Presentation
Overview of the French Bilingual/Binational Program at Highgate School and Unley High School
We are pleased to share the vision and program design for the French Binational Bilingual Program approved by the Minister for Education in December 2020.
This document provides an overview specific to the R-6 program design at Highgate School.
The year 6 program will be implemented in 2022.
Vision
To deliver a sustainable, innovative, inclusive, continuous, high quality program non-accredited French Bilingual Binational Program (FBBP) from Reception to Year 10 that supports French background and additional language learners to develop a high level of proficiency in French and intercultural understanding.
Purpose
To offer bilingual/binational education to expand learning outcomes for all FBBP students across the curriculum, enabling them to develop enhanced literacy, social, emotional and cognitive skills, including critical and creative thinking, problem solving and international mindedness.
Program Design
The FBBP curriculum delivery model entails a progressive roll out of:
- Reception to year 2: one day per week using the Australian Curriculum taught in English and four days per week using a harmonised French/Australian curriculum taught in French. One specialist subject is taught in English every day. Specialist subject areas may include Performing Arts, Physical Education, Technology or another language.
- Year 3 to Year 6: Subject areas are taught using a harmonised French/Australian curriculum, 50% in French and 50% in English. One specialist subject per day is taught in English.
Selective Entry
The FBBP has a selective entry process, in accordance with the Department’s procedure for special interest programs. This process is managed by the school leadership and allows for out of zone students to apply for enrolment in the program.
Details about the selective entry criteria, the enrolment process and the timeframes will be made available by the Principals on the schools’ websites each year.
Bilingual Education
Bilingual education means different things to different people. For the department, ‘bilingual education’ is the use of two languages as the media for teaching and learning.
The FBBP is inclusive in its vision to support French background and additional language learners to develop a high level of proficiency in French and intercultural understanding. Being an inclusive program, students enrolling in the FBBP in Reception are not required to have prior knowledge of French. As students progress through the years, students require age appropriate proficiency to access the teaching and learning program and meet curriculum expectations successfully in both French and English.
Binational Education and a Harmonised French/Australian Curriculum
A harmonised French and Australian curriculum is central to a binational education and to the delivery of the FBBP at Highgate. Harmonisation is the process of blending the two government curricula using both languages as the media for learning, teaching and assessing.
In the FBBP, there is a variable allocation of teaching and learning time of curriculum areas in French and English. The FBBP adopts harmonised pedagogy, assessment and professional approaches for each of the education cycles: R-2, Year 3-6 with a sample of curriculum learning areas described in the table below (the distribution of some learning areas may change from year to year):
| Cycle | Language, curriculum and assessment | Learning Areas |
|---|---|---|
| R-2 | 80% French language Harmonised curriculum and assessment |
French literacy, Science, Maths, HASS, Visual and Media Arts |
| 20% English language Australian curriculum and assessment |
Performing Arts, Physical Education, Chinese, Technologies, English Literacy | |
| 3-6 | 50% French language Harmonised curriculum and assessment |
Semester 1: French, Maths, Health, HASS Semester 2: French, Maths, Science, Health, Visual or Media Arts |
| 50% English language Australian curriculum and assessment |
Semester 1: English, Technologies, Science, Performing Arts, Visual or Media Arts, Maths, Civics & Citizenship, Physical Education, Chinese Semester 2: English, Technologies, Performing Arts, Physical Education, Maths, Civics & Citizenship, HASS and Chinese. |
Expectations of Student Achievement in French
| Reading | Writing | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Level B or above by the end of the year | LEAP level 4 (narrative) |
| Year 2 | Level E or above by the end of the year | LEAP level 5 (Information) |
| Year 3 | Level I or above by the end of the year | LEAP level 6 (Information) |
| Year 4 | Level M or above by the end of the year | LEAP level 7 (Information) |
| Year 5 | Level Q or above by the end of the year | LEAP level 8 (Information) |
| Year 6 | Level V or above by the end of the year | LEAP level 9 (Information) |
Last updated: 10/08/2021
