Purposeful family living - with a French twist
Bonjour! I'm Michele Cherie: francophile, teacher, writer, runner, wife, and mama to five children. I'm a non-native French speaker from the West Coast, USA. My husband and I recently relocated our family to Alsace, France. IntentionalMama shares our bilingual journey and resources for a culturally-rich family life.
This last weekend I was able to attend a seminar at the Alliance Francaise de Portland entitled Bilingualism for Children: Benefits and Expectations. Jane Fabulet-Roberts, head of the Alliance's Children's Program, spoke from her experience both as a bilingual educator and as a parent. I found the seminar very encouraging. Here are five points from the seminar that I found the most informative:
Read MoreAs a non-native French speaker, I find that my lack of language knowledge is the most worrisome part of speaking French with my children. What if I ignorantly teach them to use the wrong words? What if my sentences are grammatically garbled (as they often are)? Will they one day be embarrassed by the language errors I have mistakenly passed on to them?
Read MoreThough I majored in French and English in college, I somehow made it through my studies with only a pocket-size French English Dictionary from the early 1980s. I had no idea how impressive a dictionary could be until I began teaching and purchased a two-and-a-half-inch thick, five pound French Unabridged Dictionary from Collins Robert for classroom use. When a translation question arose that I couldn't answer, the student who volunteered to be the daily fée du dictionnaire (dictionary fairy, with optional wand, ID tag, and tiara) would find the answer in that massive dictionary. But ever since I downloaded the Collins-Robert Concise French Dictionary App as a stay-at-home mama, I've been amazed at how useful a dictionary app can be.
Read MoreAmerican parents love educational toys and books for their preschool-age children, so I find it a little strange that the French have an entire category of children's books for which we don't have a word in English: l'imagier. Wikipedia.fr defines an imagier as "A collection of photographs or drawings featuring objects, animals, and individuals along with the word that characterizes them." Put simply, they're word books with corresponding images. For little language learners, imagiers are a fantastic visual resource.
Read MoreI spoke French with my first child from her birth, but of course it wasn't until she was well over a year old that we began to truly interact through language. At that point, I noticed that many basic French nouns and verbs seemed longer than many of the first words anglophone babies speak. Here are a few examples of basic nouns and verbs in both languages:
Read MoreHello. Goodbye. Please. Thanks. Yes. No.
These six simple words are often the first words in foreign language textbooks, and among the first you'll want to know when traveling abroad. In our native language, they're the ones we remind our young children to say ("Yes, please!") because they show so much about the speaker's intent and heart towards others.
Acknowledging others. Showing courtesy and respect. Communicating needs and desires clearly. Sharing ideas and perspectives. This is the purpose of language.
Someone recently asked how I got my daughter to ask me to keep speaking French (rather than English). I think it's because our relationship has always been conducted in French and she identifies me with that language. Plus, my husband's high school students and athletes tell her it's "so cool" that she speaks French, so she gets positive reinforcement from them on a regular basis.
But context also is part of the story, since I only switch to English when I am exhausted or angry--a minute or two when parental criticism or lazy commands come rushing out of my mouth. Apparently, the constraint of a non-native language is a curb that I should appreciate more. If I don't speak with kindness and forethought, my daughter doesn't want to hear it said.
Those six simple words are a reminder of what we all want to hear as we learn to communicate with others.
Remember how Netflix revolutionized the movie rental process? With a similar business model, Les Petits Livres has made French childrens' book rental an affordable option for Americans. French for "the little books," Les Petits Livres launched five years ago with the purpose of offering French childrens' book rental by mail. For a monthly fee, subscribers receive several books per month, then return them via prepaid packaging. There are no due dates and no late fees. Subscribers can tailor book preferences to their child's gender, age range, and interests, and can even create an online wish list.
Read MoreAs an American who was raised monolingual, speaking French to my children requires an ongoing mental effort. Admittedly, I taught French to middle and high school students for several years, but when my first child was born, I still had doubts about my ability to speak French consistently. I am a fluent French speaker (you can find more about how I learned French here), but since it is not my native language, there are plenty of gaps in my knowledge.
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