French

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Waiting_For_Godot
Posts: 1446
Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:57 pm

French

Post by Waiting_For_Godot »

I may have asked this before so apologies if this is a repeat question.

I taught my son to read fluently at a very young age using the (ever so boring) Peter and Jane books. I'm wondering if there is a similar series of books made in France to teach children to read - so not French to teach English students but specifically to teach French children to read French. I feel this is going to be one of the best ways to ingrain the language into DS2 as it suits his learning style, and I'm sure it will help me too! I do intend to use other learning materials for this subject but I am specifically trying to search for something along the lines of what I've described above.
goinggetstough
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:54 pm

Re: French

Post by goinggetstough »

We used french children's magazines. http://www.frenchmagforkids.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The J'aime Lire series were reasonably interesting on the content front, but my children were 8/9 when we started. We finished with the Geo Ado which was more like Junior Geographic..
Bonne Chance! :D
Waiting_For_Godot
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Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:57 pm

Re: French

Post by Waiting_For_Godot »

Thanks although I'm not sure it's quite what I'm looking for. I've found Gafi Raconte books but the initial levels seem too hard.
moved
Posts: 3826
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: French

Post by moved »

Dc learnt to read using ratus and the cahier du jour, cahier du soir books.
JaneEyre
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Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 1:04 pm

Re: French

Post by JaneEyre »

Hi WFG, :D

Mine used ‘Lire au CP – Le nouveau fil des mots’ (set of two books), which is based on two characters, Sophie and Julien.

http://www.amazon.fr/nouveau-fil-mots-l ... cr_pr_pb_t" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.amazon.fr/Nouveau-fil-mots-l ... gy_b_img_b" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are also activity books but you won’t need these as there is no point for your DS to learn to write French with the French cursive writing.

If you send me your email address by pm, I could scan you a few pages and send them to you so that you get a better idea of these books (but only next week, once the holidays are over and I have more time on my hands).

Good luck to your DS for his French studies! :D I hope he’ll enjoy them! :wink:
JaneEyre
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Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 1:04 pm

Re: French

Post by JaneEyre »

Just saw the comments on the first book
http://www.amazon.fr/product-reviews/20 ... ewpoints=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and the last comment made me laugh ('Une méthode qui se dit mixte mais qui est, dès le départ, portée sur le global alors que nous en sommes à la syllabique')..! Always this debate about which is the best method to learn how to read :lol: :lol: ... a bit like you have here in the UK about using phonics, or the Oxford tree books with Biff and Chip or the Ladybird books with Peter and Jane , or any other methods for reception class! :lol: :lol: :lol: Maybe such debates exist in many many countries?? :roll:

So I add that I did a bit of 'methode syllabique' with my DC, using a book that is not in the shops (for her French studies, DC 1 followed a course by correspondance from 5 years old till she joined a French school when she was 7-8. But despite that , I also used with her 'Le fil des mots' as they are nice and were complementing well her course. These books were used in the French schools in the two different countries where I lived in those foregone years).

For DC2, I used mainly 'Le fil des mots' and just added a few exercises about syllables.

I have heard about Ratus but I never had the chance to browse those books. Is it more a 'global method' or a 'syllabic one'?
moved
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Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: French

Post by moved »

Mine learnt to read French phonetically as the language lends itself well to this method. Silent letters had a dot underneath and liaisons had a slur mark underneath. Words are broken into syllables with counting on the arm for each syllable. Mix that with learning poetry by rote on a weekly basis. Dc could read French fluently long before they had a clue what it meant!
Waiting_For_Godot
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Re: French

Post by Waiting_For_Godot »

The current plan from September is to get 3 hours of 1-1 tuition per week, some Rosetta Stone (I already have it so it would only be as an "extra") and at some point some intensive immersion courses in the holidays. If anyone else can advise on a good method for an 11 year old then I'd love to know as I'm venturing into the unknown here!
JaneEyre
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Re: French

Post by JaneEyre »

moved wrote:Mine learnt to read French phonetically as the language lends itself well to this method. Silent letters had a dot underneath and liaisons had a slur mark underneath. Words are broken into syllables with counting on the arm for each syllable.
Hi moved,

I think I found the title you are talking about. Is it that one?
http://www.amazon.fr/Ratus-ses-amis-CP- ... cr_pr_pb_t" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is a syllabic method, not a 'global' one. Yes, it does have all its interest for learning to read French and is widely used in schools in France today as it seems that nowadays, the fashion is more for 'syllabic methods'.

