TEACHING/LEARNING

Learning a language entails a lot of different abilities. When we realised that our own children were building an acceptable spoken language but that they remained poor readers and especially writers, we thought it was time to encourage them with the two latter skills.

Far from being a chore to them, the Saturday morning sessions did have an impact on all of our pupils. Some gained confidence in their spoken French, others got to grips with the subtler aspects of the language and all discovered a bit more of the culture of France and of French speaking regions.

Our learning objectives and programs are based on the “Bulletin officiel de l’apprentissage des langues etrangeres et regionales” published by the conseil de l’Europe. It is a 6 tiered evolving document in all four skills (speaking, reading, writing, understanding) that sets different targets for each level (copies of program and objectives on request).

Between our 2 schools, we currently have 9 classes in which pupils are dispatched according to their age and ability in the language.
For pre-schoolers in the English educational system, emphasis is laid on talking and understanding (a lot of sing-songs, stories, recounting, acquisition of new vocabulary, new language structures…), leading gently to reading and writing activities.

We make a point to ensure the children will get the least chance to have interference between the two languages and that is why we always wait for a child to have developed his writing and reading skills at English before they can tackle the French. We also always consult the parents/tutors, and even schoolteacher if need be, before moving on to this stage.

The older pupils’ sessions are organised around:

• The study of the French language: grammar, syntax, verb patterns and lexical development.
• Cultural discovery: history, geography, literature and the arts, citizen.

Some homeworks are set every Saturday so that the notions seen in class are re-inforced. Of course, we do realise that the children are already busy with their school homework hence we keep homeworks to the minimum. Yet, we do encourage the practise of French at home on a regular basis whenever possible.

Our pupils enjoy their Saturday French sessions as our team are qualified, imaginative and always try to add wit and fun to their teaching. We are all aware that learning through fun is often the most effective.