How To Teach Your Kids French At Home

Are you wondering how to teach your child French at home? Perhaps you want to help your kids with their French schoolwork , or maybe you are just wise to the many benefits of learning a second language. No matter what your reasons, this article will help you raise your son or daughter bilingual.

The great news about starting your child off on the path to mastering French is that kids are already natural language acquirers. Unlike adults, they can pick up a language without much conscious effort.

I’m an elementary school French teacher – and teaching my students at school, as well as my own 4 children, how to speak French is a huge part of my life.

One thing I’ve learned, is that early French language teaching needs to consider the learning styles and behaviors of kids. With that in mind, I’ve created this list of my personal best tips for teaching children French at home.

Here are some tested and proven strategies to successfully teach the language of love to your child.

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Reasons To Teach Your Kids French

Not only is French the official language of the United Nations and the Olympics, but some studies predict that it will be the most widely spoken language in the world by 2050.

There are many benefits to being bilingual, but here are my top reasons for helping your child learn French.

• Children’s brains acquire a new language naturally, so it will be easier for your child to learn French while he/she is young.
• It will help them to appreciate French culture and inspire an interest in world travel.
• It’s a nice opportunity to spend time together – whether you already parlez-français or you’re planning to learn together, language learning is a priceless bonding experience.
• Emotional intelligence -studies show that bilingual children have more empathy and a higher EQ!
• Knowing a second language boosts a child’s self confidence.
• Opens the door for more future career opportunities and a higher paying job.
• The cognitive benefits of learning a language have a direct impact on a child’s academics – bilingual kids have improved reading, writing, and math skills, and score higher on standardized tests.

Now that you’re hopefully sold on raising your petit ange bilingual, let’s see how you can accomplish this goal.

Related Article: Best Canadian Curriculum Resources For Home Learning

How to Teach Your Kids French

The key to teaching your kids French at home is to be consistent, practice in short bursts of time (10-20 minutes), and make it an enjoyable experience for both of you.

Here are some ideas to bring French into your lives:

1. Make It Fun

Keep it simple and make it fun. Having a plan for which topics and vocabulary words you are going to teach next is important, but being flexible and following your child’s lead are the best ways to keep kids engaged.

Rigid teaching can hinder students from learning a language effectively. Follow your child’s interests and be sure to focus on practicing oral communication (speaking) first.

Have your child learn how to introduce themselves and make small-talk before worrying about writing skills and conjugating verbs.

Start with the Basics

If you are teaching French to preschoolers, start off by having them learn the alphabet and numbers.

For learning the very basics, you can try some enjoyable activities such as:

• Singing along to number and letter songs such as the French ABC song.
• Playing learning games such as Alphabet Bingo.  
• Counting the number of items in your house (chairs, toys, cheerios, etc.), or how many dogs (chiens) you see on a walk.

2. Make It Hands-On

No matter what French vocabulary your kids are working on – numbers, animals, colours, household objects, foods, greetings – use one of the following strategies to make learning hands-on for your child.  

• Label objects around the house with French words.
• Draw shapes together or build 2D and 3D shapes using Magnetic Building Blocks, and learn the French words for each.
• Work on a French colouring book together and use the French words for the names of colours.
• Colour-code objects around the house to indicate their noun genders (one colour for masculine words and another for feminine words).
• Make your own flashcards using French vocabulary or if you’re short on time, you can get French flashcards like these on Amazon.

3. Use Real-Life Situations

Your child will love being able to show off their French linguistic skills by participating in authentic situations that are important to them. Whenever I design a new French unit or lesson plan for my students, I start by incorporating activities that are relevant to kids.

When you are teaching your kids French at home, you have the freedom to bring French learning into your everyday life experiences.

Here are some ideas:

• Watch French cooking shows like Top Chef France on Netflix or Youtube and cook some recipes together while learning different food and cooking vocabulary.
• Help your child learn how to introduce themselves and order food or goods in French. Then take them to visit a French cafe and practice their skills.

