Enriching French

Turnbull School strives to graduate students from Grade 8 with strong and pragmatic conversational French skills, solid French reading, writing and grammar skills, and both the desire and the confidence to pursue further French studies beyond the basic requirements of high school. The achievement of these goals is dependent on the number of years the student is at Turnbull School, as well as the student’s language aptitude and motivation. We maintain a French only environment in French class, with an exception for students newer to French.

French is not merely a subject at Turnbull School; it is celebrated outside the classroom in various ways, including French clubs, choir and assemblies hosted in French by student MC’s. Performances are brought to the school by community French theatre and musical groups. French book sales and French reading buddies promote reading in French for enjoyment. Our Manie Musicale cultural unit and our annual Carnaval Glace et Neige are very popular with all students and is yet another way that French comes alive in the school! Senior students organize and run the activities for Carnaval, developing their fluency and enjoyment of the language and culture.

Many other motivational resources are used, including story books, songs, videos, software and SMART Board activities. The School Library also offers many books written in French.

Kindergarten

The goal of our students’ early French learning is to experience and enjoy the language in a natural way each day without compromising the development of English literacy and numeracy skills.

• Kindergarten has five French language periods per week and learning centers focused on French.
• The Accelerated Integrated Method (AIM) is used to develop fluency from a young age.
• An integrated teaching model intersperses the use of French throughout the day, promoting a natural ease in hearing and speaking both English and French with some of the teachers (e.g. some daily routines, calendar time, theme related songs and games).

Primary

In the primary division our students are exposed to a variety of resources that help develop essential early French communication skills. They focus on phonics, common everyday vocabulary as well as developing their early reading and writing skills.

• Primary students have six French language classes per week.
• Grades 1 and 2 students have a weekly Bilingual Choir class.
• Current resources, including many interactive activities, are used to help with vocabulary acquisition and phonics.
• A variety of captivating themes are used in our primary Lilou program to stimulate the child’s imagination and facilitate an early introduction to French literacy. Starting with the foundations of phonics and French sounds and building to leveled texts, the Lilou program focuses on reading, writing and spelling. An exciting and engaging way to discover French.
• Oral activities, such as games and plays, are introduced to help build confidence and oral fluency.
• Grade 3 students use a variety of resources, including a Grade 4 core program (C’est Parti 1), to ensure a seamless transition to our Junior French program.

Junior and Senior Levels

Turnbull School provides an engaging and challenging French program, regardless of prior knowledge or fluency. For students in Grades 4 to 8, our French classes are streamed into two skill levels. All classes are taught at an age appropriate level, using current resources and focusing on topics that reflect real life situations. All programs offer speaking, listening, reading, writing and cultural components in French, providing students with a well-balanced understanding of the language at each level. We provide a variety of Field trips to our Grade 7 and Grade 8 students to enhance their French authentic experience. Below is a brief description of the two levels of streamed French instruction.

Core Advanced French:

The Core Advanced French Program is designed to challenge students and develop a strong understanding of, and an aptitude for, the French language. Many students in this level come from our own strong primary French program. Students find this advanced course to be an enriching, engaging and rewarding experience. The teachers use current resources and provide students with an exclusively French learning environment. For example, these students use Francophone resources as the main component of the program. Emphasis is placed on gaining confidence in oral and reading fluency, advanced writing skills and an overall solid comprehension of the French language. One of the goals of this program is to prepare students who would like to pursue their secondary education in a French Immersion program. Additionally, at the Grade 8 level, our students are provided the opportunity to take the DELF test, (Diplôme d’études de langue française), and obtain their DELF diploma. The DELF is the official French-language diploma awarded by France’s Ministry of National Education and is recognized in 165 countries around the world, which makes it valuable for certifying French-language proficiency on an international level.

