Media is a fantastic way to supplement language learning--my children and I love the French children's books we borrow from Les Petits Livres, and I often stream French children's music from Spotify radio, but I rarely turn to movies or film clips because they're such a passive way of learning. However, there are a few educational films that I've appreciated for what they've taught my children about the world's languages and cultures. Here's the first of the film resources that I'd like to share with you:

Families of the World DVDs/Digital Series

families of the world DVDs films Egypt France Germany culture

The Families of the World film series shows what a child's life is like in his or her respective country. Each film follows two children--usually one from the city and one from a rural area--through a day in their life. The films are narrated by the child, and the children are so matter-of-fact about aspects of their life that I find surprising! (The films are in English, so the child's narration is usually translated, but the translations are well done.) These were made in the mid-nineties, but the films still seem fairly timeless. Each film is only 30 minutes long.

*The countries featured in the Families of the World film series*

You can find clips from all of the films on YouTube. There are also free teacher's guides online for each film with country facts, recipes, and activity ideas. Here are clips from Families of the World: France:

Aren't the children's lives different from one another? I appreciate that the director, Mark Marquisee, filmed children from divorced parents as well as a child from an intact family because families, of course, look different even within the same culture.

Which Families of the World film(s) would you be interested in seeing?

This post contains an Amazon Affiliate link but we usually check out these films from the library.