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Contents
Posts
French Hello Song “Bonjour” with MP3
Monday, June 8th, 2009Hello songs are a wonderful way to help children who are learning a foreign language. It’s also nice for children to always sing the same song at the beginning of a class. Hello songs are great for this.
The song below is called “Bonjour”. It’s a French hello song written and sung by Alain Le Lait. Sit back and enjoy the song by clicking the MP3 below. You can read along with the lyrics in French, followed by an English translation by Alain…
Bonjour
(French Lyrics)Bonjour, bonjour
Comment ça va?
Bonjour, bonjour
Très bien, merci
Je suis content d’être ici
Avec tous mes petits amis
Bonjour, bonjour
Comment ça va?Merci, merci
Merci d’être ici
Merci, merci
Écoutez
Aimez-vous cette chanson?
J’espère que je suis dans le ton
Merci, merci
Merci d’être iciHello
(English Translation)Hello, hello
How are you?
Hello, hello
Very well, thank you
I am happy to be here
With all my little friends
Hello, hello
How are you?Thank you, thank you
For being here
Thank you, thank you
Listen up
Do you like this song?
I hope that I am in tune
Thank you, thank you
For being here.The French and English lyrics to this “Bonjour” song are © 2003 Alain Le Lait.
Alain Le Lait is a French native who grew up near Paris, France. He moved to the United States in the 1970s and now lives in Colorado. Alain writes and performs easy to learn children’s songs in French, Spanish and English. Check out his site www.Yadeeda.com to hear samples of his music and to buy his CD’s or mp3’s. Soon we’ll be posting Alain’s version of Alouette!
Merci Alain!
Mama Lisa
PS Here are some other Hello and Goodbye Songs…
Spanish Wrangler: Great Music for Exposing Kids to Spanish
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009The Spanish Wrangler sings really fun music for kids! The songs are mainly in English, but they’re peppered with Spanish words and phrases. Most of the songs tell a story – which children love. What a great way to expose kids to the Spanish language!
The Wrangler’s music is cool. You feel like you’re sauntering in a Western town. I thought it had a bit of a bluesy feel to it. So I asked the Spanish Wrangler how he would classify his music. He said, “a word I’ve seen used (and sometimes use myself) to describe my stuff is ‘roots-based.’ I think that signals that the songs are blues & country with some folk thrown in…” The folk is where the stories come from.
Check out the Wrangler singing in the song below (he’s great with the children!). You can see how he teaches Spanish words…
You can hear the whole song, plus others, on his site at Spanish Wrangler.
Here’s a link to buy the Spanish Wrangler’s CD’s.
Thanks to Wil Thomas aka the Spanish Wrangler for sharing his music with us!
Mama Lisa
Some Noteworthy Language Tools
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008Here are some new and old language tools worth mentioning…
Speech Accent Archive – If you’d like to hear or study accents in English check out this site. People from all over the world recite a paragraph in English.
Internet Slang Dictionary & Translator – also translates internet acronyms like lol
Nice Translator – Uses the Google translator, but displays text in a way that’s easier to read.
Verbix – Conjugates verbs in many languages
WordReference.com – online translation dictionaries translates words from English to: Spanish, Italian, Russian, German and French (translates in both directions).
Hello World – language resources for Kids
LanguageGuide.org – Visual Dictionaries in various languages
Feel free to mention any language tools or sites you like in the comments below.
-Mama Lisa
Some Silly Spanish Snot Songs + a YouTube Video
Thursday, June 26th, 2008All cultures seem to have their share of disgusting songs. They may gross you out – but they can make you laugh – even as adults! Here’s one I believe is originally from Spain called Yo tengo un moco – I Have a Booger! You can see a silly YouTube video of it after the lyrics, which are in Spanish and English (I did a quick translation). After that you’ll find another snot song from Mexico in Spanish, with an English translation too. I hope it doesn’t gross you out too much!
