Tips to Practice Your French with Your Host Family 🇫🇷🎉

We all know it: if you’re an au pair in France, it’s not just to taste our wonderful croissants and pain au chocolat (Yes, I’m team pain au chocolat, not chocolatine 😜). You’re here to hear, speak, laugh, and joke in French. But how do you do that when you’re still a beginner? Here are a few tips to get you started with your host family:

This game is perfect for expanding your vocabulary, thanks to its different stages.

• Step 1: Each person chooses a word around a common theme and writes it down on a piece of paper. Then, explain the word with your own words to make your team guess. If you’re still a bit shy, just focus on remembering the words.

• Step 2: After you’ve guessed all the words, round two begins. This time, you can only use one word to make your team guess.

• Step 3: Now, it’s time to mime! No noise, no talking—just actions. Good luck!

You know the game: pawns, scorecards, and numbers. One person calls out numbers. If the number they call is on your card, place a pawn on it. The first one to cover all their numbers wins! Perfect for working on those tricky French numbers.

This game is great for practicing family-related vocabulary. Here’s what you need to know:

• La mère: the mother

• Le père: the father

• Le fils: the son

• La fille: the daughter

The game is simple:

• Say, “Dans la famille [name of the family] je demande…” (In the [family name] family, I’d like…)

• The other player responds with “Pioche” (Go fish!) if they don’t have the card you ask for.

You can even find versions that include vocabulary for in-laws, step-family members, and more!

These are just a few ideas to get you started, but the most important thing is to have fun while learning! 🎉 The more you enjoy yourself, the faster you’ll improve your French. And don’t forget, the best way to get better is to practice every day—even if it’s just playing games with your host family. 😉

Good luck, and let me know if you try any of these games! I’d love to hear how they go.

À bientôt et bon courage avec ton français! 🇫🇷✨

Allison Your french teacher for au pairs.

P.S. If you want to enroll my french class for beginners contact me :