EFI BRUSSELS’s Portal Program©
NON-FRENCH SPEAKING PUPILS
Fully embracing pupils of all nationalities, EFI Brussels is currently welcoming non-French speaking pupils at nursery level and in early primary school. To successfully integrate these pupils, the school has implemented the “portal programme,” a smooth transition mechanism allowing pupils to learn French, our reference language, while easing their way into the school’s teaching programme.
IMMERSION CLASSES
The “portal programme” draws on a series of educational methods developed by the teaching team and approved by families, welcoming non-French speaking pupils at nursery and in early primary school. Before these pupils start at school, they undergo a thorough language assessment, which serves as the basis for their monitoring and progression. To start with, pupils are “immersed” in a ordinary class, but with an adapted timetable based on the “primo-arrivant” (newcomer) and “classes d’immersion” (immersion classes) schemes run by the best international schools in France.
LANGUAGE SUPPORT GROUPS
Every day, a teacher specialising in teaching French as a foreign language (FLE) will take small groups of non-French speaking children, giving them the support and confidence they need to take part and settle well in class. This initiative helps pupils, who are sometimes entirely unfamiliar with the French education system, to quickly learn the French language through assimilation strategies, while also developing their reading and listening skills. This gradually builds their confidence, allowing them to develop their writing and speaking skills.
ODYSSEY GROUP
This method has proven its worth over many years. Usually after about a year, students move into the mainstream curriculum, but also moving on to a different curriculum at some point during the child’s schooling.