Yo tengo un moco
(Spanish Lyrics)Yo tengo un moco
lo saco poco a poco
lo redondeo
lo miro con deseo
yo me lo como
y como me sabe a poco
volvemos a empezarI Have a Booger
(English Translation)I have a booger
I pull it out little by little
I roll it up
I look at it with desire
I eat it
And as it hasn’t much taste,
We start over again!Here’s a song that seems to be originally from Mexico called Si quieres ser feliz metete el dedo a la nariz – If You Want to Be Happy, Put Your Finger to Your Nose…
Si quieres ser feliz metete el dedo a la nariz
(Spanish Lyrics)Si quieres ser feliz
métete el dedo a la nariz
si quieres ser otro poco
métete el dedo y saca el moco
El moco, el moco
el moco te gustará
el moco, el moco,
el moco te encantará
Mi tío Tomás, quería más
Mi tía María se los comía
Mi tía Lolita, los hacía bolita
mi tío José, yo no sé
El moco, el moco, el moco te gustará.If You Want to be Happy Put Your Finger to Your Nose
(English Translation)If you want to be happy
Put your finger to your nose
If you want to be a little happier
Get your finger and remove the snot,
The snot, the snot,
You’ll like the snot,
The snot, the snot,
The snot will enchant you.
My uncle Thomas, would want more,
My aunt Mary would eat them all,
My aunt Lolita, would make them into a little ball,
My uncle Jose, I don’t know at all,
The snot, the snot, you’ll like the snot.Many thanks to Kristen for pointing out Yo tengo un moco and to Monique Palomares for help with the Spanish! Feel free to share your booger songs, other versions of the songs above, or other funny kids songs in the comments below.
-Mama Lisa
Language Learning – Free Recordings To Help
Monday, May 19th, 2008There’s no better way to learn a foreign language than to hear it spoken. The internet can be a great tool for finding recordings that can help, but sometimes it can be hard to find what you need.
Fortunately, the good folks at Open Culture have done the work for us. Here’s an updated collection to dozens of language lessons podcasts. In addition to favorites like French and Spanish, you’ll find less popular (in America) tongues like Tagalog and Luxembourgish. There’s even some that cover Latin!
International Student Exchange Programs
Monday, February 11th, 2008Ed Gawlinski, who’s been involved with various cultural organizations throughout his life, sent me this email…
I get emails from AFS (American Field Service) from time to time. AFS is an organization that promotes cultural exchange. It was started by members of the United States’ volunteer ambulance corp (American Field Service) who served during World War I in France. They saw, first hand the horrors of war and believed that if people from different countries got to know each other as individuals they would work to prevent future wars.
When my daughter was a year old, we had an exchange student from Switzerland. She became part of our family. The last day of her stay with us was the birth of our second daughter, which she witnessed. Our second daughter went to Switzerland during the summer of her high school sophomore year to study French and stay with the parents of our former exchange student.
Hosting an exchange student is a wonderful experience. AFS and other organizations that promote these are always looking for volunteers. I would think many parents who regularly visit this site would enjoy this experience.
Thanks for sharing that information with us Ed! -Lisa
Traveling With Kids
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008My family and I are planning a trip to France! And, yes, that does include my six year old daughter and thirteen year old son.
My husband and I are very excited, but we’re trying to go with our eyes open: It’s not going to be easy! Traveling with young ones is always a challenge, and the current low value of the dollar makes the financial burden that much greater.
Here’s a few of the thoughts we’ve had and resources we’ve discovered as we prepare.
Baby Jetsetter is a wonderful blog about traveling with kids. It’s focused on babies, so my kids are a bit old for some of the tips, but if you’re planning a trip with the diaper and pacifier set, you should definitely check it out. For instance, the latest post gives great recommendations on what to pack and what not to pack in your carry-on bag for the plane.
The falling value of the US dollar is making traveling more expensive for Americans. Just this morning the New York Times posted an article on some coping strategies. I particularly like the suggestion of one commenter to forgo expensive Parisian restaurants and, instead, plan some picnics of baguettes and wheels of Brie or Camembert. (And maybe some grapes or apples on the side. I can’t completely ignore my diet!) What could be more genuinely Parisian?
I can get by in French, and my son is studying it in school. But my husband and daughter don’t know a word. I’m trying to prepare them by injecting some phrases into our conversation where I can. A few bonjour’s and s’il vous plait’s may not seem like much, but they’re a start.
