French

Extended French is an approach to French teaching with increased time and intensity. Students in Grade 5 and 6 are immersed in the French language with this theme-based curriculum, receiving 450 minutes of French each week for 2 consecutive years. As students study relevant themes, oral language becomes more automatic and intrinsic. French is used in authentic situations so that the language becomes more automatic. Studies indicate that students exposed to a period of intensive second language study show greater progress than students exposed to the same number of instruction hours spread over a longer period of time.

At Timothy Christian School French will be taught at all levels.

Kindergarten students receive 30 minutes a week.

Grade 1-4 receive 150 minutes a week.

Grade 5-6 receive 450 minutes a week.

Grade 7-8 receive 180 minutes a week.

Core French in Grade 1-4 at TCS is taught with the Accelerative Integrated Method (AIM) curriculum, which helps students achieve a high level of fluency. AIM first teaches children the 700 most frequently used words in the French language. This helps them manage an everyday conversation in French. AIM also teaches language with gestures, literature, music and dance, and this provides plenty of opportunities for repetition of vocabulary and structures.