Be A Child And Learn French
Learning French is paramount to your success in the future, but who has time?
Documentaries are the perfect entertainment while you learn. They can be educational, entertaining and often quirky. Watching a documentary will get your whole family involved and not just sitting on their phones as they would if it was TV. Documentaries are also great for kids to watch because it teaches them about new things without being overwhelming like reading a book.
A documentary introduces us to people from all walks of life who have something fascinating or extraordinary about their lives that we might never have encountered otherwise (the humble artisan cheese-maker, the world-famous primatologist, etc.). Documentaries are also enlightening and often expose us to aspects of the world that we might never have considered otherwise. It's also a great way to teach our kids about the world around them.
Watching documentaries is a great shared experience for you and your family, and it will help you all to bond over something other than mobile screens.
So what's on? Here are our top five picks for French families:
1. Be A Child And Learn French (S01E11) – http://bit.ly/beaclarefrench
A mother and her gentle son set off on a road trip to discover the world around them. The first episode of Be A Child And Learn French is an animated series based on a book by the same title by Barbara McCollom. It follows the family as they embark on a bright-eyed quest to find out what makes people happy, why they like their homes, how they make money and more. Their answers come in the form of singing and dance and discussion that is often hilarious. The style of the show may not be for everyone but it's a fabulous way to introduce children to new topics alongside music, song and rhyme that often enriches every episode.
2. Will Work for Food – http://bit.ly/willworkforfood
Will Work For Food is a fascinating documentary series by Alexandra Bergeron and Anna Gaskell that follows struggling families as they attempt to find ways to make ends meet and why some people are forced to take whatever they can while others have more than they know what to do with. There are a few French subs (French language subtitles) but the English voice over is clear and easy to hear so you won't miss out on anything important if you don't understand every word of French. It's also a really good way to learn colloquial French: it's spontaneous, natural and often hilarious! And the camera footage is beautiful.
3. The Road Forward (S01E02) – http://bit.ly/theroadforward
For those of you who haven't seen the original, The Road Forward is a French documentary series that follows three people who have chosen quite different paths in life and are now all doing one thing: looking for ways to make their dreams happen, whatever the cost and wherever they might find them. The series takes viewers around the world to discover the real dreams of ordinary people. Each episode follows two subjects who are looking for a fresh start somewhere else, whether it be in a different career or in life altogether. It's heart-warming, emotional and uplifting: a perfect watch if you've just finished watching the above.
4. Les Samedis Gourmands – http://bit.ly/lesamedisgourmand
For those of you who want to improve their kitchen skills, Les Samedis Gourmands (Saturdays Gourmet) is a French cooking show for families which goes back as far as 2006! It aims to make cooking fun and accessible for kids and adults alike by providing them with everyday recipes that serve four people. The hosts also chat about food topics and offer tips on various kitchen utensils and equipment that they have tried out themselves.
Conclusion:
We hope you've enjoyed this article on French documentaries and that it's provided some new ideas for you to get stuck into with your family. Do you have any favourite French documentaries? Do let us know in the comments section below! We'd love to learn of them.
We've put together a list of our favourite French movies: http://bit.ly/frenchmovies
And last but not least, if you don't understand what's happening in one of the videos, don't forget there are English subtitles for all our videos! However, we've created some handy versions for iPads that make it easier for children to watch these videos at school! (http://www.dabbleforkids.