One of our favorite parts of traveling with the girls is preparing for an upcoming trip and learning as much as we can about the different cultures around the world. The food, the language, the clothing, the architecture, the art, and the overall way of life of each unique destination. Learning so much leading up to the trip allows us to appreciate the opportunity even more and it opens our minds to new ideas and experiences. Taking our learning to new heights each time opened us to finding one of our favorite tutoring resources.

Last year we spent 5 weeks in Europe and most of that trip was in Germany. The girls did an amazing job with learning the language and understanding some important things about their culture. While we were there, they not only enjoyed new cuisine and saw new sights, but they made new friends! This was all because they were comfortable and they had worked hard to prepare themselves for the journey.

Best Age to Learn a Second Language

Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this post to find out how to get a free 1 hour tutoring session!

On that same trip, we also visited a small village in  Italy named Positano. The girls spent time learning a bit of Italian and watching one of their favorite Disney movies, Luca in preparation. They were so excited to see what they had watched and read about all those weeks leading up to the trip. They were so tickled to see so many things in real-life that looked so much like the movie and were pleasantly surprised by the beauty and charm of this special place. They used so many fun phrases from their favorite characters while interacting with the locals.

Check out my post about our stop in Positano during our big vacation last year. 

We have a special trip to Paris coming up this summer and the girls are super excited! They can’t wait to see the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower, to enjoy a baguette at a corner bakery, and take in a stroll to the Arches de Triumph. While they don’t get too involved in the flight arrangements, picking the accommodations or scheduling the itinerary, they do take part in getting prepared in their own ways.

Here’s some of our favorite techniques we are using to get ready for our trip to Paris:

Watch Your Favorite Movie

We have decided to pick out a movie the girls have seen before and show it to them in new ways. I will be showing it to them in French, but using English subtitles. Thankfully my girls are older so they are able to read the subtitles and follow along. You would be surprised how much they are able to pick up on with this process. 

This is something you could still do for younger children that aren’t able to read the words on the screen. Choose one of their favorite movies that they know all the words to by heart. Try watching it in French.  You could also all watch the movie, and sing the songs in English first. It really does work! (This would also work for their favorite TV show)

Incorporate it in Play

One of the things my girls love to do right now to practice their new language skills is to play “French Cafe’”. We make pastries, have tea (wine for me) and create other fun dishes that are typical of Parisians. We like to speak French while we are cooking, and see how many words we can remember. The girls take turns playing the vendor and the customer, and they will practice ordering their dish and taking the order in as much French as possible. They love this!

Did you know you can ask Alexa for the French word of the day? My kids really love playing with Alexa and this is something they do in their own every day.

We have been placing labels on the appliances with its French name. We labeled the stairs with our numbers in French and call them out as we go up and down each time. Incorporating French words into everyday play is a great way to make it fun and memorable. 

Tutoring Can Make It Fun

Because we will be spending several weeks in France, the girls really wanted to focus on learning as much as possible about the language. Teaching children a language can be a difficult task for a parent alone, but with a tutor it can go much smoother.

Finding a tutor can be hard and can often cost a lot of money.

That’s why we chose to enroll the girls into GoPeer, an online learning program that connects your children with college students that can tutor them in any subject. Not just any students, you are going to find students from top-tier universities around the country like Harvard, Stanford and even MIT. They engage in 1 on 1 based tutoring sessions through GoPeer’s online portal, which we found extremely easy to use.

Our tutor experience has been such a great one. She is a student from NYU and she makes learning so much fun for the girls. Not only do they play games and do interesting exercises while online, but she shares so many fun resources with them after each session.  The girls love the fun games and activities they can use to practice their French anytime. You can really see that our tutor is invested in seeing our girls succeed and enjoying the process as well.

GoPeer has the option to play back lessons, access to your recordings library and unlimited storage. Recordings make learning online 10X more effective than in-person tutoring. The repetition leads to better retention of the concepts that they are learning.

Members get pay-as-you-go tutoring for $20/hour. This means that if you book a 30-minute lesson, you pay $10, and if you book a 1-hour session, you pay $20. Plus, all tutors give a free 15-minute introductory lesson, so you can try multiple tutors and find the perfect fit for free!

We obviously chose to have the girls take French lessons, but there are so many other options.

Are you struggling to help with homework? Is your child needing more advanced help and you don’t know where to start? GoPeer has tutors for everything from AP Biology to Mandarin Chinese to video game development. Your child can get the help they need or find support to follow their passions.

We loved the flexibility this program provided. Classes that work for our schedule and because it is online we can take them from anywhere around the world.

I have a feeling GoPeer is going to be a huge resource for us this year with all of our travel plans. 

Special Offer for my Readers!

Interested? Any readers who sign up can start a 7-day FREE Trial and receive $20 tutoring credit.

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Fun Ways To Teach Kids a New Language Video

Here is another great post about the Best Age to Learn a Second Language.

I hope that some of what I have shared has given you some new ideas. Take this learning approach into your own hands and make it a new part of your travel planning. I promise it will be so much fun and rewarding. Your next vacation experience will be that much better.

Do you have any fun language learning tips that you use for our kids? 

I would love to hear them, and incorporate them into our learning plan. 

If you liked these tips and found them helpful follow me on Instagram and TikTok.

Take a look at the main page for our 22 adventures in 2022. 

I promise it will inspire you to do some of the same.