Pedagogy and exams
Our courses are mainly based on the methodological principles of action-oriented communicative approaches, in this perspective we offer our students activities targeting the 4 communication skills:
4 communication skills
Our French courses are developed from different media: authentic documents: written, oral and visual, dialogues, alternating or not with didactic documents and methods (Alter-ego, Le Nouvel édito, Festival…). In addition, we are primarily part of an intercultural dynamics, which is why sociolinguistics and discovery of the French culture are also part of our teaching programs. To this end, our learners also participate in a monthly educational outing in Paris, an activity that contributes to the acquisition of cultural competence and facilitates integration and adaptation to a new life in France (organization of guided tours or rallies in certain districts of Paris, visits to museums or exhibitions, cinema outings, picnics, educational events at school with French students, etc.).
Learn and self-evaluate
Concerning grammatical competence, at the request and according to the needs of our public, we have opted within our program for an explicit study of grammar, a methodology which promotes the connection of the student with a grammatical notion and its metalanguage. According to this principle, from the beginner level, we prepare our learners to acquire grammatical competence by familiarizing them with specific terminology, common to all classes, taken up and supplemented at all levels of their progression (A1.1 → C1). In all our classes, a monthly evaluation allows to validate the achievements and to measure the progress of each one. Subsequently, a quarterly standardized and calibrated summative assessment positions the learners on one of the six levels of the scale defined by the Council of Europe (common European framework of reference). Our quarterly exam is based on the conditions of DELF / DALF and TCF type exams in order to best prepare learners for this type of test. Following this examination and if they are able to fulfill the evaluation criteria, our students can move on to the next level after one term.
Deepen learning
We also offer, in addition to standard French courses, workshops with specific objectives in phonetics, grammar, oral production, written expression, preparation for certifications (TCF/DELF/DALF). These workshops are set up to enrich the content of standard French courses and allow a more personalized follow-up of our students. They also allow the students to meet other teachers as their future referents in French. Finally, all our teachers are involved in the creation of the ISMAC didactic corpus, material, educational documents and activities, which are accessible to all, our educational operation being based on the principle of exchange and pooling of resources.
