As I sit writing this, my children are watching a movie in French. Have you seen Belle and Sébastien? It's a beautiful movie filmed in the French Alps that is based on the novel by the French author, Cécile Aubry. It's the story of a boy, and the dog he tames, setting off on a dangerous adventure to smuggle Jewish refugees out of Nazi-occupied France. I love that they are able to watch something set in France in French. It feels very satisfying.
One of my hacks for raising bilingual children is that when I am at the library I visit the DVD section and look for movies that have French audio as one of the language options. (This is usually written in minuscule type on the back of the case.) This past library trip, I was able to find Belle and Sébastien, as well as The Little Prince.
The movie hack works especially well with children who can read. When I first starting doing this with my younger two, they weren't quite ready for a full movie in French, so I put on the English subtitles. They could read along, but their ears were hearing French. As their ear for French improved, I switched the subtitles to French or removed them completely.
If you have students in my French 2 or 3/4 class, they might be ready for trying this with full length movies. However, you can start with shorter shows. Disney+ and Netflix often have French audio options.
They can also try podcasts and YouTube videos in French of subjects they are interested in. A student likes falconry for instance, try this video. Or woodworking? Try this video. Or crocheting? Try Mamie Crochet (her titles are in English, but the videos are in French). Okay, I think you get the idea! But it has been fun to watch some of these while looking for resources for you! What interests you? I'd love to help you get started finding the right video! Even if you can't understand all (or much) of it, you are training your ear to the sounds of French.
If you have students in elementary school, YouTube has Petit Ours Brun, Trotro, Charlie et Lola (I think all my students would understand 70% or more of this particular episode. It had my 18 year old laughing because my younger daughter also "n'aime pas les tomates"!). All the shows I just listed are perfect go-alongs for the Beginner and Continuing French courses if your Middle Schoolers don't mind cartoons.
Your kids can become bilingual too! Don't forget to check out the Beginner French Course Sample Week! The consistent, small, daily doses of French with built in spiraling review will go far on the road to bilingualism. Your students will speak in sentences from day 1. I am so excited that soon you will be able to have a self-paced option for your families!
