RANGELEY — A half dozen preschool children, ages 3 and 4, began French lessons at Rangeley Public Library last week.

They worked on the French words for apples, bananas, milk, water, bamboo and panda. The words were discussed on a five-minute DVD featuring an animated panda named Little Pim, volunteer Claire Chase said.  Props of each item were also used to reinforce the work on the DVD.

The Little Pim curriculum teaches several different languages, including Chinese, to newborns through ages 5 years. It consists of a DVD series featuring an animated character, Marty Gagnon, library director, explained.

He purchased the French course and enlisted the help of Chase who has 31 years of experience teaching French in the Portland area.

“She tried it on her grandchildren and was very impressed,” he said.  The grandchildren are ages 2 and 3.

Although infants are welcome along with parents who interact by repeating the words, a class of preschoolers tried it out for the first day, Chase said. Others can join the Wednesday morning class scheduled for 10 a.m. at the library. Keeping it short because of the children’s ages, the class runs about 20 minutes, she said.

This week, the DVD lesson expands on what was learned last week using words such as cup, bowl, spoon and for, along with phrases such as I’m hungry, I’m thirsty, she added.

The series was created by Julia Pimsleur for her own young children. Pimsleur’s father, Paul Pimsleur, was a well-known authority on learning languages. He developed the Pimsleur method, which teaches a foreign language in a short period of time, she said.

Small children have the capacity to learn two languages without confusing them, Chase explained. They are able to differentiate, using one language and then the other like children raised in bilingual homes.

Studies have shown that the best method is to keep children’s attention using animation or puppets interacting with humans such as is done on “Sesame Street,” she said.

Here the animated panda, Little Pim, interacts with real children, Gagnon said.

As for teaching newborns, the theory behind it is for them to hear it being spoken, Chase said. Parents read to newborns, it’s the same theory, she added. 

Parents need to participate, speaking and repeating the words, she said.

“It will be interesting to see how it goes,” she said.

Children are still welcome to attend but Chase advises calling the library first because of the weather to make sure the class is being held

The library offers several different children’s programs but nothing like this first attempt with a language program, Gagnon said. There’s an infant story hour, Tales for Tykes, an after-school program on Thursday that attracts about 30 children in grades K-3 and a preschool program on Friday mornings.

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