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 Bilingual Section has helped my English a lot, especially my writing. I’ve really learned how to structure my essays. My teacher explains things really well and is always nice to us, and she chooses the best books. I’ve never read one she picked that I didn’t like! Out of My Mind and The City of Ember were some of my favourites. I’m way more confident in English now. (Louise Marion, 4è)

In the Bilingual Section we’re learning about UK history, and I loved learning about Bloody Mary! Later on we’ll study Australian history, which is great because I’m Australian. Right now we’re reading A Long Walk to Water. I didn’t think I’d enjoy writing in English, but now I actually do. My teacher is really nice and fun. (Félix Marion, 6è)

Being in the Bilingual section at my school helped me keep my level of English. Over the years my reading and speaking skills improved. We’re not only learning English but also studying literature and History for great general culture of the English-speaking world.

(Camélia l’Hotte, 3ème)

I look forward to going to the Bilingual class every week! Mrs. Chabot makes every topic we learn very interesting.

(Méline Betille, 3è)

The Bilingual section is a place not like the other classes; we feel good here and we can see our bilingual friends! We do some History, spelling, and a lot of other cool things.

(Charlotte Goalard, 5è)

For me the bilingual section is a break in the school day. Mrs Chabot is so kind with lots of patience. The atmosphere is friendly and makes all the exercises that we do fun. We do lots of work that includes oral presentations, essays, grammar exercises and lots of reading. Finally, we also study the history of anglophone countries.

(Dylan Kotze, 4è)

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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