Bonjour from Richmond, VA
Jan 29, 2021 2:04:00 GMT 9
Post by Julien on Jan 29, 2021 2:04:00 GMT 9
Hi all,
I am French and I am married to a US citizen, we have two children, a boy and a girl, 5 and 3. We currently live in Richmond, Virginia in the USA. We actually met in Australia in 2011. We got married in 2013 and our son was born in 2015. We loved Australia but it was too far from both our respective families so we made the decision to move back to one of our birth countries. I had a good job opportunity in France and we moved outside Paris in 2016. My wife was learning French in Australia but she was far from fluent so it was a challenge for her. She continued taking lessons while looking after our son and looking for a job, but as time went by it became apparent that without being fluent it would be very difficult to get a job in her field and without a job she wasn't getting enough exposure to become fluent. The arrival of our daughter in 2017 did not make it easier to get that exposure. We decided that it would be best for our family to move to the USA and I was lucky enough to have an opportunity with my company in 2019. We have been here for a bit over a year now and my wife got a job just a couple of months after arriving. That's it for our story.
I feel like this forum will be a great place to get more ideas to try. Let me know if you have any suggestions for apps or other ways to motivate my kids to practice their French. Thank you.
I am French and I am married to a US citizen, we have two children, a boy and a girl, 5 and 3. We currently live in Richmond, Virginia in the USA. We actually met in Australia in 2011. We got married in 2013 and our son was born in 2015. We loved Australia but it was too far from both our respective families so we made the decision to move back to one of our birth countries. I had a good job opportunity in France and we moved outside Paris in 2016. My wife was learning French in Australia but she was far from fluent so it was a challenge for her. She continued taking lessons while looking after our son and looking for a job, but as time went by it became apparent that without being fluent it would be very difficult to get a job in her field and without a job she wasn't getting enough exposure to become fluent. The arrival of our daughter in 2017 did not make it easier to get that exposure. We decided that it would be best for our family to move to the USA and I was lucky enough to have an opportunity with my company in 2019. We have been here for a bit over a year now and my wife got a job just a couple of months after arriving. That's it for our story.
I have been speaking only French to my kids since they were born, even in the presence of their mother when I talk to them specifically. They can understand me perfectly and can translate French to English, for example if I ask them to go tell their mom something in French, they'll go to her and say it in English without thinking twice. I read them books in French and they watch TV shows and movies in French regularly. We also do skype with my French family weekly. However, they do not speak French to me. I am fluent in English of course so I understand them and I did not want to force them to speak French as I was afraid they would see it as a constraint. When we left France my son was going to school there but still did not speak much (French or English), he was late to start. My daughter was going to daycare, but was just starting to speak. They know words and they are able to name things, colors and count if I ask them to, but they cannot really make sentences.
I realize now that I probably should have forced them to speak French with me from the start and it would just be natural by now, just like they don't ask me to speak English to them. I'd like to find ways to motivate them to practice their French. I just started translating what they say in French and make them repeat it to me and they seem to be ok with that. I thought an app would be a good idea, since they don't use the iPad normally, it would get them excited to be allowed to. My goal is really to encourage them to speak, we will see about reading and writing later, once they have started that in English first. The apps I have tried so far are either too basic (only teach single words, no speaking practice) or too advanced (Duolinguo for example requires reading).
I feel like this forum will be a great place to get more ideas to try. Let me know if you have any suggestions for apps or other ways to motivate my kids to practice their French. Thank you.
