children's music review

teach me french (cd or cassette with book set)

Rating: 

Product Review
Teach Me French takes kids on a musical journey through the day, from waking up in the morning all they way to bedtime. This audio program features fun songs in English and French, rhythms that teach important vocabulary words, all interspersed with short conversations of native children, and is designed for children aged 2-12.

The songs include the following:

• The More We Get Together/Plus nous sommes ensemble
• the traditional Frêre Jacques and Alouette
• Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes/Têtes, épaules, genoux, et pieds
• Mary Had a Little Lamb/Marie avait un p'tit agneau
• One Elephant/Un éléphant
• The Wheels on the Car/Les roues de la voiture
• Hush Little Baby/Dodo gentil bébé
• Sur le pont d'Avignon
• Six Little Ducks/Six petits canards
• Rain, Rain Go Away/Pluie, pluie va-t-en

These are just some of the many lively songs. Additionally, groups of native children recite the days of the week, numbers, the alphabet, Jack and Jill (Jean et Jeanne), etc. The enthusiasm of the children is catchy, and the clarity of speech is superb — both factors contributing to a highly appealing program.

Children speak about their day in between these pleasant songs. They talk about their house, waking up in the morning, getting dressed, eating breakfast, going to school, driving in the car, eating lunch, going to the park, suppertime, and bedtime. The album ends with the appropriate "Fais dodo, Colas" lullaby.

The accompanying booklet contains the lyrics to the songs and spoken excerpts with pictures that illustrate the songs and phrases. It provides an excellent way for both parents and children to follow along. Younger children can color the pictures too. There are also translations of the French-only phrases.

This program is certainly a favorite of my own children. We owned the tape version without the booklet when my youngest was a baby, and I know the songs inside and out. This was the preferred car tape to any other — whether foreign language or regular song tapes.

Considering that the program is bilingual, it could conceivably be used for French-speaking children to expose them to English as a second language. However, the conversation tidbits are all French.

The songs are very well done and vary from the very upbeat Head Shoulders Knees & Toes to the relaxing Fais dodo Colas. You'll find that children really enjoy the tape and because of this, they will more readily and automatically accept the everyday phrases presented. Use of song to acquire a foreign language is a powerful way to learn, and this program does an excellent job of combining a variety of styles of songs and everyday speech clips.

An auditory sample is available from the Teach Me Tapes website. This sample features the more quiet song, Rain Rain Go Away.

Teach Me More French is also available (see our review). Teach Me Even More French is the third in the series.

Also available is a Teacher's Guide — the program is not only appropriate for home use, but would also make a wonderful supplement to French language instruction school programs. This guide contains extra activities, vocabulary words, and cultural tidbits.

Dollar Value
The book and cassette set costs $12.95 US and the CD/book set sells for $14.95 US. The hours upon hours of very educational and entertaining material make it well worth the price.

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