Photo courtesy: JAG Photography
My four-year-old daughter, Vanessa, just finished two weeks of an immersion language summer camp…in FRENCH! I’ve been wanting her to go there since last summer, but things didn’t really work out the way I’d plan them and so we had to wait until this year. And, I’m actually glad we did!
French is my third language and I’ve spoken to Vanessa in French in the past although not in a consistent or structured way. In fact, before her brother was born and when I used to stay home with her, I signed her up for toddler French lessons at our local Alliance Fraçaise. Although she was too little, I’m glad I did because she did get some exposure to the way the language sounds. So, she was not hearing it for the first time when she attended the French Summer Camp at Denver Montclair International School – the full immersion bilingual private elementary school in the city.
Each of the two weeks she spent immersed in French from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. had a different theme. The first week it was all about water – they even went on a field trip to the pool! Since I knew about the themes before hand, I made sure to incorporate the vocabulary she was learning each day on our way back home from camp. One of the things that stuck the most that first week was a song she was talk about a little boat. She also learned how to say “Bonjour”, “Aurevoir” and “Je m’appelle Vanessa.”
The second week, which was the last week of the camp, the theme was back-to-school. So it was perfect because she was taught the basics: numbers, colors, shapes and letters. What stuck the most this time around were the numbers.
I must say I was extremely proud of her when she announced, to no one in particular, at the end of the first week of camp: “Yo hablo tres idiomas. Españo, inglés y francés.” (“I speak three languages. Spanish, English and French.”).
Want her to prove it to you? Check her out in this video I took of her over the weekend:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l_LWuqrLPU
From the start, I knew she probably wouldn’t learn a lot because, after all, two weeks is really nothing when it comes to language learning. But, I did know that the exposure would be a great way for me to transition into a more formal situation where I’ll actually be more consistent about teaching Vanessa a third language. And, to that end, if you follow us on Twitter, you might have already learned that we are incredibly excited about our new partnership with Little Pim. I’ll let you know more of the details very, very soon, but for now, suffice it to say that I’ll be using all of Little Pim’s materials in my journey to start Vanessa on her third language and I’ll be documenting her progress right here during her first three months. Although I know it’s not going to be easy, I have a willing participant and I’m work hard to remember, above all, that we need to make it fun!
What do you think about the idea of exposing your children to a third language? Any tips for us as we embark on this incredibly exciting journey?
Wow Roxana ~ what a lovely little language learner you have there! Vanessa IS having fun, and it shows in this video clip … her smile/sonrisa is adorable. I have heard terrific things about the immersion DVDs of Little Pim in all of their languages, and I can’t wait to keep up with your family’s journey into a 3rd language with smiles!
Thanks, Beth! We’re excited too!! Can’t wait to share her progress with all of you!!
I am soooo excited about your trilingual journey with your little one Roxana! You & Vanrssa are giving me hope
I like what you said about a willing participant…thats one of my fears that Sabrina will tun out to not want to participate. im hoping that since im starting now that she will just think its normal…lets see if my little trick pans out.
I´m sure you´re probably right to say that if you start now she´ll never know the difference.
How great to be able to just “automatically” be able to speak three languages!
Preciosa!
Roxana! I can’t wait to read/see more!
I had no idea she’d be singing the numbers! Love her!
Me neither. I just told her to count to five and she broke out in song! She’s a show-off!! And to think that her mamá hates the camera!
That is great that she is being exposed to three languages! And, the earlier the better. Our family is attempting to become trilingual. My first language is English. And, we have been working on Spanish regularly. Last weekend we started a Mandarin class. The Mandarin will be challenging for me. But, I was surprised that both my children seemed to pick it up quickly.
My tip would be to continue exposing your child to the language whever possible, and stick with it even when it seems like it isn’t sinking in.
@Tyeisah: Mandarin? How exciting! Would love to hear more about your adventures learning it! Thanks for stopping by
We are in a similar situation. My four year old is already bilingual Spanish/English but I am trying to add French (which I do not speak myself.) I would love for you to write more about your experiences and products that you use. I am having a hard time finding French teaching materials for children at a beginning level.
@Adriana,
I will most definitely be writing more about our experiences as well as share whatever I find in terms of products – besides Little Pim – to help us in our journey. My daughter’s summer camp French teacher promised to send me some info to help us start building our library and such, as soon as I have that, I’ll share it!
What a fun thing to do! French is my 3rd language as well and I’ve been wondering if there’s a way of doing a camp in France for both her and me…We just got back from France,and got our daughter some books on France, and it’s all she talks about!
If you know of any places for camps overseas, please let me know! and also, like Adriana said, it would be great to hear of the resources you use to continue her on the language.
My daughter is almost 4 and fully bilingual (spanish/english). She;s convinced she can speak french too
so ibetter get her started.
I’m so happy to see through your comments here and in our Facebook page that we’re not alone in our trilingual journey! I can’t wait to update you on what’s going on! My daughter is totally into it and just recently, I found her teaching her father how to count in French. She now knows how to count to SIX!
Hi! I’ve been following your posts for a while now and you write about a subject that has been very important to me even before I thought of having kids. Im a trilingual myself (Spanish, English and French) and always had in mind I would teach my kids English and French since Spanish is our first language because we live in Puerto Rico. We use ASL so she can communicate even thou she doesn’t talk yet. My daughter is 10months old and I read to her in the 3 languages but I would love to learn more on how to teach her all of this even at her short age. I’ve been learning a few things from your blog but I would like to get more info on where to start.
Thanks!!!