Moving to Another House: A short story in French for self-learner [Level A1-A2]

We are back with another Storytelling’N French video, spoken by a native French speaker (HB), for learning French grammar and pronunciation.

We made this video for the absolute beginner (A1 to A2) and self-learners. It’s to help them overcome learning difficulties in language studies.

In this article, I’ll show you how to use this children story in French for adults (as well as kids too!).

Before you dive in (the video that is), are you new to my blog?

Or did you find this video randomly on the internet?

Either way, I suggest that you read this article first: “Learn French with stories design for self-study {Storytelling’N French}”. It will bring you up-to-date with our Storytelling’N French process and maybe answer some hidden questions that you might have.

Now on to the book (and video).

For this month, I picked a Montessori Friendly Children’s books (in French): Changer de Maison (Moving to Another House) by Dr. Catherine Dolto.

Her collection provides answers to questions (asked by children) on topics such as family living together or the body and health.

I love this book because this is my life. We move a lot.

How to use this video in your studies:

For a self-learner who has a beginner A1 to A2 level in French, here’s how you can use this book and video to learn new vocabulary and everyday verbs.

Step 1: you just need to listen.

You just need to listen and to get used to hearing French spoken.
Here you just want to listen several times without picking up the dictionary.
I would advise you to listen attentively (your undivided attention) three times.
No multitasking on Facebook, Netflix in the background, music etc…
This is really the first important step to learning a language.

Step 2: look for clues

Are there any images that are associated with that word?
How many times is the image repeated with that word?
Write down the clues that you found. Write the word you saw and heard in French and the image it was associated with in your language (for me that would be English).
My advice is to get creative with step two and turn into Inspector Gadget or Sherlock Holmes.
Be that detective who finds clues in the book (I played this game with some language learners and it works).

Step 3: break out the dictionary

Now it’s time to look up your clues.
Were you able to guess the meaning with the images that were associated with the word?
I love this part. Try to play this like a game.

Step 4: talk like a parrot

Now that you have just learned some new vocabulary, it’s time to start repeating them like a parrot.
This is an imitation technique that will help you learn how to correctly pronounce a word in another language.
Replay the video, but this time try to imitate and repeat what H.B said in the video.
Have you ever been mimicked by someone when you were a child or an adult?
Well, this is it. Pretend to be your brother or sister and mock H.B in the video (I incarnate my master mocker brother).

Step 5: wash, rinse and repeat

If you’re new to self-learning I would advise to go slowly and keep the background noise to a minimum (multitasking on Facebook, Netflix in the background, music).
Go through step 1 to 4 as many times as needed.
Once you feel that you have learned some new vocabulary, verbs and are able to mimic H.B then it’s time to move on to another book.

I hope that our Storytelling‘N French will show you a different technique for learning a language (no matter what age you are).

While you’re in the process you can discover different French authors, French culture, idioms and more.

If you enjoyed our video and this blog post, please support the author by Purchasing the Book Here:

Psst!
It’s better to order directly from Amazon France and not the US because the cost comes out cheaper with the exchange rate via your credit card, and the shipping via amazon too!

Now on to YOU, please share:

• Have you already tried this technique before?
• How did you feel afterward, and what changes happened in your language learning process?
• What’s keeping you from doing these simple exercises?

I love learning about new techniques in self-learning. Please share yours!

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook.

Would you like to be notified when the next Storytelling ‘N French video is online?

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Thank you for reading and adding your perspective to the conversation!
See ya in the comments down below.
Remember to LIVE, LOVE & design your life the way you want it to be.

Rachael HELPS!