French Mother Tongue Programme
WHAT IS THE FRENCH MOTHER TONGUE PROGRAMME AT BIS Abu Dhabi?
As an international school, we are committed to supporting our students in staying connected with their language, heritage, and culture.
Research shows that children who benefit from classes in their mother tongue, perform better in their second or third language. Knowledge and skills transfer across languages. Mother tongue also plays a massive role in developing each student’s personal, social, and cultural identity. Young people with a strong foundation in their native language often display a deeper understanding of themselves and their place within society and an increased sense of well-being and confidence. Naturally, this flows down into every aspect of their lives, including their behavior at school and academic achievement. It broadens outlooks and fosters respect for cultural diversity.
BIS Abu Dhabi offers a French Mother Tongue programme. To access classes, students must speak proficiently in both English and French. To be able to provide this programme, we coordinate with external organisations that provide the best curriculum for our native speakers (Alliance Française Abu Dhabi and Mon Français).
French Mother Tongue lessons are available at an additional cost, determined by the school and the external provider. The Alliance Francaise is, for us, the best option to provide the highest quality program at a special reduced price for BIS Abu Dhabi students.
The programme has been delivered successfully to over 20 students from Year 4 to Year 11 in 2022-2023. We constantly listen to our BIS Abu Dhabi families and strive to adapt to the needs and objectives of our students and families:
Families planning to return to France
The learning objectives for each level match those from the French National curriculum and Ministry of education. A certificate of attendance and progress may be issued by the AF.
Students wishing to pursue their further education in a French speaking university
Students in Year 10/11 are invited to prepare for the DELF exam at B2 level, giving access to undergraduate courses in Francophone universities.
Students may also have the possibility to take the French A option for their IB Diploma.
Families wishing to maintain the Francophone cultural, linguistic heritage and identity.
The programme offered has been designed by Laetitia Abramo, founder of Mon Français, responsible for Teaching and Learning for the FLAM world network and head of FLAM UAE. Events for French speaking families are organised throughout the year by the FLAM UAE association.
As an example, you can find below an indication of prices for the programme for approximately 30 weeks (one academic year):
Teaching resources Subscription to the Mon Francais platform (Access to digital classroom and teaching resources).
Reading material (1-3 books) studied in class. Workbook for language study. One year access to Culturethèque, the Alliance Francaise online library.
Year 4-6 2 hours weekly on site at BIS Abu Dhabi delivered by a certified teacher from the Alliance francaise. 1 hour during curriculum time and 1 hour afterschool.
Year 7-9 On average 2.5 hours weekly on site at BIS Abu Dhabi delivered by a certified teacher from the Alliance francaise.
Year 10-11 2 hours weekly on site at BIS Abu Dhabi delivered by a certified teacher from the Alliance.
AED 1000 approx. (depending on number of books studied)
AED 4,200 (approx AED 70 per hour)
AED 5200 (approx AED 70 per hour)
AED 4200 (approx AED 70 per hour)
*These prices are only an indication. There is a minimum requirement of 4 students to be able to open a class.
If you need further information or you simply wish to register your child for the course, please do not hesitate to contact either of the following people:
- Eric Déposé, Head of Modern Languages at BIS Abu Dhabi, eric.depose@bisad.ae
- Laura Fabbri, Head of the Langue programs at the Alliance Francaise Abu Dhabi, language@afabudhabi.org
Yours sincerely,
Eric Depose Head of Languages Bis Abu Dhabi
