La Famille Jolineau en Vacances

Abstract

La Famillie Jolineau en Vacances is a bilingual story and activity book for children starting to learn French. It has been written in the light of government guidance about teaching languages. The book is colourful, beautifully illustrated and fun, enabling children to develop reading, writing and speaking French in a natural way. Illustrations and English translations aid comprehension – the idea is that children will rely on them less as they develop. The vocabulary becomes more complex as the book progresses, building on children’s learning. Each page has a question to provide children with speaking opportunities, and the replies can be found in the text, for example: Qu’aime faire Celine? (what does Celine like to do?), elle aime lire des livres (she likes to read books). French letters that are not pronounced are highlighted in red to aid pronunciation, and children will soon learn that most of the time a consonant at the end of a word is silent. The book ends with games that children can play in order to learn key French vocabulary, such as days of the week, numbers and colours.