely develop an ear for the language -- and associate it with a special bonding time with you.
Classic French tales are a wonderful way to improve upscale vocabulary and tenses - for all ages
At 3 years of age, my daughter had lived all her life in Boston. She spoke English from 9 to 5 at daycare, then French at home. She loved listening to my Fun for All French Tales adaptations and recordings; she seemed mesmerized by my voice and the lively rendition of the tale, and listens to the same tale over and over -- for weeks. Then, when I was telling her the story, she could fill in entire sentences that she had memorized. Now, her teachers in France tell me she is one of the most advanced kids of her class in French. She has a lot of vocabulary, and uses vous really well, as well as complex tenses such as subjunctive. I am convinced this comes from hearing and memorizing the tales.
Computer Games & Software are a fun and efficient introduction to French
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| This is pure fun. The French cartoon host is enticing, the accent legit. It won't create a strong grammatical basis, but it is a fun introduction to French, with lots of songs and games you can print. |
I do like this program a lot. It's well done, with a big booklet that goes with the lessons and can help the parents reinforce the lesson's content, and quizzes. The real actor is a plus since kids love to watch other kids. |
This is the second part of this great program, with older versions of the same characters. Money well spent. |
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CDs can be traditional or modern, and a great way to develop an ear for French pronunciation
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| This is a fantastic tool to introduce French to your kids, with sentences for everyday life situations as well as songs and games. |
This covers the traditional French rhymes, with very nice music and different singers. A plus is that you can sample all the songs on Amazon... |
A fun introduction to French, well done, with age specific songs, and French singers. |
This CD is really well made, with authentic French kids voices, and new rhymes, a more modern approach that Leyla loved. |
Books and bedtime stories are great to bond with you kid in French each day
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| If you are going to read a traditional US bedtime story, why not do it in French? The sentences are short enough, I'm sure you can handle to pronunciation. This is a simple, yet great way to initiate your kid to French. |
This is a fun way to count in French, and learn food items with your kid. Plus children love the format of the book. |
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An old time favorite for my family. I think we own a first edition, and even if the French might be difficult for children, the action takes place in Paris and the drawings are to die for! I LOVE that book, and so did Leyla. If you want, the English version is also available in my Amazon store. |
DVDs with French Audio Tracks: beware of the product description
TV can definitely help. Find movies or shows that contain French language tracks and play them for your kid. Actually, if you want to see results, your kid should ONLY watch TV in French. It’s a good thing that they love repetition at this age - see my tips about pitfalls and bad habits :-)
Finding kid programs in French is not that easy: the Caillou series has French tracks, so do many of the Disney & Dreamworks movies – not all of them do though (Ratatouille doesn’t for example!!) (see my list below).Be careful that not all DVDs actually have French audio tracks even if it does say so on the Amazon web page. We actually own the following DVDs and know that these do indeed have the French track (be aware also that some versions of the same movie might not have the same 'extras' on the DVD so the the original release of the movie and the Special Edition might be different).
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| An absolute classic. The French voices are actually even better than the English ones I think. |
Unlike most sequels, this one is almost as good as the original (different voice cast though) |
Another classic. Be carefull that the witch can be a little scary for the smaller ones. |
We love dogs so this in a big favorite in our house. |
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| Although you can not beat Ellen DeGeneres' voice, the French track is really good too. |
Tinkerbell is gorgeous to watch (kind of unusual for a straight to DVD release) |
Another classic one, Leyla burst out laughing everytime she sees the spaghetti scene! |
Finally some diversity in the Disney "princesses" |
