Despite the weirdness of this group of Zebras that walk on 2 legs, I think is is a well constructed story.
I love a cartoon that helps children understand that even if you are friends, everyone is different and has their own reason for doing or not doing something.
Understanding rather than judging and keeping the doors of communication open are the way forward.
Enjoy Zou; here is the link for more Dessin animé Français
I am pleased to announce 2 free rhyme and story sessions coming up soon.
They will both be 30 min long and comprise of songs and stories in
English immediately followed by the French version. Ideal for Children
form 0 to 5 though older children are welcome to join in.
The first will take place on the 19th May at 1.30pm till 2pm
I will be supporting a local Charity on their 10th birthday. As it is hosted in a
farm, I will definitely be singing Old Mc Donald (with a twist) and
other animal songs.
My book will be available and profits from sales go to the charity. I have added the directions information I was sent at the bottom.
The second event will be at Marston's Whichelstowe pub, the Bayberry.
They are hosting a family fun day on the 26th May.
The details of the event have not yet been finalised but, nearer the
time, you be able to find out more about what will be happening
throughout the day, on their Facebook page.
As soon as I have more details about my time slot I will post it on my Bilingual Babies Facebook pageWhatever you decide to do on those days, I hope you enjoy your weekends.
Here is a video I did as taster of what it will be like:
We all know it is hard to take in new information and concentrate when we are stressed, so it is not surprising to us the children are not thriving in schools.
We have been home educating our son for just over a year now. It has taken a lot of the stress out of the leaning process (school runs, deadlines, the stress from the teachers of new targets, etc...not to mention bullying.)
We focus maths and English around his interests and he is so much more engaged and happy. This is because he sees it as fun, not a lesson, something he has to do and complete or else.... as it was in school.
As I know, no one can teach anyone anything, we all just learn things by being exposed to them or because we have an interest in them. We don't teach our babies to walk nor to talk they just learn to do it by exposure. So I have always exposed my son to French, rather than teach it, and this is is how I ended up writing my bilingual book, so as a baby he had the same nursery rhymes in English and French.
Super hero
More recently I have been reading some French children's magazines called Pomme D'api. My son has really taken to the adventures of a little super hero called Sam Sam.
After I noticed there was a link to one of songs in the story and seen seen the cartoons, he now wants to watch one every night, as part of his bed time routine. Along with the the other stories in the magazine of course. From my point of view the more he want the better, so I am happy.
This makes exposing him to French so easy and fun for both of us.
Here is a link to one of the many Sam Sam you can find on Youtube
This is organised by Swindon Film Society and this year, 2017 is their 70th anniversary.
The French film is called Frantz will be on 20th Sept at 7.45pm
This is a period war drama, loosely based on the 1932 Ernst Lubitsch drama Broken Lullaby. It tells the story of a German woman grieving the death of her lover in World War I. She is shocked when his grave is visited by a Frenchman claiming he was friends with her beloved before the war.
You can get all the details about all the international films they will be showing this year, on their website, starting with a Spanish one on the 13th Sept 2017. Il y a un film Francais le 20 Sept a 7.45 Swindon Arts Centre Pour plus d'information sur les films internationaux: swindonfilm.org.uk
Listening and understanding is the first stage in being able to speak a language. This is how any child learns, yet when you learn in a school you have to be able to read, write and speak it grammatically correctly from day one. It is not surprising that so many people give up because they say it is hard. It is, when you attempt to learn a language that way.
Have fun
Do something enjoyable, listen and forget about getting it right, you might just enjoy having a coffee and a cake. It seems to be what is group is about. They have a list of meetings on different days and palaces so you can choose what suits you.
The session begins with some play time (approx 45min)- colouring,
puzzles, watching a short cartoon in French if it is raining, followed
by approx 40 min of bilingual songs and stories some taken from my book (see video below).
Though theses sessions are offered free, a donation would be appreciated Places are limited so booking is essential please book seats
per child. (You will not need to print the ticket, I will have your name
on the list of attendees). Free parking in the street and surrounding ones.
Please ring the bell on the gate.
In April we had fun with dominos
Here is a fun French springtime song to get everyone in a good mood.
Spring is le printemps. C'est le printemps means it's springtime. Temps means time as in a duration (do we have time to do this) not a specific time (what time is it).
Come and have some fun play in the garden if it's nice weather, do some colouring, watch a French cartoon, listen to stories,
sing
and discover some well known English nursery rhymes and how you can sing them in French.
No knowledge of French necessary!
There will be time for colouring and puzzles and for parents to chat in
French or listen for approx. 45 min followed by approx. 35 min songs and
stories.
Adults get to get conversation practice or improve their listening comprehension while the children are playing.
Venue: 5 Bibury Road, Old Walcot, SN3 1DD Date:
Saturday 21st Nov 2015 4pm to 5.30pm Book here
More dates will be available in 2016 (about once a month) Cost: Free though a donation is appreciated
Paces are limited so please book so I know how many children to prepare for. Thank you.
