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If you’re inspired to teach your kids French, you’ve come to the right place. Short of moving to a French-speaking part of the world and enrolling them into a nursery or school there, we’ll give you the best tips for teaching French to preschoolers and beyond.
Whatever your motivation for wanting them to learn the language, it’s a good one. This article will introduce you to 15 effective ways how to teach French to kids. Alors, on y va!
Why teach French to young kids?
There are lots of reasons why introducing language learning at a young age is beneficial. Here are some reasons why teaching them French is a good idea:
- Children learn languages much better than adults do – Kids’ brains are so much more receptive and can learn fast!
- It helps introduce a new concept and culture – They can learn to appreciate things beyond their own community and surroundings. French is a great language to teach them because there are so many resources and French activities for kids already out there.
- It’s a great bonding activity – If you already speak French, teaching it to your child is another way to create a unique bond.
- It broadens their opportunities – Being able to speak a language early will give your kids a competitive advantage.
- It is a completely different challenge for their brains to handle – Learning a second language is like no other play or learning activity they’ll do! It’s great for developing their cognitive abilities.
What is teaching French to preschoolers really like?
If you’ve got preschool-age children, you’re already going to know that teaching them skills is no mean feat. They’re not going to sit down at a desk and learn the same way an older child, teen, or adult might.
However, what is great about teaching French to preschoolers is just how much fun you can have together. Kids love all sorts of different games and there are so many ways to introduce French into their day-to-day activities – and it won’t even feel like learning at all.
Let’s look at our 15 ways how to teach French to kids.
1. Let them watch French learning videos on YouTube
Ok, ok, so screen time is a contentious subject among parents with kids of all ages but there’s no denying that kids can learn a lot from this wonderful resource. With correct management and vigilance, you can create a whole playlist of French learning videos for kids to enjoy – and it’s one that needs barely any thought!
Here are some great catch songs by Alain Le Lait:
2. Watch their favourite shows in French – or try new ones.
Besides songs, there are also other things you could introduce them to on YouTube – like their favourite TV shows. Here are some examples:
Or why not try Tchoupi, a popular French cartoon aimed at young children?
3. Introduce French into your daily activities
Teaching French doesn’t have to be at a set time or place, it can be incorporated into all daily tasks. Just like language learning for adults, repetition and consistency are vital so try some of the following ways to get French a part of their daily lives:
- Count steps in French when going up or down
- Greet your children in French each day
- Teach them the names of the food they’re eating in French
- Ask them basic questions like ‘ça va?’ or ‘c’est bon?’ at varying points in the day
4. Listen to French music in the car
Learning a language is all about exposure. Introducing French music to children at a young age will mean they grow an appreciation for it and enjoy it. The more they’re exposed to French songs, the more they will start requesting them to be played and asking what they mean.
This isn’t an activity that is going to teach them the language quickly, but it’s about building up an enjoyment that will mean they seek it out more as they grow. Just be careful with the songs you choose though, like you would with English songs!
5. Label things around the house
Once children are able to read, you can start incorporating fun activities around the home. Labelling items with sticky notes is one idea.
If your children like treasure hunts, you can always set up a treasure hunt as follows (though this will need planning).
1. Write objects or names of rooms on sticky notes.
2. Decide where the ‘treasure’ is going to be.
3. Work backwards and stick the location clues in your desired order (ensuring they find the ‘treasure’ last).
4. Give your child the first sticky note to begin the trail.
For example, the first sticky note might say ‘Le frigo’ and so they have to go to the fridge door to find the next clue, etc.
5. Get some French comics
Comics (des bandes dessinés or BD as they’re known in French) are ever so popular in France. If you go to a French bookshop, you’ll see a huge array of shelves with comic books of all genres and for all ages.
Here are some excellent comic books in French that are great for young learners:
- Asterix – This suits beginner to intermediate learners and is about a village of Gauls resisting Roman occupation. Asterix is the village hero and is accompanied by his best friend Obelix.
- Les Aventures de Tintin – This suits beginner to intermediate French learners and is about Tintin, a young Belgian who goes on adventures with his dog.
- Lucky Luke – This is about a cowboy called Luke and is great for fans of Westerns. It suits beginner learners to intermediates.
- Boule et Bill – This is for beginners to intermediate learns and is about a family. Boule is a young boy and Bill is the family’s cocker spaniel.