And then, of course, there are the books!
I’m planning on picking up Ludwig Bemelmans classic Madeline to help acquaint my daughter with images of Paris in a way she can relate to.
There’s only so much wandering around museums we can expect a six year old and thirteen year old to tolerate, so we picked up Fodor’s Around Paris with Kids. It’s filled with kid friendly parks, boat rides and amusement parks that will, hopefully, make the city of lights come alive for our kids.
And finally, my husband is an inveterate reader and a history buff. He refuses to leave the house without studying two thousand years of the history of any place he goes. So he picked up La Belle France, A Short History by Alistair Horne. When we finally arrive, he may not be able to speak a word, but we’ll have to struggle to cut him off from lecturing us for hours about the historical background of every monument and Roman ruin we visit.
It’s taking a lot of preparation and it’s going to cost us a bit, but I think traveling is very important for both kids and adults. And, despite all the anticipated problems, it should be a huge amount of fun!
Multilingual Kids Books on the Web
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008I’ve been asked twice in the past week for free multilingual books.
Here’s a link I found called Books in Multiple Languages. They have English children’s books with translations in Spanish, French, Polish, Italian, Romanian, German, Chinese, Finnish, Swedish, Maori, Greek, Dutch, Farsi (Persian), Afrikaans, Croatian, Turkish, Russian, Japanese, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hebrew, Pennsylvania Dutch, Sloven, Indonesian, Malaysian, Hungarian, Dari, Hindi and Filipino.
If anyone knows of any other good multilingual book links, feel free to let us know about it in the comments below.
Someone was also looking for children’s books with animal sounds around the world. There’s one called Who Says a Dog Goes Bow Wow? by Hank de Zutter. You can click the link to see it on Amazon.
-Mama Lisa
Teaching an Appreciation of Poetry to Kids
Monday, November 26th, 2007It’s interesting that in France they have children learn poetry as part of their schooling. Children have to memorize poems. Though difficult, memorization can help develop a special appreciation for poems. This is something that most of my generation in America didn’t really get as part of their general education. I often hear about people in the past from my parents’ generation having had to memorize material like the poetry of Eugene Fields. I think that’s partly why some people from that generation have such fond memories of his poetry.
I’ve noticed my daughter’s teacher is using poetry to teach reading in her first grade class. They read a poem or two a week and copy it into a notebook. I think it’s wonderful that her class is starting grade school with an appreciation for poetry.
One of the poets my daughter’s teacher likes is Douglas Florian. He’s very down-to-earth. Here’s one of his poems from his book called Handsprings:
What I Love About Spring
Trees are growing
Streams are flowing
Cool Spring showers
Blooming flowers
Caterpillars creep
Peepers peep
Playing sports
Wearing shorts
April Fools’
Swimming pools
Going places
Relay races
Days are longer
Sun is stronger
Every morning songbirds sing-
I love nearly everything!
Copyright (c) 2006 by Douglas Florian
I like the earthiness of this poem and I think young kids can relate to that aspect of it too. It’s a nice thing if you can help a child develop an appreciation for poetry. Finding poets and poetry that they can relate to is a step in the right direction.
-Mama Lisa
UPDATE: My original presentation of the lyrics of this poem contained misprints. Douglas Florian was kind enough to correct me.
“Chanson d’Automne” – Autumn Song – A Poem by Verlaine
Monday, November 26th, 2007Here is one last poem about Autumn before I focus on the topic of the upcoming December holiday season.
I came upon this poem while looking for French podcasts to brush up on my French in anticipation of a trip to France in the Spring. There’s a whole podcast in French devoted to this poem that you can listen to. It inspired me to come up with my own translation, which you can read below.
Chanson d’Automne is a very sad poem that was written by Paul-Marie Verlaine in 1866. Most French people are familiar with this poem as it’s taught in school. French children are often required to learn it by heart.