4. Use Music and Videos

I get that you don’t want to rely solely on electronics to expose your child to another language, but consider modifying some of their dedicated screen time to videos or television in French.

French Videos For Kids

There are many high-quality and entertaining animated shows for kids in French. Most do a great job of putting the dialogue in context with the characters’ actions so your child will understand what’s going on, and pick up some of the words.

If you plan is to teach your preschooler or kindergartener French, some good show options include:

1. Caillou is a Canadian animated show featuring the real-world adventures of a four-year-old boy. There are more than 400 episodes available on the Caillou YouTube channel in French.
2. Peppa Pig is a favourite show of my own kids – in both English and French. I was surprised to discover how much my grade 7 and 8 students love it too! Peppa Pig is a lovable, but slightly bossy, little pig who lives with Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig and her little brother George.

Tou.tv Jeunesse is a Canadian source for loads of free television shows online. You will find separate sections just for cartoons – as well shows for elementary, middle school, and teenage kids. You need to be within Canada to view the content, or else use a VPN application to make your location appear to be so.

Or add a little je ne sais quoi to family movie night and watch one of your already favourite films on Neflix in French. Another option I personally use to polish my linguistic skills is to turn on the French subtitles during a film and read as I watch.

Read: Best Hands-On Science & Math Kits For Kids

French Music For Kids

Music is a great way to have fun while learning a new language. – and those catchy chansons tend to stick in the heads of even reluctant learners.

Spotify (for Android and iOS) is one of the best free music apps around. It contains pre-made playlists for virtually every situation – including learning a new language.

Want to immerse your baby or toddler in the soothing atmosphere of French music? Try the playlist called Mes 100 Plus Jolies Berceuses (“My 100 Prettiest Lullabies”), which has a hundred different French lullabies to calm your child at bedtime.

YouTube is another good source for French nursery rhyme songs. Check out Comptines Pour Enfants – a set of nineteen French nursery rhyme songs. Your child can watch the cartoons to see what the songs are about, and for many the lyrics appear on screen.

5. Invest In French Resources and Workbooks

French Workbooks For Kids

Some of these workbooks I use in my classrooms and some I’ve purchased for my own girls to use at home to keep their French learning fresh.

No matter how fluent you and your child are (beginner to très bon), there is a series of French workbooks to match your skill level.

For more options for your child, see my review of the Best French Workbooks For Kids.

French Reading Books For Kids

Toujours Parfait – Levelled French Readers

This series of books is perfect for beginner readers as they progress into independent reading in French. The book series ranges from levels A to I – allowing readers to improve their reading skills as the amount of text increases from one level to the next.

We have many of these books at our house for my kids to grab before bed or to read for their school reading logs.

International Children’s Digital Library offers a collection of thousands of online children’s books in many languages, including French. If you’re looking for books for your child to read in French – it is a great, and free, option.

Related Article: Best Canadian Workbooks For Students

6. Use A Free Online App

Duolingo is an incredible, free, app for building basic vocabulary and grammar skills. I use it myself over the summer months to keep my French skills sharp when I’m not teaching. It’s also perfect of beginners and children. As your reading, writing, and speaking skills improve, new categories open up and you earn points for fun stuff.

Hello-World French Children’s Activities is a free website whose goal is to teach world languages to children through fun and educational immersion activities. You will find over 700 activities for French alone!

French Baby Flash Cards for Android and iOS is a free French early learning app. You pick a category for your child to practice and then scroll through the photos one at a time, listening to the French pronunciation of each object. The categories include food, numbers, letters, colours, and more.

How To Teach Your Kids French At Home: Conclusion

Bonne chance on your child’s journey to becoming bilingual. Just remember, even brief practice sessions each day will help to consolidate what they have learned and give them the confidence needed to communicate in their new language.

I hope you found this article useful. If so, please share.

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