Petit Poulet

We often have beginner students ask us if we know of any children's books that would be suited to their level. It makes sense - as a beginner you're really starting from scratch, as you do as a bébé*. What we tend to forget, though, is that before we start reading in our native language, we've already had years of exposure to words and sounds and our comprehension of the spoken word is almost perfect. Therefore, picking up a children's book in French is not as easy as it may sound.

This is why we were so delighted to discover this lovely little site. If you're a current Chouchou*, you may have seen a post about this great little site last week in the group Slack channel. In case you missed it, or for those who are not yet doing lessons chez Lingua Franca*, we thought you might enjoy it, too.

The French Experiment is a site dedicated to learning the French language. It's small but very well done, and when we saw the list of French contes* available, we knew we had to faire passer la parole*.

Though there are several tales available (there’s even an original love story between a whale and a bird), the one below is the only one to have been animated (so far). Though this is a high intermediate level, it is suitable for everyone as you can choose to have English subtitles, French subtitles or no subtitles at all. For the others, you'll find the story in French accompanied by lovely illustrations as well as the option to translate the text into English.

NB: Be sure to click on the red text “Watch the video” to see the animated version. If you click only on the play button, you’ll just hear the audio.

Alors, lancez-vous!* Les Trois Petits Cochons*, Boucle d'Or* and Le Petit Chaperon Rouge* are waiting for you.

*baby | *Teacher's Pet | *at Lingua Franca | *fairytales | *spread the word | *So, give it a go! | *The Three Little Pigs | *Goldilocks | *Little Red Riding Hood