The Grade 5s are taking part of an exciting “French Language Exchange”. Our partner school is based in the city of Alençon, in Normandy, France.
Mme Céline, our Grade 5 French teacher, is in contact with a Grade 7 English class from Collège Balzac. We aim to discover French culture by exchanging letters, pictures and any other documents relevant in fields we study.
Before Christmas break, the students were making bilingual Christmas cards for their peers in France. It was exciting to create our own cards, and to ask questions to French children.
We got their Christmas cards when school resumed in January, and we have read and studied the cards. The Grade 5s found out that French people eat “foie gras” and “bûche de Noël” (traditional log-shape Christmas cake) at Christmas. They were stunned that everyone seems to eat the same thing! We sent our French friends pictures of our students’ Christmas meals. What diversity in comparison to France! Our Grade 5s’ students also noticed that French students use cursive writing… and pen instead of pencil. How different!
It’s a very interesting experience to “live” the culture in action, and to use both French and English to communicate. The French Christmas cards are displayed in the lobby of the Junior School. Our next project is to exchange our schedule. I can’t wait to see the Grade 5s when they’ll find out French students don’t have class on Wednesdays!
Mme Céline
French Teacher
