Les Petites Classes

Located on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Les Petites Classes offer classes for 3 to 18 year old children.

Classes are designed to teach French to children who have a French speaking background: French must be spoken at home to allow students to succeed and respond to class expectations.

The program is designed for groups not exceeding 6 students per class in order to reach high outcomes set by the French National curriculum.

Small groups allow us to:

★ Have a positive class dynamic. We gather children with the same level of ability.

★ Work individually with students. We support children who face specific difficulties.

★ Help students transfer skills. We encourage children to compare what they learn the Australian school and what they learn at Les Petites Classes.

PLAYGROUP

Our playgroup Les Petits Amis promotes 0 to 5 year-old children’s development as well as French language through play experiences. It also provides an opportunity for you to build a supportive network in a relaxed setting, to make friends and to share experiences with other parents/carers. Parents/carers are required to stay during the playgroup and need to understand French, may it be a little.

Enjoy the fun!

We offer plenty of opportunities for your child to experiment new games and to interact with other children in a safe and nurturing environment. We also organise activities in French to facilitate language development: nursery rhymes, story time and craft. The playgroup facilitator is here to help children and careers feel comfortable.

PRESCHOOL

Fun, exciting, and challenging play-based learning activities

★ Students will be involved in a range of lessons designed to develop French language skills.

★ We engage in activities to expand their vocabulary and develop and/or correct sentence building and syntax.

★ We expose students to various mathematical materials to help them build early numeracy skills with concepts such as counting, shapes, patterns.

★ Students practice handwriting and develop their technique by working on correct pencil grip, and by engaging in activities that require and develop fine motor skills.

★ We develop reading readiness skills. Activities include story-telling, ordering sequential images, naming letters of the alphabet, identifying rhymes and other linguistic constructs & phonological awareness.

And most importantly children have fun! We engage students in attractive activities like craft, playing games, singing songs and much more to make learning a fun experience.

PRIMARY SCHOOL

Develop literacy skills

For students other than first course level, lessons last 1.5 hours and are offered once a week. Check the timetable for your group.

★ Students strengthen their reading skills through studying at least 4 literary books per year.

★ Students write various structured texts.

★ Students gradually learn language conventions (spelling, grammar, verb forms).

★ Students also study French History while reading an historical book per year and whenever possible they also learn skills in Geography.

In order to reinforce class work, all students borrow French readers to practise and enjoy reading at home. They also have to complete some homework each week. We undertake frequent assessments so that the teacher can monitor individual students’ progress.

HIGH SCHOOL

Classes last 1.5 hour and focus on French literacy skills only.

★ Students strengthen their reading skills through a deep analysis and interpretation of literary texts. Progressively, they are introduced to literary movements and forms and study how wording influences the reader’s emotions.

★ Students write long and various texts using rich vocabulary and syntax. They edit their texts themselves to enrich wording and to correct spelling.

★ Students refine French spelling using all aspects of French grammar. They also enrich their vocabulary studying how words are built.

★ Students learn to read images that are linked to the texts studied in class: art pieces, pictures, movies…

★ Students deepen their knowledge in French History throughout the books studied in class and they are also introduced to Geography.

★ Students refine French spelling by reasoning systematically through French language.

★ Finally, students prepare and sit the DELF exam (Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française) levels B1 and B2 Junior. These diplomas enable students to apply to any University in France and other French speaking countries, demonstrating their proficiency in French.

Exams are accredited by the French Department of Education and are divided into 4 parts : Listening, speaking, reading, text writing.

Accepts NSW Creative Kids Vouchers