"But I don't speak French!"
Parents and families of children in French Immersion programs often ask how they can help their children acquire a second language when they don't speak it themselves. There are lots of things that parents and guardians can do at home to support their students.
- Alberta Education's Yes, You Can Help resource
- Encourage your children to listen to French music (available at the public library's French Language Resource Center)
- Watch movies in French, many DVDs offer a French language option, watch the movie in French (you can always turn on the English subtitles)
- Watch French TV programs
- Visit your local public library for French books, audio books, music and movies
- Borrow audio books from the library in French or listen to them online at Tumble Books
- Attend a French Family Camp through the BCFFC, some bursaries are available
- Try cooking some French or French-Canadian food with your child and help them to research it
- Take a French language class for parents of Immersion students
- Encourage them to read, in any language! (and let them see you reading)
- Ask them what they did in school today, and don't settle for "nothing" as an answer
- Subscribe your child to a French magazine as a birthday present, check out Bayard Jeunesse for ideas or ask your child's teacher
- Create a library of interesting French books and music at home. You can purchase from Amazon and Indigo books online or take advantage of the reasonable prices offered by Scholastic Book Clubs which are usually offered by teachers at school.
- If your child enjoys flashcards here are some ideas about how to use them
- Alberta Curriculum Redesign