French for Kids

 

Introducing Ana Lomba’s  “French for Kids” Classic E-Storybooks. Ana is a Parents’ Choice Award winning author and nationally recognized leading educator teaching kids languages since 1997.
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IT MAY BE unintuitive – specially if you don’t speak French – but one of the fastest ways to help your kids (and yourself) build fluency in French is to read aloud in French. Yes, you heard it right, IN French! (With some help, of course.)

 

When you read aloud with your children you are setting in motion the four blades of a very powerful “Language Propeller” that will launch your fluency with rocket speed – whoosh!

The Language Propeller is one of the best-kept secrets in language learning, and reading aloud is a great starting point – This is true no matter if you are a native or a beginning level parent or teacher.

But my kids are too young…

EVEN IF your children are still too young to read on their own, they are not too young for YOU to read to them and for them to join in and pretend that they are reading.

When should I start reading aloud to my children in French?

Frankly, from the womb. The earlier, the better.

Reading aloud to your children is one of the best things you can do in early childhood, AND the benefits apply to reading in more than one language as well.

So that’s one fun and easy fluency-building activity that you can do right away: reading aloud with/to your children or students.

Introducing my “French for Kids” Stories to Build Fluency from Day One (For Children Ages 3 and Up)

And now, let me show you a collection of classic stories that I have designed with those of you who want to read aloud to your kids in French in mind. Watch this video of one of the titles to see how the stories work:

BUT there is one more thing you can do while reading a good story together –

Combine Read Aloud with Storytelling and you have a most magical formula to fuel the language propeller.

Storytelling is a strategy that consists in presenting a story in a somewhat theatrical way. It can be as easy as just changing your voice according to the characters, or as fun and multisensory as acting out the story. I personally like experimenting and doing many different things when presenting stories.

So there you go, two fantastic strategies to get you started right-away on the road to high fluency in French.

And now you can get the entire collection of classic bilingual French-English storybooks specifically designed for young children learning languages through read aloud/storytelling for a $7 monthly subscription!

The subscription provides access to the following titles (more titles will be available in the coming months):

• The Red Hen / La Petite Poule Rousse
• Cinderella / Cendrillon
• The Three Little Pigs / Le trois petits cochons
• Jack and the Beanstalk / Jacques et le haricot magique
• Thumbelina / Poucette
• The Ugly Duckling / Le vilain petit canard
• The Goose Game/ El juego de la oca / Le jeu d’oie

Subscribe now
All French for Kids stories for just $7/month.

So after subscribing, what should you focus on?

• Personal interaction. Your child will learn more French by talking and playing with you. [Note: older children and adults can use the stories independently, but I still recommend to have a learning buddy]
• Animate your storytelling sessions. Make pretend voices, act out some parts, wear wigs… make the sessions as animated and lively as possible!
• Use your French! Make the point of using the French that sticks with you (more each time) in your daily conversations with your child. Also, do NOT worry about speaking with perfect grammar and pronunciation. Actual usage is more important at this point.

For even greater results with your French for Kids lessons:

• Play the stories frequently. This is both to train your ear to the flow of real French in action and also to register French grammar, intonation, cultural flair, etc., in your brain (a lot of this process will take place unconsciously!).
• Set personal learning goals. For example, “This week we will learn at least five new expressions.” Challenge yourself as you become more strategic in your learning. It’s a good idea to keep a language-learning journal and look back at all the progress that you have made—don’t forget to pat yourself on the back!

Key Features of Ana Lomba’s Classic Bilingual Stories:

• Voice-over by native French and American actresses for captivating effect and to help you model animated speech.
• Easy toggle functionality between French and English so you can quickly check the meaning if you get lost—you could also alternate reading in the two languages if you so please.
• “Pause” button so you can stop and replay shorter chunks of the text.
• Divided in scenes so that you can concentrate on one section at a time and for easier reenactment.
• Vibrant comic style illustrations, providing strong non-verbal cues to reinforce comprehension and make the experience very enjoyable.
• Tons of everyday language and dialogue at a kid’s level for easy transfer to daily parent-child interaction.

With my portfolio of French-for-Kids e-storybooks, your kids will be on their way to learning fluent French for just $7/month! That’s about the cost of one Starbucks capuccino or one movie rental!

Subscribe now
All French for Kids stories for just $7/month.

P.S.: Reading Aloud and Storytelling – What fun ways to propel your child’s fluency in French from Day One!

P.S.S.: Each story has over 40 pages of conversational French. Your child – and you – will learn to talk with the characters.

P.S.S.S.: Mmm… A Starbucks coffee or hours and hours of playing and having fun with my child in French? Will this coffee bring us a life of adventures, as learning French will?