TEACHING IN THREE LANGUAGES
From Bilingual To Multilingual
For the past 10 years, La Petite Ecole has been offering bilingual teaching of the official French curriculum in French and in English. Since 2018, La Petite Ecole has introduced an initiation to Mandarin for all students from 3 years old, an initiative much welcomed by parents.
Always striving to be at the forefront of innovation in terms of educational offer, LPE is opening a fully trilingual class in French, English, and Mandarin, starting in September 2023 with the 2-4 years age group. Finally, in September 2024, teaching at all levels of kindergarten becomes trilingual to allow the students to carry on learning in all 3 languages for the duration of French system cycle 1 (N1 to K2).
A World of Opportunities for the Future
Singapore’s multicultural and multiethnic scene provides the ideal environment for this unique offer to take root. In an increasingly competitive market, being able to speak multiple languages and understand other cultures opens doors to personal and professional opportunities. Learning three languages from such an early age may seem daunting to parents who have grown up in a monolingual environment. However, studies have indicated that children who grow up in a supportive environment speaking more than one language are more perceptive, and multilingualism practices enhance both intellectual flexibility and creativity. Moreover, it has been proven time and again that the child’s brain is most receptive to the construction of the multilingual skill – la compétence plurilingue – before the age of 7. The preschool cycle therefore constitutes the ideal time frame to introduce more than one language to your developing child.
OFFICIAL FRENCH CURRICULUM
At La Petite Ecole Singapore, we have chosen to teach the official French curriculum, in French, Mandarin and English. In today’s global social and economic context, we believe that it is essential for our pupils to learn English to prepare them for the future, enabling them to open out to the world at all levels .
Teaching with additional foreign languages enriches every French class we conduct in Singapore, encouraging our pupils to develop a truly open mind and a more desirable array of human behaviours. The younger the child at the time of learning, the better their command of the language.
French remains high in demand ; it is the second most taught foreign language in the world and the number of French speakers has been growing continuously over the past five years.
THREE TEACHERS PER CLASS
What sets apart our Singapore French classes is that we have three teachers per class: a French, Mandarin and English-speaking teachers. They are graduates and natives of France, Mandarin and an English-speaking country respectively. They work in tandem to develop a joint learning process in accordance with the French national curriculum. Our pupils alternate between their French-Mandarin-English speaking teachers.
Do you need any further information?
The Admissions Office team will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