- Titeuf – For beginners to intermediates, Titeuf is a character who does mischievous pranks.
- Les schtroumpfs – Also known as The Smurfs in English. This is ideal for beginners and is likely to be familiar to some learners.
- Barbar – A sweet comic about an elephant who lives with an old lady. It’s suitable for beginners.
6. Use bilingual storybooks
Using bilingual storybooks is a great way to show children both how similar and how different languages can be. It doesn’t matter if they can only say one or two words, you can learn so much by exploring these books.
For more advanced learners, these books help you out and stop you from needing to reach for the dictionary and lose flow. It also shows you how translations aren’t literal and can help introduce concepts to learners about things like adjective placements and word order.
You can get bilingual storybooks in different formats – line-by-line, section-by-section, page-by-page, or side-by-side. For beginners, line-by-line is arguably better. Here are some widely available titles:
- Where is My Little Crocodile/Dog/Elephant?
- The Fabulous Lost and Found and the Little French Mouse
- The Frenglish Boy/Le Garçon Franglais
7. Introduce language teaching apps
There’s no doubt about it, kids just love technology! So why not let them loose on language learning apps? You can find a list of great French resources here.
Of course, the apps you choose will depend on the age of your child but apps like Duolingo, Mondly, and Ling are great for children around six years and older.
8. Try and find a native speaker
We all know that one of the best ways to learn any language is immersion. Finding a native speaker can be one step towards immersion for your children learning French. If you’re in a large University city, for example, you might be able to find a student wanting to earn a little bit of money who can come to interact with you and your children once a week.
You’d have to make sure the person is the right fit for your family though and won’t try to correct pronunciation, for example.
9. Try some French foods
When you learn a language, you don’t just learn the words and grammar, there’s a whole host of other cultural factors to learn about too. One of the best French activities for kids is introducing them to French foods.
Most kids will love crêpes, croissants, pains aux chocolat, pains aux raisins, macarons and even baguette. How about trying steak frites, a croque monsieur tartiflette and cassoulet? For the more adventurous types, try moules-frites, salad Niçoise, soupe à l’oignon, or dare I say it, foie gras and escargots!
10. Teach them about French-speaking countries and their cultures
When you’re learning French, a huge part of your learning needs to be about the countries and cultures that speak the language.
Sure, the language is the most representative aspect of the culture, but it can only be truly understood if there’s also knowledge about the countries it’s spoken in and the people who speak it. When young kids or anyone learns French, they should be taught more than just the lexicon and syntax.
11. Find extra-curricular French clubs or activities
A more traditional (and perhaps formal) way of teaching French to kids is signing them up for an extra-curricular club or activity. Depending on your location, there are lots of activities out there from social groups with native speakers to fun preschooler activities.
12. Use good old-fashioned flashcards
When I started teaching languages in the 2000s, flashcards were my go-to language activity. When projectors and interactive whiteboards came on the scene, these stopped being used so much.
However, there are so many fun games and activities you can do with flashcards – and they’re so easy to make yourself!
13. Find bilingual toys and games
It’s quite easy to find games and toys for young French learners. Some excellent examples are:
- KLOO’s Learn to Speak French Language Card Game
- AGO En Français – a conversational card game
- BrainBox Let’s Learn French – a ten-minute brain challenge game
- Vtech Mon Premier Imagier Bilangue – 100 words in French and English
- LeapFrog 200 words activity book
- LeapFrog Interactive Wooden Animal Puzzle
14. Have a toy teacher
If you’re teaching preschoolers or young kids, they might respond better to a toy teacher. This means using a soft toy to teach new words might go down well.
If your child responds well to this, it makes it easier for them to know when they’re learning French as they’ll associate the soft toy with those words.
15. Be consistent
The most important thing you can do when you’re trying to teach French to kids is to be consistent. This doesn’t mean doing the same things every week, though.
As with any language learner, variety is often much better for their overall learning and language development. What we mean then by consistency is making sure that you incorporate French into your daily lives. Only when it becomes routine will you start seeing the fruits of your labour.
Final thoughts
Hopefully, you’ve found this article useful for how to teach French to kids. No matter where they are in their learning journey, there are lots of different things you can try. Most important of all – make it fun so they don’t realise they’re learning at all! Good luck!