Parlez-vous francais? Un petit peu? Pas du tout?
Uh, please allow us to translate. We’re asking if you speak French. Maybe a little bit? Not at all?
If you’re like most of us, you took a little French back in school, you remember a few phrases and you can muddle through a vacation in a French speaking country using mostly wrong verb tenses. But times, they are a changing. The benefits of bilingualism have been well documented and more parents are looking for schools that offer a bilingual curriculum for their kids. The French American Academy school in Bergen County has been a leader in bilingual education since it opened in 2007.
The French American Academy offers fully bilingual classes to children ages pre-K through middle school in order to take advantage of a child’s language learning abilities and natural curiosity. It has been found that from infancy to age 12, kids’ minds have the most “functional plasticity” so classes at the French American Academy are taught with varying emphasis on French and English. For the youngest students (starting at age 2) up to 90% of the curriculum is taught in French as kids grow, more English is introduced in the classroom until there is an equal amount of teaching in French and English. The goal is fluency in both languages.
Dis m’en plus. Tell you more? Kids who are taught in a bilingual environment are intellectually stimulated and better able to understand complex concepts. They typically have a larger vocabulary, great communication and problem-solving skills and an easier time learning a 3rd, 4th and even a 5th language.
At the French American Academy, class sizes are small, instruction is individualized, and the curriculum is interactive. The French American Academy is accredited by the Middle States Association on Elementary Schools and has three convenient campuses. For more information, please contact the French American Academy at 201.338.8320. Would they love to hear from you? Mais oui!
The French American Academy
1092 Carnation Drive, New Milford
201.338.8320
www.faacademy.org
