How to learn French vocabulary words
Does your child grumble every time they receive their weekly vocabulary lesson? To keep them motivated, you can explain that the richer and more varied their vocabulary, the better their chances of doing well in school—and not just in French class! Having a way with words is incredibly helpful, no matter the subject. That’s why elementary school children are expected to learn about 400 new words a year.
Table of contents
Understand the word
To build a solid vocabulary, your child must understand the words they’re learning. Knowing a word’s meaning will help them do the following:
- Pronounce it correctly
- Spell it correctly
- Use it in the right context
- Classify it by category
- Etc.
Memorize the word
Memorizing vocabulary words requires impressive mental gymnastics. It’s not simply a case of learning by heart!
Before vocabulary words can be stored in your child’s long-term memory, they first need to be processed by their working memory. To make this step easier, you can ask your child to do the following:
1. Learn what the word means
Before your child can memorize a new word, they must learn to associate it with the right idea, concept, or object. Basically, they need to understand its meaning. To help them along, you can ask them to do the following:
- Guess what the word means
- Look up the word’s definition in the dictionary
- Use the word in a sentence
- Etc.
2. Use the word in the right context
Words often have many meanings. For example, the French word baie can refer to a small fruit or a body of water. To help your child untangle the possible definitions, you can write a few short sentences using the word in different contexts:
- L’oiseau aimait manger des baies rouges.
- Le voilier naviguait dans la baie à l’abri du vent.
3. Compare the word to ones you already know
As your child progresses in elementary school, their vocabulary will grow. To help them memorize new words, you can suggest that they make connections with words they already know to form word families. Here’s an example:
- The French word nourrir is related to nourriture, nourricier, and
- They all have the same first syllable, nourr, which hints that they’re related.
Did you know
Learning spelling patterns can help your child retain certain vocabulary words. For example, in French, the ending ail becomes aille in the feminine form. To learn more, check out our article on spelling French sounds.
4. Play around with the word
Playing word games can also be a great way to retain new vocabulary. Encourage your child to use their imagination and create short, fun sentences using the following:
- Rhymes
- Poems with multiple meanings
- Etc.
5. Repeat the word often
The more your child repeats a new word, the faster they’ll store it in their long-term memory—as long as they understand its meaning. To help boost your child’s French vocabulary, you can point them toward our online resources, which use vocabulary lists recognized by the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur (MEES):
6. Use the word frequently
It’s recommended to teach kids no more than 7 new words at a time. You can help by using new words often in conversation so your child can hear them in the right context. Here are some other ways to boost your child’s vocabulary:
- Emphasize new words when speaking
- Point out when new words are used on TV
- Choose storybooks that have new words
- Etc.