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A couple of months ago, one of our Manly students’ family returned from a holiday in France with their children. The kids, Max and Milly, have been going to our French Fun Language clubs on the Northern Beaches for the last couple of years.
The mum approached me after school to tell her story about what had happened on their recent trip to Paris.
“Every time we ate out in France, the kids insisted on ordering their meals in French”. Apparently, whether ordering LA GLACE to DES CROISSANTS AVEC UN CHOCOLAT CHAUD or UN STEAK FRITES, the children proudly and confidently showcased their new language skills!
The mum was delighted: “The waiters or ice-cream vendors were all very friendly and encouraging and were delighted to hear these Aussie kids ordering in French. Not only that, the children, became our tour guides and helped us around Paris!”
Imagine your child being your TOUR GUIDE on your next overseas holiday!
We love watching Aussie kids blossom with their language learning skills and it was this story that inspired our new French bookmarks.
By Teresa Ferrer, LCF Fun Languages Manager, Northern Beaches, Sydney
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Our children all learn French, Mandarin and Dutch. A few weeks ago, while the family were were sitting around our kitchen table having lunch, one of them started randomly humming a little tune while we were eating. It was the tune to the Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.
Miss 5 proceeded to sing the song in French
La tête, les épaules et les genoux, les doigts de pieds
La tête, les épaules et les genoux, les doigts de pieds
Les yeux, le nez, la bouche et les oreilles
La tête, les épaules et les genoux, les doigts de piedWatch a French for Kids club in action singing Head, shoulders, knees and toes
Miss 7 joined in and there was a chorus as little Mr 3 started with the actions and a few of the words that he could remember.
“No,no,no!” Miss 7 suddenly says. Let’s do it in Chinese and the three of them launched into the song in Mandarin!
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Dreams really DO come true!
The great things about children is that they dream BIG. Anything is possible in a young brain and that is why teaching languages to Australian children is so exciting.
When it comes to learning another language, kids are simply UNSTOPPABLE and that is certainly the case with my student, Zara, who has been taking French lessons in Newcastle with me for 3 years.
Like most girls her age, Zara keeps a diary and shares her wishes in her journal.
At the top of the list of WISHES THAT HAVE TO COME TRUE, Zara wrote:
“I want to go and visit Paris with my friends and live in the same house with a room for each of us.”
Luckily for Zara, her parents made her dream come true with a family trip to Paris. She was able to put her French lessons to the test while visiting all the amazing sights and landmarks of Paris that she has dreamt of seeing.
I was thrilled for Zara, who had been so inspired by her Fun Languages French class, and I am delighted that, as her teacher, I was able to help her make her FRENCH DREAM a truly memorable one!
For more information about my language lessons for children in Newcaslte and to view a timetable of classes in the area, please visit my web page by following the link below
Sandra Peachey, LCF Fun Languages Club Manager – Newcastle & Port Stephens
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An interview with bilingual kids and their parents on what it is, and how it feels to be multilingual …
Interview with Jinyan, Ben and Mary*
Jinyan (mum) and her husband are both from China and came to Australia 7 years ago.
What do you do to keep Mandarin at home?
Jinyan: “I don’t need to do much. It is just really natural. At home we speak Mandarin because my husband is from China too. So we both speak Mandarin with each other and with the kids. When they were really small, we only spoke Mandarin to them and when they grew up we sent them to the Chinese Language School and there they can make a lot of friends, who also speak Mandarin. They are really happy to go there because they have a lot of friends at the school and I think it’s a very good way to keep them speaking Mandarin.”What is your advice on raising bilingual kids?
Jinyan: “The only way to keep your kids to speak the parent’s first language is that parents need to speak their mother tongue at home. Otherwise, as the kids are growing they are exposed to English more and if parents wouldn’t insist, kids would choose speaking English at home as it is easier for them.” -
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We love the little success stories that come out of our Fun Language clubs and hearing about how the kids are USING the language they are learning!
This one from Sal Symes, our local area manager in Bendigo, gave us great pleasure:
One of the best ways to learn another language is to find yourself into situations where you are forced to use the language. And this is exactly what happened at the end of last term for our French club in Bendigo, Regional Victoria!
For our last lesson at the end of Term 2, the kids from our French classes in Bendigo celebrated by going on an excursion to the Bendigo Corner Store Cafe.
Six primary-aged children were sitting quietly at the long table in the cafe, listening to their French teacher while cafe patrons at nearby tables watched with interest.
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