For the next while, I will be exploring resources for primary children and their parents to try out various ways to learn and/or practice French language skills.

Below is one site I found quite usable. For example, a parent can select and print a simple board game and even the matching flash cards on the topic of,say, farm animals and voila! a fun activity!

One can also choose to type in one’s email, a password will be emailed back to you, and the parent can log in so that the child can participate in mini-lessons!

Au plaisir! Enjoy!

http://www.hello-world.com/French/index.php

Joyeux Nöel ! et meilleurs voeux pour 2012 !

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2012 !

When children are at the learning-to-read stage of life, they are constantly trying to sound out the words on the page, whatever the language may be!

As soon as the students that I am tutoring in French enter grade 2, I begin presenting them with a series of Rhymes, each one featuring an animal and one particular French sound.

The feature French sound in this case is “an”. The rhyme is fun, and because of the riming rhythm, is easy to learn.

By printing up a Word Card for each new word with that same sound, vocabulary increases quickly and naturally. Later on, after a variety of Rhymes featuring a variety of French sounds have been learned, puzzles can be made of these words – encouraging word recognition (along with the delight of saying mis-matched words out loud, then experiencing the “aha!” of the correctly matched word parts, sounding as they should!)

In March of the Halton District School Board’s Grade 2 French Immersion program, the Read-it-at-Home program is introduced (at-level stories provided by the class teacher). As I listen and guide my young students through their books, we keep the French Sounds Picture Chart ready to hand for quick help, if need be. Learning the basic sounds first, in a rhyme format easily remembered, serves as a solid basis for reading going forward.

BRAVO French Tutoring

Better grades with joy!                                                                             Amélioration à l’école avec élan!

Below, you’ll find an interesting point of view on French language learning and the way in which the process of learning it as a second language influences the continued learning of the mother tongue, and vice versa.

French Immersion in Ontario

The goal of French Immersion is to develop students’ proficiency in French

while building mastery of English – that is, not to replace a first language

with an additional one but to develop proficient communication skills in both.

Researchers suggest that French Immersion programs enjoy success in meeting

this goal because the cognitive and linguistic component skills required for

learning to read, write, speak, view and represent in a student’s first language

support literacy development in a second. The transfer of skills works both ways.

Students’ developing abilities in French also support their continuing growth

in English.

Dr. Jim Cummins (OISE) has helped to create an influential body of empirical

research supporting the notion of knowledge transfer (Cummins, 1998). Studies of

dual language programs in Canada and elsewhere suggest that students’ literacy

skills in a first language provide the schemata for literacy learning (e.g, phonological

and phonemic awareness, thinking/processing skills, comprehension strategies)

which will transfer from a first language to a second and, vice versa, from a second

language to a first. Cummins’ “interdependence hypothesis” not only explains

why students who are literate in their first language are likely to be advantaged

in the acquistion of a second, but it also holds implications for those responsible

for planning and instruction in Ontario schools.

This monograph has been developed to support the work of dual language teaching

teams as they explore effective literacy instruction and implement practices to

improve not only French Immersion instruction but literacy instruction overall.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Education (www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy )

Walking through the streets of Toronto, it is possible to hear over one hundred different languages. Internationally recognized as one of the most multicultural cities in the world, Toronto houses a large francophone population from across the globe. As a result, there is an endless array of historical visits, educational outings, resources, services and summer camps available in French across the city. Use the social networks, forums, web portals, and other resources below to help you plan an eventful summer full of fun French activities!

Choq-FM 105.1

This summer, be in the know! Choq 105.1 FM, the francophone radio station of Toronto, gives you the latest news, presents cultural events in the city and keeps you informed of all activities taking place in French.

L’Express 416-465-2107

L’Express newspaper was awarded the Lyse-Daniels prize to mark its contribution to the French language and culture in Ontario. Their cultural calendar located online presents all the upcoming cultural events in the Greater Toronto Area.

