The best way to help your kids learn French is to make the language fun, and with all the resources available both online and offline, this has become easier than ever. The following French games will give you the chance to learn with your kids, as well as encourage them to practice in their free time.
1. Dominoes
Dominoes is a great choice to introduce kids to the French language, particularly if they already know how to play. Instead of using regular tiles, print out a set with pictures and French words, such as these. Play together to teach your kids meanings and proper pronunciation.
2. Mix and Match
Choose from a huge number of topics at both beginner and intermediate levels to play this simple game that involves dragging a picture to the correct word to score a point. This is a good place to start if your own knowledge of French is quite limited, as it gives you and your kids the chance to learn vocabulary as you go along, either through the game or the accompanying tutorial.
3. To Be and To Have
As they progress with the language, your kids will be able to start forming sentences. This game teaches the verbs “to be” and “to have” in all their conjugations for the present tense. After finishing the game, consider having a role play with your kids to continue practicing and to keep the topic interesting.
4. Guess Who?
If you do not already have the game Guess Who? at home, you should definitely purchase this two-player game – you can use the same set to play in any language. Each player has a set of 24 tiles featuring cartoon images of different people along with their first names. In addition, you both select a card with one of these faces.
You then take it in turns to ask each other simple questions to discover which character the other player has, eliminating faces according to the answers. Your kids can play French games of Guess Who? to practice both their speaking and listening skills, forming sentences and answering your questions.
5. The Magic Cards
This matching game involves flipping over cards to match numerals with their written numbers. Your kids can play online to learn correct pronunciation, but you can also create your own cards to play a memory game with two or more players.
Once your kids have developed a love for French, they will want to continue learning. Starting young will improve the chances that they become fluent by adulthood, opening the way to many more opportunities in the future. To help your kids progress with French, find a private tutor who will make learning the language fun. Bonne chance!
Photo by Geraint Rowland
Madalyn Danielson