Virtual FSL
WHO IS IT FOR?
EC’S unique FSL online program is offered to students starting at the primary and secondary levels who will be immigrating to Canada in a 6 month to 2 year time frame.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
Our FSL program helps students who have little or no background in the French language prepare for the academic school year ahead. In Quebec, although the majority of the population speaks English, it is actually French that is the official language of the province. Therefore, in all schools, both public and private, French is a mandatory component to the Quebec education system. The objectives of our online program is to cumulatively introduce students to various areas of the language, specifically competencies they will learn in their first year of enrolment. To best ascertain the level of each student’s abilities, our teachers carefully assess and evaluate the pupils before preparing a customized program, which sets to enhance their competencies in the following areas.
VOCABULARY BUILDING
More often than not, students immigrating to Quebec have almost no knowledge of the language, or of the Quebec culture. To bridge this academic and cultural gap, students first learn an array of basic vocabulary most commonly used in and outside of classroom settings. Incorporated in these lessons are distinct groups of words that are most commonly spoken in everyday conversation.
PRONUNCIATION
Learning a new language, as much of an asset as it can be, also presents certain difficulties. In the French language, pronunciation is perhaps the most challenging. The mispronunciation of a word can make all the difference in the meaning and context of the sentence, as well as overall clarity of the idea being shared. From the on set, students are taught the correct sounding of words and the different hyphens used to determine pitch and tone, as well as how to correctly apply them where they belong.
VERB TENSES
Students will learn the various groups of verb tenses and familiarize themselves with the ones that will be used most regularly in the classroom. Students will practice their understanding of these verbs through prepared materials and stencils.
COMMON PHRASES
In this section of the program, teachers will introduce phrases as well as short sentences. Students will be taught how to present themselves, ask questions, and provide short answers to simple texts and verbal interactions.
CREATIVE WRITING
EC’s FSL program oversees that students learn all required components of the French language detrimental to their first year of studies, including their writing skills. At beginner level courses, the main objective is to always prioritize each student’s comprehension abilities, as well as their verbal interactions. While this is indeed EC’s method, we also help enable students become comfortable with exploring their writing abilities. While this can be the most difficult aspect to learning a new language, our teachers encourage and guide students toward practicing as much as they can through the curriculum and creative writing exercises.
CURRICULUM AND MATERIALS
EC’s curriculum and materials are provided to our students and sent prior to each session. This includes worksheets, instruction manuals, scanned photocopies of literatures and novels. Our programs and curriculum are composed to match what students will learn in their first year of enrolment, specific to their grade of entry, and current levels of English. Students are required to have the latest version of a Skype application on a PC, Desktop, or Laptop computer.
TEACHERS
Our staff are trained and certified professionals with:
- Quebec, U.S., and International Certified teaching degrees.
- In the process of obtaining a teaching degree with years of experience in a classroom setting, as well as one on one based sessions.
- Bilingual in English and French. Most are trilingual.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
At Education Consulate we understand that timing is everything. To help accommodate your transition to be as smooth and worry free as possible, our staff coordinate their schedules around your child’s availabilities and preferences. We service families in all time zones and provide sessions seven days a week, no matter how far you may be.
BENEFITS OF EC’S FSL PROGRAM
Students immigrating from abroad whose mother tongue is not English and have little and/or no background in French, are encouraged by schools to enroll their child in such a program to oversee their skill set progress by the time their academic school year begins. By doing so children integrate better amongst local students, participate with greater ease, and socially excel with confidence. Depending on your child’s academic circumstance and grade level, schools do reserve the option of accepting students based on pre-condition. Often, the pre- condition entails being enrolled in a type of course that will improve both their English and French abilities.