🚀 Keeping up with French and German while having fun: our summer tips!

Dear parents,

To maintain what has been learned this year, progress at your own pace, or simply immerse yourselves in the language in a more relaxed way before the new school year, the APE has prepared a selection of resources and great ideas. There is something for everyone: from highly structured paper workbooks to the most playful apps!

Focus on French

Whether French is your family language or a language being acquired, here are several tools to keep on track:

đź“ť The Great Classics (Paper Format)

  • "Passeport" (Hachette) or "Nathan Vacances" vacation workbooks: Essential and very well designed. They help review the core curriculum from one grade to the next (e.g., from CP to CE1) through riddles and short exercises. Ideal for a 15-minute daily ritual.

đź’» Rigorous Online Platforms (Online Tutoring)

  • Comprehensive school support platforms: If you are looking for a highly structured, official curriculum-aligned, and demanding online tool, (paid) sites like Kartable or Maxicours are excellent references. They offer detailed lesson sheets, quizzes, and track your child's progress. (APE Note: The school management also mentioned a platform of this type, perfect for rigorous reinforcement!)

  • For spelling and grammar: Projet Voltaire or Orthodidacte (paid versions with personalized paths) are perfect for older students (middle/high school) or parents wishing to perfect their skills.

🎮 Playful & Immersive Corner (Apps & Audio)

  • Lalilo (for the little ones - GS/CP/CE1): An absolute gem for learning to read and identifying sounds. The universe is highly interactive.

  • Bayam (by Bayard Jeunesse): A paid but ultra-rich and secure application, full of games, documentaries, and cultural challenges adapted for 3-10 year olds.

  • Podcasts (Free and magical for vocabulary):

    • For stories: "Une histoire et... Oli" (France Inter) or stories from the Lunii storytelling box.

    • For general knowledge: "Salut l'info !" (France Info / Astrapi) to decode current events for children in impeccable and accessible French.

 

 

 

Focus on German

For our non-German-speaking families (or to boost local vocabulary), here are the tools praised by the community:

📱 The Must-Have App

  • ANTON: This is the king of apps in Austria and Germany, very often used by teachers themselves. It is free (with a paid premium option), ad-free, and offers thousands of highly structured exercises aligned with the Austrian school curriculum (from Volksschule to Gymnasium) in German and mathematics. A must-have.

đź“š Local Paper Material

  • Vacation "Fibel" or "Lernzielkontrolle" workbooks: You can easily find vacation workbooks adapted to the Austrian system (publishers Veritas, Klett or Duden) in Viennese bookstores (like Thalia), for example, the uugot.it collection or grade-by-grade revision books.

đź“ş Gentle Immersion & Media

  • The "Audio / Subtitles" reflex: Take advantage of screen time (Netflix, Disney+) to switch the audio language to German (or put subtitles in French/German depending on the level). Rewatching a cartoon your child already knows by heart in German is a highly effective assimilation method.

  • ORF Kids & KiKa: Public platforms offer high-quality youth programs, short news programs for children (ZIB Zack Mini) perfect for catching everyday language.

 

 

đź’ˇ The APE Golden Rule:

 

No need to spend hours! 15 to 20 regular minutes (3 or 4 times a week) are more than enough to maintain automatic reflexes and approach the new school year with confidence. Happy holidays to all!