As the children built a 'tent', I decided it would be good to read: 'Titou construit sa maison'.
Les enfants on construit une 'tent', alors j'ai lu 'Titou construit sa maison'.
Can I go in your tent!
We saw spiders in the garden so we sang incy wincy spider/ la toute petite araignée (my own translation of the song) and there's a spider on the floor/ il y a une araignée sur le sol (also my own translation)
Nous avons vu des araignée dans le jardin alors nous avons chanté incy wincy spider/ la toute petite araignée (ma traduction) and there's a spider on the floor/ il y a une araignée sur le sol (aussi ma traduction)
Come and join the fun with Virginie to sing and copy actions of your traditional songs (head shoulder knees and toes; row row your boat, if you happy and you know and much more) in French. All children 0-5 years old welcome!
Please book for this free event at virginie@fun-french-learning.fr or 07423065957
As Stephen R. Covey says in 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People "Seek first to understand, then to be
understood."
So often people mention to me how they are
so bad at another language because they can’t speak it.Often when learning French, for example, at
school as a second language, you are expected to understand what is being said,
be able to reply and get the answer grammatically correct!This can make learning a language
frustrating, difficult and at worst make you feel like you can’t do it, you
haven’t got the ‘language gene’ and unfortunately put you off learning a
language all together!
Understanding is everything!
Simply understanding that the natural
process in learning a language is to understand it rather than trying to speak
it, can help release all that stress and tension related to learning a
language.Babies understand their mother tongue long
before thy can speak. A one year old can respond to commands like show me the
blue ball, yet is only making da, ma, gaga sounds.
Exposure
Through being exposed to nursery
rhymes, conversations, stories, songs, babies understand what is going on
around them and will be able to distinguish different languages even if they
don’t know what they are called – English-French-Spanish.They will also get a grasp of some of the
grammar without learning textbook grammar.
Confidence
You will feel more confident that you can learn
a language if you are exposed to it in the same way a baby does, lots of
repetition and easy things.Then you
develop vocabulary, put words together like milk-more then begin to put
sentences together could I have more milk please. It takes babies 3 years to
get to this stage so be kind to yourself and anyone learning a language! This is the process I am using to teach my son French and some Spanish. I use the same principles in my sessions and classes to teach French to English children though nursery rhymes they already understand.
As a bilingual mother (French-English) I was keen for my son to learn French too. I had learned a lot of English nursery rhymes during story time at our local library and searched on the net for the words of the few French nursery rhymes I could remember from my childhood. However I found some of the French nursery rhymes were not sending the right educational message, some being rather cruel, others encouraging to eat sweets for example.
A change of tune
Our son loved the melody of twinkle, twinkle little star. However I did not like words the words of the French version; 'Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman
Ce qui cause mon tourment ?
Papa veut que je raisonne
Comme une grande personne
Moi je dis que les bonbons
Valent mieux que la raison'.
Oh let me tell you mummy what is causing my torment Daddy wants me to reason like a big person I say that sweets Are better than reason.
One day
I wondered whether I could translate the English version of twinkle twinkle little star into French, whilst keeping the rhyme, the meaning and the melody. This would mean I could effectively sing the same song in English and in French. To my amazement it worked, so I kept going with other well known English nursery rhymes which I liked. While researching the English nursery rhymes on the web, I discovered some had more verses than were usually sung. To me this made singing them more interesting, though more challenging to translate so all the more exciting when it worked.
In the end
As a volunteer at my local Children's centre I was 'testing' the songs out on the children there during sessions called rhymes from around the world. This encouraged me to translate more and eventually I ended up with 14. At which point I thought it was worth compiling the rhymes into a book with CD. It then occurred to me that I could use these songs to help children learn French in Nurseries, pre-schools and reception year of primary schools. I set about running a session at my son's pre-school 'Shining stars'. It was such success they want more. If you are interested in hosting a bilingual 30 to 45 min songs and rhyme session then please get tin touch.
Many
people over the years have asked me whether I think in French or in English. The
answer is always the same, I don't think in any language, I just think
and it comes out in the language the the person speaking to me
understand. Sometime English sometimes French and sometimes both
together -which we called Franglais at home!
Just as English
speakers are not aware of thinking in English before answering a
question, a bilingual brain just processes the information in whatever
form is needed then conveys the message.
It is very different if you
learn a language as a second language at school. Mostly because the way
of learning is different. At school it is based on translation,
grammar and remembering what the words and rules are rather than knowing
them because you learned them in context like you learned your mother
tongue.
This is what prompted me to translate English nursery rhymes into
French for my son and now run groups/classes as above, using those songs and will
have an accompanying book/CD ready next year.
Unless you learn with Michel Thomas- who teaches in yet a different way but is still based on knowing 1 language first. https://www.michelthomas.com
