[ * parent hése | La voix des parents de Colombie-Britannique

By Annie Bourret, Professional Linguist and Children’s Author |

Promoting French on a Daily Basis - Reading

a Reading allows a young child
to start making connections
between oral language (which is the
child’s linguistic starting point) and
written language. In ofher words, this
allows the child to understand that
sounds correspond to letiers. The
child’s brain then starts decoding the
written language in a back-and-forth
of sounds-letters and_ letiers-sounds
where the combinations of sounds be-
come words, such as in “bain, main
and pain.” The same mechanism
comes into play for young bilingual
children, for example with “hat, cat,
rat” in English.

Reading plays a special role in the
bilingual language development of
a young child, because the child usu-
ally lives in a society where one of the
two languages is a minority language.
Reading in the minority language (in
French, for us) can give the child lin-
guistic models and allow the child to
experience situations that his/her sur-
roundings or family circle can't offer.
It's also a great way fo eliminate mixing
languages (‘Sing me une comptine”),
while enriching vocabulary.

books are stored.

The 4 Rs in Action - Reading

ROUTINE > Establish a routine of daily reading with the Francophone parent. To promote the
-continual nature of reading, try to create a comfortable and attractive reading area where

Some Suggestions? Try the
Activity Cards in GRANDIR CB“

Most of the cards in the GRANDIR
CBMC resource suggest books that will
enrich the proposed activity. Two cards
are particularly well suited for reading with
very young children. You can download
them for free, at www.fpfcb.bc.ca, > Pe-
tite enfance > GRANDIR CBMC > Fiches
d'activité.

a With the Parler - Bruits en folie card
(from birth to 2 years old) - we associ-
ate various noises with words (“vroum,
bang, plouf”). The card suggests sever-
al books, including one that I love: “Bi-
nou et les sons.” When reading, make
links with the child's world. “Binou aime
la voiture qui fait vroum! Est-ce que tu
as une voiture qui fait vroum?”

= On the Parler - Lis-moi une histoire
card (from 2 to 5 years old) - several
very simple fips are given fo help chil-
dren learn to read with hints from pic-
tures. This is ideal for vocabulary and
cognitive development. As for the sug-
gested book, “La grenouille qui avait
une grande bouche,” the story is worth
reading and... imitating together!

Read in Other Languages?

If it’s another language with a Latin
alphabet, the child will quickly recognize
the mechanics of preparing for reading,
such as opening the book in one direc-
tion, turning the pages to the left and
reading from left fo right and from one
line to the next (especially if you make it
a habit to follow the words with your fin-
ger). Later, fhe child will begin to notice
the graphic details of writing, such as the
spaces between words, punctuation, or
the letters of his/her first name. These skills
are transferable.

Nevertheless, back and support the
French language. It’s been established
that the minority language must be com-
pensated for during bilingual language
development, since the child is less ex-
posed to this language. If you are con-
cerned about your child’s proficiency in
reading English, remember that all the
child's surroundings strengthen English
(street names, store names, displays at
the supermarket, at the doctor's, etc.).

REJOICING > Show enthusiasm when you start reading. Read with intonation, and change your voice

according to the characters. Use the scenes in the book to make games. “La petite souris se cache parce qu'elle a peur du
chat. OU irais-tu te cacher, toi? En dessous du fauteuil? Vraiment? Viens, on va essayer!” :

REPETITION > Reread the child's favourite book, as often as he/she wishes, during the same reading period or from one day
to the next. Often ask fhe same questions about the story or pictures. Have the child fell you the story in his/her own words,
but don't expect an exact or precise story. Choose books where words or sentences are repeated (this gives models). The
repetition makes the child comfortable and contributes to his/her success.

REWARDING > Give the child tasks and praise him/her. “Peux-tu trouver Gaston et son avion? Bravo!” Ask the child to turn the
pages. ‘C'est le moment de tourner la page! Merci!” Sharpen the child's sense of observation. “Ou est le crocodile? Oui, il
est Ia! Beau travail!”