Learning French for 2 yr olds

[lizzylemon]

Ive now imparted all the French I know to my DD and so I wish I could say she's now fluent in it, sadly it just means that I have the same grasp on the language as a 2 yr old

However we're both keen to expand our knowledge and so I'd really like to know if any one can recommend an audio course or something similar that we could use.

Ive looked on e*ay and there's loads so some help would be fab.

Thanks

[bobleponge]

Everyone I know that has used the Michel Thomas system has praised it to high heavens. No idea how good it would be for a 2 year old though.....

The BBC actually do some good stuff, I've used it when helping French kids to improve their English, and they do French to English as well.

[lizzylemon]

Thanks Mr Bob - I'll check out the BBC stuff to start with and see if I can find a sample of the Michel Thomas to see if it's suitable (for me more than her I'm thinking).

I'm of the old school way - My name is...... I live in....what is the time.....

The dort on the other, sucks it up like a sponge

[bobleponge]

They do at that age, they cant get enough learnage.

How about getting her into a French holiday camp this summer? Do a bit of homework, try and avoid popular tourist destinations, go somewhere a bit off the beaten track and you will find campsites full of predominantly Frenchy types, where the nipper will make plenty friends who wont speak English.

[Nicos]

We bought Muzzy video and aural tapes years ago for our kids.
They were very expensive but well worth it ( about £280 now- but you may be able to get them 2nd hand
Uttrely fantastc for kids- and adults with lively minds!

[lizzylemon]

Mr Bob, that is a lovely idea but money doesn't allow for it at the moment. It would have to be a family holiday (great for us too) and our week off is allocated to the Isle of Wight this year (oooooooooh the excitement).

The hubs is threatening to convert a van into a camper type thingy so we can go away more so you never know......

[lizzylemon]

We bought Muzzy video and aural tapes years ago for our kids.
They were very expensive but well worth it ( about £280 now- but you may be able to get them 2nd hand
Uttrely fantastc for kids- and adults with lively minds!

I've been seeing the ads on TV and they're doing all 5 languages in one package these days but yep, massively expensive. Not appearing on ebay either.

[Nicos]

This is the one we had ( well it's CD and DVD now...)...

MUZZY Free Trial


this is for pre-school...

MUZZY for Preschool


Can your local library get hold of it??

Might be worth keeping an eye on ebay!

[janeyo]

I think Usborne do some quite good stuff for little ones. I am just looking at it now for my yr 3s for september )

[di]

I keep contemplating getting the Muzzy set...up until now have never had positive(nor negative) feedback from anyone other than someone trying to sell it.
Do you think it would hold the attentions of a six and eight year old Nicos...the snippets you see on the adverts look pretty basic.

[Nicos]

Yup- most definately!
Why not try it on that 30 day free trial?

I think there are other single bits available too but I've not watched those.
My kids were about 5 and 7- and to be honest I enjoyed them too!
It's a matter of repetition.
Half of it is in English and the other half is exactly the same but in French-well that's how it used to be!
Basically it's a story- and you get to learn it verbatum- along with all the little songs such as how to say the vowels etc.
not boring at all.
A 2 yr old woud love the cartoon and watch it over and over again- picking up the language and joining in the songs.
Maybe you could just get the first part for now?
It'll last for quite a while before it's all been picked up.

[janeyo]

Lizzyl, I have a frog doll thing that the children Love to play with and he talks and counts and does stuff in French and English and he's quite cool! Made by Leapfrog toys.

[Two_Sheds]

Have you looked on Amazon at all? Here's your starter for ten: French for Beginners (Book & Tape): Amazon.co.uk: Angela Wilkes, Katie Daynes: Books

[Patchninja]

Also, don't forget the stickers on furniture etc with the words. Stress the gender too so she knows it's la table, la chaise, le sol, le lapin. It will help her a lot later when it really matters.
Start gently conjugating verbs - if you know how the verbs ending -er, -re, -ir...work, you can just repeat things from time to time. Moi, je vais aller dans le jardin. Toi, tu vas venir avec moi! Je vais jouer et toi, tu vas jouer......Je joue, tu joues.....Papa, il joue.....

[lizzylemon]

Also, don't forget the stickers on furniture etc with the words. Stress the gender too so she knows it's la table, la chaise, le sol, le lapin. It will help her a lot later when it really matters.
Start gently conjugating verbs - if you know how the verbs ending -er, -re, -ir...work, you can just repeat things from time to time. Moi, je vais aller dans le jardin. Toi, tu vas venir avec moi! Je vais jouer et toi, tu vas jouer......Je joue, tu joues.....Papa, il joue.....

.....er.....ah.....ahem....when WE BOTH get to that stage......

Unfortunately it's actually way beyond my capabilities at the moment and Dort can't read yet but I'll definitely try to do the gender thing from the start.

One good thing about learning from scratch is I have no bad habits to change)