The Bilingual Section

Unique in this area of the Yvelines, the Bilingual Program at the Collège Notre Dame du Bel Air was created in 2003.
It is a continuation of the program at the Saint Louis Primary School and is designed for students who are bilingual (French-English) from the 6ème through the 3ème.

Students come from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities and speak English fluently, either thanks to English-speaking parents or from having lived abroad.

There is also a possibility for some particularly strong students from the regular English class to test into the bilingual section during their middle school years.

The program offers:

Arts/Literacy skills

History/Geography courses

Current Events workshop

4 to 6 hours of coursework /week

Students testimonials:

« The best class in my schedule is the bilingual class! You can do mistakes and nobody will ever laugh at you! We talk about grammar, history (Australia, UK, USA and even South Africa), reading comprehension and essays. We also do theater outings. Last year, we saw a play about Rosa Parks. »

Louis – 4ème bilingual section

« Mrs. Chabot prepares us for high school by having us write essays and do many orals. The bilingual section has a very friendly atmosphere. »

Marie-Anastasie – 3ème bilingual section

« The bilingual section is really fun because it’s not strict; you just need to work regularly and participate. »

Ninon – 3ème bilingual section

« English is a key to many doors; the bilingual section will assure you will improve your English. »

Jesse – 3ème bilingual section

« I’m in the 5ème bilingual section, at SLNDBA. I think that it has helped me to read more. We discuss the books we read. And we read really good ones. My vocabulary has expanded since I got here. »

Abigaël – 5ème bilingual section

« For me the bilingual section is a place where you feel good. What is good about it is that you are in a small group so you get less stressed and Mrs Chabot is so nice! We get to learn and laugh at the same time and I get less stressed when we present for example oral presentations. You get to speak English the entire time which for me is way easier than French. There is a cozy spot where you can just sit and read next to the library that has a lot of books! You will have books to read with the entire class but no worries they’re always good. At some point there is a discussion of the book and you get to sit in a circle and talk and it’s really good. Anyways the bilingual section is great. »

Églantine – 5ème bilingual section

Students in the Bilingual Program benefit from:

  • The learning atmosphere of an Anglophone country with special attention to Anglophone culture and history
  • The advantages of small class size, guaranteeing individual attention and greater opportunity for student participation (average class size: 15 students per class)
  • The opportunity to progress in English with coursework and materials similar to that of students their age in an English-speaking country
  • A program integrated into the French school system with the complete curriculum of the Education nationale
  • 100% English classroom and a native English-speaking teacher with over 30 years of teaching experience
  • Activities and events throughout the year organized by the Bilingual Section

Program:

There is extensive work on written expression, reading comprehension, formal and informal speaking skills, vocabulary building and the mechanics of the language (spelling and grammar). 

Students read novels, short stories, plays, and non-fiction texts on scientific, historical or social topics.  Group discussions, journal writing, class projects and activities are built around these readings. 

            There is continued work on different genres of writing using the academic writing process where students learn the steps to improve their written work.  They practice brainstorming techniques and use the first draft-revising-editing-final draft process. 

            The History/Geography course (6ème and 5ème) is in addition to that of the French National curriculum and various themes are explored depending on the grade level: UK, North America, South Africa, and Australia are some of them.

The 4ème and 3ème students practice oral skills more intensively with regular presentations and skits and keep up on world events in the Current Events workshop.

Some examples of fun activities and events organized in the past years by our section include:

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Back-to-School Family Picnics

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Alumni Night

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Gingerbread House creation for the Christmas Market

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Theatre outings in Paris

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UK Day

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All-school Trivial Pursuit game

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Graduation ceremony for all the 3èmes

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Science fair

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Variety show

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English book sales

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International breakfasts

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Mystery Skype games with classrooms around the world