Bonjour! Let's Learn French

By Judy Martialay
Published: October 31, 2017

Why we chose this book:
If you know me or T's dad, you already know that we encourage intercultural understanding and foreign language acquisition. If you didn't before, now you do. When Judy Martialay contacted me about potentially reviewing her book, it was a welcome request, as it aligns with my goals for helping T widen his cultural and linguistic comfort zones. Martialay provided a review copy.

Mom's Review

A gentle introduction to French language and culture.

The purpose of Bonjour! Let's Learn French is to introduce children to French culture and establish a rudimentary vocabulary. The first portion of the book is an illustrated story. When a French word is introduced, it follows the English word and is bolded. After it has been used alongside the English a couple of times, only the French bolded word appears. The context and repetition should support children's recollection of the meaning. By integrating a small collection of terms and phrases into a cute story, Martialay encourages natural language acquisition through use of those terms and phrases. The second portion of the book is a series of activities designed to build language skills and cultural knowledge. Some activities include impressionist painting, a song, and a skit to act out. There is also an informational section outlining some basic cultural commonalities, such as well known foods (like croissants), favorite vacation destinations (the beach), and preferred pets (dogs). Overall, I think that this is an easy starting point for parents to introduce their children to French language and culture. The only difficulty I encountered was an absence of a pronunciation key. I took a year of French in high school, so I recognized and remembered a few words, but a guide would have been helpful to me. Though, it may be that parents interested in an introductory French book already have some knowledge of French. This is not a textbook, and children won't be speaking more than a phrase or word, but it does lay the groundwork for further instruction and can certainly spark a child's interest.

We speak a very minimal amount of German at home with T. As in, greetings, a few questions or directions, some songs and stories. T has travelled to countries where English is not spoken much, but not to France. His background knowledge of France is Madeline and the Eiffel Tower. So, the concept of foreign lands and languages is itself not foreign to him. With that background in mind, I'd like to give you my perception of his reaction to Bonjour! Let's Learn French before you read his articulations. T sat still and silent, listening attentively and inspecting the pictures while I read. After the first time we read, he could not identify any new French words or their meanings, but was able to summarize the story. This was not a surprise. One will not expand his or her vocabulary after the initial use of the new words, but with time and repetition, I would anticipate an increase in knowledge and comprehension of the French terms used. What I did find interesting was that immediately after reading it, he asked to have it read again, and after that second reading, he used German with me. In the days following, he has continued to use German more frequently. Has he learned French from reading this book a handful of times? He likes saying, "Bonjour!" What he has been doing, though, is incorporating more of his second language into his daily communication. And that is promising.


Son's Review
(age 3 and 1/2)

Mom: I'd like to know your thoughts on Bonjour!

Son: I really liked it. I really liked when the snail jumped onto the throne. The snail was very cute.

Mom: What language was in this book?

Son: French.

Mom: And did you learn any new French words?

Son: Bonjour!

Mom: And do you remember what that means? ... When do you say it?

Son: I don't know...When you're in French.

Mom: What else did you learn?

Son: I learned that if it's night time and a dog and a cat are running, then your sand castle can be broken.
(This happens in the story.)

Mom: When would it be a good time to read this book?

Son: Before we travel to French.

Mom: Would you ever want to go to France? What would you want to do in France?

Son: Yes. I would really want to. I would really want to go to the beach in Fr-ance.

Mom: Did you understand the story or was it hard with French words? What happened?

Son: I did understand. So he was sad when the castle broke. Before the castle broke, he had a little meal. But after the castle broke, the children came and rebuilded it.

Mom: What else did you think about this book?

Son: That it's awesome.

Mom: Did you like reading a story in two langauges?

Son: Yes. I really like two languages. And our review is done. Now let's read the book again.


Extra:
Martialay provides resources for parents, including downloadables and an audio version of the book. Here's a link to the audio version: https://polyglotkidz.com/audio_for_bonjour_lets_learn_french/