At our establishment, Collège des Frères Maristes Champville, English as a foreign language is introduced as of Grade 1 (CP), starting September 2022. The English Department promotes methodological innovations and new approaches to designing teaching programs, and most importantly the development of a communicative approach which enables us to put in place effective teaching methods in a manner potentially more conducive to operational appropriation
Our curriculum at Champville is designed to enable our French educated learners to ultimately communicate proficiently in English. In fact, and based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) - the international standard for describing language ability - our curriculum contains up-to-date lessons, innovative activities and varied assessments that are developed to meet educational standards that specify what students should learn in each level of instruction. Indeed, and focusing on each separately, the department follows a vertical approach concentrating on the description of linguistic ability in specific areas of the English language (vocabulary, grammar, language functions, etc.), shedding light on different qualitative aspects of the language’s use.
Our teaching process always addresses the concepts of reading, listening, writing and speaking. The content and approach prepare our learners to understand and communicate, whether verbally or nonverbally, varied and complex topics, all while discovering the sociocultural aspect of the language, leading indirectly to learning new cultural norms and mastering an unknown language by type of competence and sub-competence.
As a matter of fact, we aim at fulfilling the requirements of both the British curriculum - which prepares our learners for English placement tests such as TOEFL, IELTS and DUOLINGO - and the French Baccalaureate, as Champville is accredited by the French Ministry of Education, and hence our educational program complies with the demands, curricula, teaching objectives and organizational rules of the French education system.
Furthermore, and aspiring to providing our youth with the highest opportunities of academic and professional success the department has taken the initiative to prepare our learners, and that as of September 2021, for the SAT aptitude test, which is designed for English native speakers, and is very often requested by universities at the national and international levels.