• French language games can help your kids learn French easier.france image by WSC from Fotolia.com
  
  Learning new languages can take a lot of time and patience, something that many of your students may have when it comes to French. Using French games in your classroom may help them learn French much easier, whether it is vocabulary or sentence construction.
  
  

'Ou est Georges?'

• This game is designed for beginning French students and was suggested by Teaching Ideas.com. Find a small stuffed toy that will easily fit into your children's desk. It should be a friendly looking animal such as a teddy bear or frog. Give it a French name, for example "Georges." Pick a "finder." The finder will leave the room while you pick another child to be the "hider." The hider will put the toy in his desk and hide it carefully. He must act as if he does not have the toy. Once her toy is hidden, the finder must come into the room and find the child with the toy. However, she can only speak in French. She can ask, "Bonjour, Je m'appelle (name of the child), et toi?" which means, roughly "Hello, my name is (child's name), what is yours?" If the child does not have the toy, he should say, "Bonjour, je m'appelle (child's name)." This means "Hello, my name is (child's name)." If he has the toy, he should say, "Bonjour, je m'appelle Georges." The finder should get three guesses. If he does not find the toy, the class should chant "Ou est Georges?" which means "Where is Georges?" The hider should reveal the toy and he becomes the finder. If the toy is found, the finder stays the finder.
  
  

Comic Skits

• This game, suggested by CDLI.com, should only be attempted by more advanced French students. Split your students up into groups and hand out comic strips to each group. There should be at least 10 different strips for the students to use. They should then pick a comic strip that they will act out in French. They will translate the dialogue into French using their books. They can also choose to write their own comic skit out in French but giving them comics will help focus them on translating and not on creating funny ideas. The translation is the most important part of this activity. Once they have it translated they pick characters to portray and the method of portrayal. This can be done by dressing up and acting it out. However, if students want to use stuffed animals to portray their characters this is just fine. They can also put on a puppet show if they like. The day of the game, everyone should vote on the best translation and performance.
  
  

What's Missing?

• This simple game, suggested by Teaching Ideas.com will help boost your students' vocabulary. You can use this at any level, from beginner to advanced. Gather up a group of objects and place them on the table. Go through them one at a time with your students and state the French name of the objects. Once you have named them all, choose a child to leave the room. Once she has left, pick an object to remove from the table and hide the object. Mix up the objects on the table and let her back into the room. She must pick the object that is missing and use the French name to identify it. If she says the English name, she loses and must sit down. Every time a student picks the right object, he gets to try again. Use different objects if possible each round.