Product Review: Bonjour Les Amis!, Vol. 1 DVD (Preschooler +)

Monterey Media Inc., A Uniquely Independent Studio from California

My first and only course in French was in seventh grade, which is when my school system started to teach children foreign language. It was almost a throw-away class that was only for part of the year for one language (French or Spanish) and then the other language for the second half. At the end of the year, the child would choose which language to take in eighth grade. It was really difficult for me, who had barely been exposed to anything outside of the English language at that point, and I wondered if my brain could be wired to absorb language acquisition now that I was halfway to adulthood without immersion. The songs and videos we watched in class were the most helpful (I still remember them!) and the dry memorization of verb tenses was the least helpful to me. It certainly did not help me speak French! It probably could have been Chinese characters Mademoiselle was trying to teach for all I knew, it seemed so, well, foreign to me. I chose Spanish for my language course in eighth grade because it came easier and seemed straight forward and I never looked back at French. It wasn’t until a trip to France a few years ago that made me really want to start learning French. It’s an intriguing language and the visit to the Alsace region and resistance to speak English to our little American group made it an interesting and funny experience. We actually had one conversation at a restaurant that went something like this: “Dessert Menu, merci”. “Huh?” “Dessert?” “Ooohhhh…….DAY-ZERT?” “Oui. Dessert”. “DAY-ZERT?”. “Oui”. However, that was not as hilarious as one restaurant that gave our group three cheese plates. Oh well. Now we did know basic French and things like numbers and the words ‘uh’ and ‘twah’ (phonetically, of course) sound completely different. We did not order three cheese plates and I still think about how much we laughed (and then cried a little inside about the price) when they came out. I still envision a French prep cook laughing his head off in the back room. Hey, I worked in restaurants in high school and college, I know how it goes! Before I get completely off topic, I have to say our little trip into French speaking music and videos is so much fun with Brooke. Her little brain just absorbs and repeats everything at her age and, I think, it helps to hear different languages at her age from everything I have read. We have really enjoyed the Bonjour Les Amis! DVD as a nice and gentle introduction to the French language.

Bonjour Les Amis!, Vol. 1 DVD is an award-winning 50 minute cartoon and live action video for a child’s introduction to the French language. We love the character of Moustache, the sweet little cartoon cat, who narrates the video and makes French a fun experience for the family. Moustache goes about his day meeting friends (animal and human!), singing songs and even attending a magic show and we get to come with him for the ride and pick up some new French words on the way. The DVD is not forced and it is a nice reminder to me that language absorption is so important at a young age. I hope Brooke doesn’t have to struggle through a foreign language in middle school like I did!

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