Has anyone used the Muzzy language videos?

[stellar]

I am very tempted to buy the French set for my children (ages 6, 4 and 2) but it is a lot of money to spend if they're not worth it. I would love my children to be able to speak another language (I studied French at school to A level). We are hoping to start holidaying in France from next year and I'm going back to college in September to study French again.

Any opinions please, good or bad

thanks

Stella x

It's just been mentioned on one of my email lists that there's a set of French Muzzy videos on Ebay with a Buy it now for £35.

Stellar - dd is only 18months, but i want to gradually introduce her to french as I speak it and we visit quite often, so we listen to french nursery rhymes in the car - really good CD available from Amazon "50 chansons et comptines de france vol 1". It's quite a 'soft' and fun introduction to the language I think. I've found a website where you can track down the 'paroles' for the popular nursery rhymes & songs - here scroll down for comptines et chansons ; and also www.paroles.net HTH

Fantastic idea to introduce your kids to another language esp if you can take them to a country that speaks it for their holidays. We have Muzzy but in English for kids at school and tbh I don't think it's all that great but then the tefl market has a lot more choice perhaps.
How about trying to get hold of normal programmes for French kids like Sesame Street, the French equivalent of the Tweenies or whatever is all the rage these days - either thro Amazon or even better just video it off the telly if you know someone with satellite or someone who lives in France.
I leanrt all my numbers thro Sesame Street in various countries and I'm 30!

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I have used Muzzy in Italian (yep they also do it in Italian and Spanish!) when I was teaching children a long time ago. I thought the video was fantastic and the children really loved it as it's not boring and knows how to keep their attention levels high.

The books and the material coming with the video were very well structured too. I definetevely recommend it.

The children would sing the songs from the video straight away in Italian and it was amazing to see that the younger they were, the better was their Italian accent!

It would be good though if you participated too, stopping the video when there is a new topic coming on and use the related activity on the workbook.

Following is a way of using the material, but it can be used in many ways.
My advice is to try to keep it structured and make sure that before you carry on with a new topic that they know all the vocabulary that there is before, otherwise they loose interest as they don't understand what is happening, in a few words:
build good foundations if you don't want the building to fall ;-)

I used to teach a topic a week on Saturday mornings when they are very alert and not tired from school.

1. Introduce topic with video:
   (start from the alphabet, then carry on with introducing yourself, talk about your family, the numbers, the seasons, the days of the week and so on and so forth until you build their vocabulary and conversation skills)

2. Concentrate on that topic with by rewinding the video. If there is a song try to get them to repeat it.

3. Use workbook to reinforce topic (the youngest ones can look at the pictures and repeat the words after you, the older one can even "fill in the gaps" in the workbook)

4. Don't worry about teaching the grammar, as according to the method we were using any child can speak a language by the age of 4 even thought they can't write or read...so they will be able to learn a foreign language the same way when they are very young.

5. Try to let them repeat what they have learnt by switching off video and closing workbooks (free practice)

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