I have no clue which one would be the more appropriate for WFG's DC, bearing in mind that 'Le fil des mots' is more like the Ladybird serie with Peter and Jane ('global method', sorry for using a French terminology :oops: )!
Waiting_For_Godot wrote:The current plan from September is to get 3 hours of 1-1 tuition per week, some Rosetta Stone (I already have it so it would only be as an "extra") and at some point some intensive immersion courses in the holidays. If anyone else can advise on a good method for an 11 year old then I'd love to know as I'm venturing into the unknown here!
Usually, for teenagers in school in UK, the method would habe the aim to teach the pupils how to communicate in the day-to day life in France... I imagine that's what you are getting with the Rosetta stone.

But I do totally understand your need to 'go deeper' and trying to see how French children learn how to read as the approach is different. It might be a good complement and I am interested in what you'll find appropriate for your DS, bearing in mind that what suit a child may not suit another child.
moved wrote:Mix that with learning poetry by rote on a weekly basis. Dc could read French fluently long before they had a clue what it meant!
You remind me my schooldays, moved!!! and all the poems by Lafontaine!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: Did your children enjoy learning these even if they did not understand a clue?? :?:

I am glad you had the idea of presenting poems to learn by rote to your children. I haven't seen that being done in the UK, except for a competition a few years ago shown on TV (maybe BBC?). Learning poems makes the child work on his diction, his intonation, his memory, etc.
Do primary school children learn poems in private school in the UK? It doesn't seem to be a current practise in state schools. :cry:

WFG, songs can be also a fun way to learn a bit of a language...
Did you feel that your DS1 made lots of progress after his immersion in France last year? Does he like learning French or does he hate it?

If he is really advanced, there is a magazine that I really like (for 'French' children age 8 to 12):
Je lis des histoires vraies
They are all about historical events or famous people, not 'sillly' stories. However, your child will need a excellent grasp of French to be able to read these. Here is one magazine to browse (click on the left bottom corner to turn the pages):
http://www.fleuruspresse.fr/images/swf/8/appli.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On an easier level, my husband knows somebody who came study in France at university while not knowing anything in French before coming into that country. So he spent one or two years learning French and he told my DH that he found reading the comics 'Tintin' an excellent tool to progress.

Oh dear, that's it!! you have launch me to talk about books, my passion!! :lol: :lol:
Moved, did you DC watched the serie 'Loulou de Montmartre' last autumn on TiVi5 ? My 10 year old DS just saw a few episodes but his interest was aroused and he just received the first seven books as a present from his French auties, grandma, great-grandma. He's devouring them!!! I expected to help him as I know that there are phrases or vocab he doesn't know but he is so much engrossed that he doesn't wait for me!!! He is already reading the third book without me having stepped in!!
http://www.amazon.fr/Loulou-Montmartre- ... 071&sr=1-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The writing is quite large and there are couloured pictures on evey double page or sometimes each page... so the text is not too compact. But that might be too easy for your DC if they are all in secondary school now.
Last edited by JaneEyre on Mon Apr 09, 2012 1:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
KS10
Posts: 2516
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:39 am

Re: French

Post by KS10 »

Moved, did you DC watched the serie 'Loulou de Montmartre' last autumn on TiVi5 ? My 10 year old DS just saw a few episodes but his interest was aroused and he just received the first seven books as a present from his French auties, grandma, great-grandma. He's devouring them!!! I expected to help him as I know that there are phrases or vocab he doesn't know but he is so much engrossed that he doesn't wait for me!!! He is already reading the third book without me having stepped in!!
And before you know it he will be reading Les liaisons dangereuses and Les infortunes de la vertu! :wink:
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