KATTENBERG 19, B-1170 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM WWW.ISB.BE
Middle School Bilingual Programme
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The value of becoming multilingual in today’s world is universally recognized. Children benefit from learning new languages and developing their mother tongue: the cognitive and even economic benefits are undisputed.
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All students in Grades 7, 8 and 9 who have reached a C Level of language competency in French may choose to take one or more immersion courses beyond the French language course. Students may therefore take up to 40% of their core academic programme through French.
KATTENBERG 19, B-1170 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM WWW.ISB.BE
Middle School Bilingual Programme Students who take the bilingual program for three years in the Middle School significantly improve their chances of becoming bilingual or of extending their bilingual status. The Programme benefits and is designed for both students who are learning the language and native speakers who wish to continue their studies in their mother tongue. Therefore a high level of personalisation is provided.
Course Offered
The Middle School offers five levels of French as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Students may also study Dutch or Spanish as core academic subjects and, in addition, may pursue the study of any language as part of our Personal Studio option.
Science in French Social Studies in French
KATTENBERG 19, B-1170 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM WWW.ISB.BE
Middle School Bilingual Programme Course Offered Our Programme of Science and Social Studies in French has been in place for 30 years and is among the most popular offerings in the Middle School. It is important to note that the programme in French is identical in content and approach to that offered in English. The teachers are subject specialists in Science and Social Studies. A unique feature of our programme for students still learning the language is a culminating week of French immersion in France each May. All MS students travel to France for a week-long field trip (grade 7 to Alsace, grade 8 to Normandy, grade 9 to the Loire Valley) and the week is conducted entirely in French for many of the students engaged in these immersion opportunities. One bus in each grade level is designated as “the French Bus.”
This school year, there are 93 students taking Science in French and 55 students taking Social Studies in French. For many of these students, this is a key source of additional academic challenge. Our data shows that students who take this option perform exceptionally well in the IB Diploma Programme.