We heard loud and clear your request for more conversation time and for more opportunities for children to express themselves. This is why we extended the coaching session and used it as a means to get their input and discussed strategies on how to stay focused. Also, we decided to create two groups because of the difference in the level of French amongst students. We make use of multimedia (PP presentations, pictures, videos, songs) on a weekly basis to keep kids engaged and to get the children to speak about different topics. This helps also to retain their attention.
We decided to tweak the program a bit given the different personalities in the class
I have been asked many times for a French reading site that kids can practice at home. One of the best resource is called Tumblebooks. Just pick a book in French or English, and you have the option of it reading to you, or your child may read by himself/herself.
We are having lots of fun and we hope your kids are enjoying the sessions. We put in a lot of time and thought into developing an enriching French program for the kids and your feedback is only going to help us make it better.
Parents, please encourage the rewriting of the new words or sentences a number of times (5 to 10 times) to memorize them. We also want them to memorize the songs we practiced. There is no better way to learn the structure of French sentences. Songs will help them in their writing and essays.
I hope all of you are doing great. I am thrilled with some results that we start seeing in some of your children. They are getting much more comfortable, they sing louder and are much more active in the learning. Parents, if you are helping at home, keep up the good work! It really does make a difference when kids are supported at home in their French learning.
We were asked if the next winter session starting in January will be a repeat. The answer is NO. We will have a new theme at every session throughout the year from September to June. Children can join anytime as the classes are taught independently. However a child who has been attending more classes will automatically be able to recognize more words and be more familiar with French sounds and reading.
This Grammarathon and Readathon Program is designed to help your kids do better at school by improving their reading comprehension, their writing and oral skills. We follow the Ontario Curriculum for French Immersion. The focus is to provide a challenge appropriate for their level. The 2.5 hours are intense and packed with various academic activities. But we make it fun and we also sing. The sparkle in their eyes is confirmation enough that they are enjoying it. And when I see them improving and mastering new sentences, it just makes my day :)
Parents, make sure they are well rested and had a good breakfast in the morning to maximize the benefits of the session. As I mentioned in a previous email, I encourage the rewriting of new words or sentences a number of times (5 to 10 times) to memorize them. Learn the songs we practiced! There is no better way to learn the structure of French sentences. Songs will help them in their writing and essays. Children do better at school when you support their French learning at home.
Learning a language is not a matter of reading and memorizing some vocabulary words. “Acquiring a language is learning a skill “ just like learning the skill of riding a bike”. Practice makes perfect! Practice in this case is to read, listen, write and speak. Those are the four areas that we focus on at My French Club. When words are put in a context, in a story or in a song, suddenly words come to life and words as well as structure can be memorized better.
It takes time to learn a language. Be patient and support your children’s French education at home. You will find plenty of resources on our website http://www.myfrenchclub.ca along with some valuable advice on the blog. And if that is not enough, feel free to drop me an email with your questions :)
Listening to French music is highly beneficial for your little ones and it will stick to their long term memory. It teaches them the sounds of the French language…yes, every language has its own music, its own melody. We picked a very trendy catchy tune “elle me dit” by Mika. It has lots of rhymes and easy sentences that kids can reuse in their essays or oral conversation. We give the chance to every kid to read it out loud many times and we explain to them the lyrics. We were so excited and jolly, I wish you parents were there to see us :) However at this point, I am done! My kids have been playing it nonstop at home, that I can’t get it out of my head! If you have the same problem, let me know. We’ll place a group order for earplugs :)
Regarding the program, well we are very lucky! We almost have as many students as mentors. So your kids are getting lots of one on one attention. Every kid was greeted with a unique card that has a positive affirmation for him/her. I had also developed activities for each one of them because even though some of them are in the same grade, the levels of competency vary.
Please refer to the booklet of your child to see what was covered. Kindly ask your child to write 10 times the new words or new sentences in order to memorize them better.
Learning a language is not a matter of reading and memorizing some vocabulary words. “Acquiring a language is learning a skill “ just like learning the skill of riding a bike”. Practice makes perfect! Practice in this case is to read, listen, write and speak. Those are the four areas that we focus on at My French Club. When words are put in a context, in a story or in a song, suddenly words come to life and words as well as structure can be memorized better.
During the last session, we sang and learned all about Greetings, presentation, how old I am , where do I live…
Repetition is the key! It takes time to familiarize yourself with a new language. Be patient and support your children’s French education at home. You will find plenty of resources on our website http://www.myfrenchclub.ca along with some valuable advice on the blog. And if that is not enough, feel free to drop me an email with your questions :)
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