Le Métropolitain 905-790-3229

For the latest scoop on fun French summer activities, Le Métropolitain is the place to look. This francophone newspaper is distributed weekly in the city of Toronto and surrounding areas. The Section “Info Communautés ” presents a calendar of activities taking place in French in the Greater Toronto Area.

Torontois.com

Francophones, unite! Torontois.com is a French web portal designed to keep you informed on all the cultural events taking place in French in the GTA. On this forum you will find the latest news on outings organized by the francophones and Francophiles of Toronto.

Source:- http://toft.ca/_english/french-in-toronto/

Most spaces for French summer camps for children will have been filled by now – but there is always the chance that a few openings will still be available. If you are an Oakville parent looing for such an activity for your child, here are 2 in-town camps with good reputations worth looking into:-

(1)Le Camp Tournesol

Les Boute-en-train (Introduction to French) is for children ages 5-6 who have little or no french experience. It is a 2-week French Summer Camp program during which they will develop new vocabulary daily and build on their new skills. This will give them a good start to their school year.

Les Curieux / Les Espiègles / Les Intrépides is for children in grades 1 to 6. The focus of this French Summer Camp program is to promote French conversation outside of an academic environment. They are placed in situations where they use their french while doing fun activities.

Location:- Oakville Christian school: at 112 Third Line, at Lakeshore.
DATES:  the weeks of August 8th and August 15th.

More information/registration: – http://www.camptournesol.ca

(2)L’Alliance Française

“Our Summer Camps are the ideal way of immersing your children in French and improving their abilities through a daily variety of motivating activities “en français”. With learning activities in the classroom in the morning and sports or workshops in the afternoon, our camps provide a unique teaching/learning method which blends fun activities and relaxing moments with more studious ones.

All the activities and tasks are performed in French with themes that appeal to the participants’ age groups. They involve skits, songs, mime, films, games, crafts and much more! Some are based on age and others on level of French proficiency. They are all taught by instructors qualified in the teaching of French as a second language to children and teens. With the help of camp counselors, we provide a high quality program in a safe and friendly environment. Please note that our camps are designed for non-native French-speakers.

For Who? Alliance Française and Oakville Galleries have united again to offer an exceptional series of THREE summer camps of one week each for children ages 6 – 11 years who have a special taste for French and art and want to combine these two hobbies. For beginner and intermediate French learners, these two week-long art and language study camps are co-taught by an art instructor from Oakville Galleries and a French teacher from the Alliance Française”.
Where? Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens
1306 Lakeshore Road East
Oakville ON, L6J 1L6

For more information/registration: – http://www.alliance-francaise.ca/

As the 2010-2011 school year draws to a close, you may be seriously considering whether or not to enroll your youngster in a French Immersion school in September.

There are many benefits to a child speaking another language like French. The article below explores some of them.

“You may be lucky to have the option to raise your child bilingually, but there may be fears and doubts. Is there a price to pay, and does the cost outweigh the benefits? A few years ago early bilingualism was rather not supported because it was thought to harm the development of the first language. This view is changing. Obvious opportunities for a bilingual education are living in a country where another language is spoken, having a partner speaking another language or having access to an educational system operating in another language or another caretaker. More than half of the world population is bilingual, so it is more the norm than an exception.

Benefits of early bilingualism
Before the age of three, language is not learnt but acquired, which means it is naturally picked up rather than consciously learned. Young children learn languages much quicker and more easily than adults.
Children who enjoy a multilingual education can transfer knowledge of one language to another. This “knowledge transfer” allows for greater comprehension
Bilingual children can learn to build bridges between cultures and play with a variety of different personalities, fitting in a host country with ease.
Children raised in more than one language have added advantages in certain careers having an international focus.
In multilingual environments, children have a better feel for the cultural differences and peculiarities of the world.
Equally if father and mother speak different languages, bilingual education is a way of getting to know both parents better, including their cultural background and roots. This will increase family cohesion and mutual understanding, and be a bridge to the extended family”.

SOURCE: Daily Monitor, March 20,2011