Chanson d’Automne
Les sanglots longs
Des violons
De l’automne
Blessent mon cœur
D’une langueur
Monotone.Tout suffocant
Et blême, quand
Sonne l’heure,
Je me souviens
Des jours anciens
Et je pleure;Et je m’en vais
Au vent mauvais
Qui m’emporte
Deçà, delà,
Pareil à la
Feuille morte.Autumn Song
The long tears
Of Autumn’s
Violins
Wound my heart
With a monotonous
lethargy.All suffocating
And pale when
The hour strikes,
I remember
The old days
And I cry…And I am going away
On an ill wind
That carries me
Here, there,
Just like a
Dead leaf.Follow the link to hear Chanson d’Automne recited
A New Rosetta Stone!
Sunday, September 9th, 2007I found an interesting feature in Webster’s Online Dictionary at http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org . If you set it to “Non-English” and type in a word – it will give you that word in all of the languages it has for the word, with the definition. That’s pretty interesting to see.
For instance, the word “okay” exists in many languages. If you set the dictionary to “Non-English” and type that in, you can see all the languages for which they have information, that have the word “okay”. (Of course, “okay” is originally an English word, but it’s spread all around the world.)
New Recordings of French Children’s Songs
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007We were recently fortunate enough to receive a selection of recordings of French kids songs, sung by a French music teacher, Tiphaine Woerth.
Here’s a wonderful recording Tiphaine did of Ainsi Font, followed by the lyrics and an English translation.
Ainsi font
(French)Ainsi font, font, font
Les petites marionnettes
Ainsi font font font
Trois petits tours
Et puis s’en vont
Elle reviendront
Les petites marionnettes
Elles reviendront
Quand les autres partiront.They Do This Way
(English)They do, do, do this way
The little puppets
They do, do, do this way
Three little turns
And then they go away
They will come back
The little puppets
They will come back
When the others go away.Many thanks to Tiphaine Woerth for the recording and Monique Palomares of Mama Lisa’s World en français for the English translation.
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World France pages to hear more of Tiphaine’s recordings.
National Foreign Language Week
Thursday, March 8th, 2007In the United States, National Foreign Language Week is being celebrated this week. It’s normally held the first week of March each year.
National Foreign Language Week was started 50 years ago, in 1957, by President Eisenhower to encourage Americans to learn a second language, thereby improving our communication with (and hopefully understanding of) the rest of the world.
National Foreign Language Week is mainly celebrated in schools around the country.
In my son’s middle school, each day they’re focusing on a different language. The morning announcements are said in that day’s language. The students are encouraged to wear colors from that country’s flag. So if the language is French and the country is France – they’re supposed to wear the colors of the French flag – red, white and blue.
Some other good ideas I’ve seen are:
-Decorate the halls with flags from around the wall.
-Label the names of the classes in different languages.
-At the entrance of the school write “hello” or “greetings” in many different languages.
-Ask school librarians to highlight books about different cultures.Does anyone know of other ideas to promote cultural awareness and an interest in language learning in schools? We’d love to hear about any other ideas. Please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
Free Online Language Dictionaries
Friday, December 22nd, 2006While I have this link at hand, I’d like to recommend www.freedict.com. It’s a site devoted to free online language dictionaries. You can translate between English and the following languages:
Afrikaans
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
French
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Latin
Norwegian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swahili
SwedishI find that it can usually succeed at translating the words I need.
Feel free to recommend other language dictionaries that you like in the comments below.
-Lisa
Great Link for Language Learning
Monday, December 4th, 2006If you’re trying to learn a new language, I’d recommend checking out LanguageGuide.org.
Users visit different theme related pages (i.e. about insects, the family, the farm). Each page has images related to the theme. You place your cursor over the images and hear their names pronounced and see them spelled out in the language you choose.
Because it’s visually based, these pages can be used by anyone in the world, regardless of your native language.
Here are the languages they have:
English (English)
Italian (Italiano)
Arabic (عربي;)
Spanish (Español)
Portuguese (Português)
Mandarin Chinese (普通话)
French (Français)
Russian (Русский)
Japanese (日本語 Nihongo)
German (Deutsch)
Hebrew (עברית)So if you’re interested in learning any of these languages, or improving your skills, check it out!
-Lisa
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