The advantages of the Bop! methodology
The methods used to teach languages in the education systems around the world, from kindergarten to high school, are rarely conducive to the acquisition of genuine bilingual competence. As a matter of fact, only 10% of the U.S. population speaks a language other than English proficiently. In 2022, only 28% of working-age adults in the EU who knew at least 1 foreign language said they were proficient in their best-known foreign language. Few countries in the world, like Singapore or Sweden, can boast a good proficiency in English as a second language today. Despite excellent results in written assessments, many former French second-language students express frustration at their difficulties in communicating orally and coping in real-life situations. Proficiency in a second language is rarely achieved in secondary schools; in the United States, only 3.5% of students achieve a high level of oral proficiency in a second language by the fourth year of language study, and 13.2% in written proficiency.
The methods used to teach languages in the education systems around the world are rarely conducive to the acquisition of genuine bilingual competence. Credits: Pexels, Ron Lach
Unlike school-based methods, my pedagogy is inspired by the way young children naturally acquire language, from kindergarten to primary school, in a situation of total immersion in a country where another language dominates. Learning takes the form of "knitting", with essential knots in place, such as words with basic meanings (like "yes", "no", "hello", "goodbye", "thank you"), which attach more complex expressions and meanings, to become a veritable linguistic "fabric". Mastery of the spoken language is prioritized over that of the written word. In this way, each new language is learned by mimicking the mechanics of total immersion learning. It was by recalling my own learning path, having acquired French at the age of three in France, then English in the United States between the ages of ten and eleven, that I was able to intuitively isolate the mechanisms of foreign language acquisition and draw the lessons that have shaped my methodology.
By combining the pleasure of learning with the complicity between child and adult, this methodology promotes the child's harmonious development, while enabling rapid acquisition of the language to be transmitted. Credits: Pexels, Archie Binamira
Varied games and activities are also important for children of this age. It's also essential to get down to their level, interact with them and take on their imaginary world. For this reason, the methodology presented here takes these requirements into account when learning the language. The underlying theoretical approach is explained in the dedicated chapter below.
By combining the pleasure of learning with the complicity between child and adult, this methodology promotes the child's harmonious development, while enabling rapid acquisition of the language to be transmitted.
References
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Eurostat, Foreign language skills statistics, accessed 4th december 2024, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Foreign_language_skills_statistics#:~:text=In%202022%2C%2028%25%20of%20working,at%20least%201%20foreign%20language
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“Conférence de consensus. De la découverte à l’appropriation des langues vivantes étrangères. Comment l’école peut-elle mieux accompagner les élèves ?”, CNESCO, accédé le 15 Novembre 2024, https://www.cnesco.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/190408_CCLV_Note_experts-1.pdf
Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS), University of Oregon, What Proficiency Level do High School Students Achieve? April 23 2010. Accessed on 4th December 2024. https://casls.uoregon.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/tenquestions/TBQProficiencyResults.pdf