Outcomes of this program:

Listening:  Students use a range of listening comprehension strategies to understand a variety of oral French texts. They are able to recognize and interpret gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice to facilitate their understanding.
Speaking:  Students express themselves clearly and coherently in French for a variety of purposes and audiences. They speak with a smooth pace, appropriate intonation and accurate pronunciation in planned, rehearsed and increasingly spontaneous communications.
Reading:  Students are exposed to a variety of text forms at each grade level, including age appropriate class novel studies. They understand the intent and meaning of a variety of French texts about familiar, academic and personally relevant topics, with some contextual and visual support. It is often by reading French novels that students continue to expand their vocabulary.
Writing:  Students write a variety of text forms to convey information, ideas and opinions. They confirm word meanings and review, refine and vary word choices using a variety of resources. Students plan, produce drafts following set criteria and revise their writing to improve the content and clarity.
Culture:  Students explore French culture and traditions from around the world by reading, watching videos and in group discussion. They make connections with their personal experiences and identify and understand some sociolinguistic conventions used in diverse French speaking communities.

Core Regular French:

The Core Regular French Program at Turnbull School follows the Ontario Ministry of Education Core French curriculum and is designed for students who have some prior knowledge of the language through participation in a previous core program. Current resources that follow the new FSL curriculum are used in the classroom, covering themes and topics that are age appropriate and engage the learner in everyday authentic learning situations. At this level, the teacher models the language, using many visual cues to help students gain confidence and better understanding of the French language.

Outcomes of this program:

Listening:  Students follow simple multi-step instructions given orally by the teacher.
Speaking:  Students use familiar words and expressions to produce planned and rehearsed messages in French. Topics include themselves, their family and friends, their personal interests and their immediate environment. Students also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of structured or guided social interactions.
Reading:  With some support and modelling, students read a variety of text forms and learn strategies to understand the information. Students begin to read texts composed of familiar words and language structures with more fluency and ease in conveying meaning.
Writing:  Students write simple texts following a model to convey information, ideas and opinions, and are expected with time to begin to generate, develop and organize their ideas with less support.
Culture:  Students explore French culture and traditions through reading, videos and discussion. The emphasis is on la francophonie dans le monde and making connections with their personal experiences.

School Wide Events

During the months of February to April, the entire Turnbull School Body will participate in                                                                                                                                                                an international competition modelled after March Madness basketball using a bracket of 16 contemporary songs by Francophone artists. They will reflect on the essential question, “What makes a song good?” By the end of the unit, students will be able to express their opinions about songs, music, and videos, and will be able to demonstrate an increased understanding of and respect for the artistic contributions of diverse artists and cultures.

Junior and senior students will also look at the structure of a critique (introduction, summary, opinion, conclusion). They will connect with other communities of French speakers (more than 5000 schools worldwide
participate), improve their language skills, and have fun! Parents are encouraged to listen to the music with their children and even fill out their own bracket for some friendly-family competition. Each day in February a new artist and song will be introduced in class. We will learn about the artist, discuss the lyrics, learn new vocabulary
and work on grammar structures found in the lyrics. We will also be discussing our opinions on the lyrics, the rhythm and the style of the song. At the end of February, when all 16 artists have been introduced, students will fill in their bracket, trying to determine the competition’s winner. Starting the first week of March, the competition will begin and artists will go head to head as students vote and determine who moves on. We will be doing a Turnbull vote and will participate in the worldwide vote as well. The enthusiasm and engagement
from this exciting French culture unit will be contagious as students quickly pick their favourite songs and cheer for them in the competition.

Beyond Grade 8

Many of our students enter high school with a high level of both oral and written proficiency and are well prepared for a challenging level of French. In fact, each year several of our students successfully enter French Immersion in high school. The grade 8 French teachers would be happy to discuss the best option for your child.

Our goal is to make the acquisition of the French language an enjoyable, rewarding and natural experience within an enthusiastic school environment.

To discuss our enriching French program, please contact the Registrar, Rachel Fabich, at 613-729-6099 ext. 212 or visit us.