English at St.

Benoit

Introducing St. Benoit

St. Benoit is a small public school in the neighbourhood of St. Germain des Pres in Paris,
spanning from nursery through the end of primary school. Approximately 240 students aged 3
to 11 years old are enrolled across 10 classes, with an average class size of 23 in the nursery and
24 in elementary school. Classes at St. Benoit are taught by a team of 10 full-time classroom
teachers, hired by the national Department of Education, 7 of whom are bilingual English-
French. An additional supporting team of teachers, hired by the City of Paris, offer classes in
music, art, sports and English.
St. Benoit is one of 4 public nurseries and 4 public primary schools in the 6th arrondissement. It
competes with a wide range of schools in a neighborhood where approximately 70% of families
choose to educate their children in private schools. A fifth (20%) of the student body at St.
Benoit attends the school through special request to the city of Paris (demande de dérogation).
For families attending St. Benoit, one of the allures is its reinforced English project.

Origins of the English Project

St. Benoit’s English project grew organically out of teacher and parent initiatives into a
structured approach, spearheaded by its director and backed by government resources. In
2008, a nursery school teacher by the name of Mme Sabatier joined St. Benoit from the Lycée
Français in New York, bringing with her an enthusiasm for bilingual education. She initiated
weekly English workshops for children in kindergarten, exposing them immersevely to spoken
English. The approach was popular with students and parents.
Four years later, Deborah Rubenstein Benarroch, a St. Benoit parent and alumnae of Stanford
University, connected the school with the university’s semester abroad program in Paris. Since
2012, up to three undergraduates from Stanford rotate through the school, staying for a period
of three months. They spend a half day each week at St. Benoit speaking to the students only in
English and teaching through games.
In response to growing interest in English among the parent community and an anticipated
influx of families from Britain post-Brexit, in 2019 St. Benoit’s Director Mme Valette applied for
and won special status as a school with reinforced English (“un dispositif d’enseignement
bilingue”). The project started in the three nursery years (cycle 1 of the French curriculum) and
expanded to years 1 to 3 (CP, CE1, CE2 or cycle 2) by 2022. St Benoit was in the first wave of
public schools to embark on this project of reinforced English. Thanks to the success of early
adopters, like St. Benoit, there are now 20 public schools in Paris following a similar trajectory.

Prepared in Jan 2023 by B-Lingue, a group of English speaking parents, for APEE the St. Benoit Parent Association
https://ecolesaintbenoit.webflow.io/
Core Components of the English Project
St Benoit’s English Project aims to teach and inspire through linguistic and cultural immersion.
The Project is composed of four key components: 1) bilingual classroom teachers; 2) certified
English facilitators; 3) English extra-curriculars; and 4) English immersion with Stanford
university students together with the English parent-group.
1. Bilingual classroom teachers (“enseignants à profil anglais”)
Since the start of the English project, all new classroom teachers are required to be
bilingual in English. There are currently 7 bilingual classroom teachers. Though the principal
language of instruction is French, the classroom teachers use English when giving their
students simple instructions at the start and end of classes, such as putting on their coat,
taking out their notebooks, or going down to lunch. In addition, they work together with
English assistants to co-teach in English at designated intervals.

2. Certified English facilitators (“référents bilingues”)

In support of its reinforced English project, the City of Paris supplies St. Benoit with two
certified English facilitators, for the nursery and for the primary school. The facilitators run
the school libraries. In addition, in 2022, two new English assistants from the United States
were appointed to intervene during classroom hours in English, for approximately 2 hours
per class per week. During that time, the assistants shadow the head teacher, who teaches
in French, reiterating key words in English with the goal of co-teaching the class.

3. English extra-curricular activities

In addition to class-time, English is spoken outside the classroom in afternoon activities.
The educational reforms of 2013 supplemented existing extra-curricular activities (activités
extra-scolaires which run from 4:30pm to 6pm) with after-school activities, called temps
d’accueil périscolaire or TAP (which run from 3:00 – 4:30pm). St. Benoit invites three not-
for-profit associations to lead English after-school activities in primary school. The English
activities, offered for a small fee, are run by the Globetrotter Association, English at School,
and Cap English. In addition, the school offers free after-school English reading in its library.

4. English immersion with university students & parents

A selection of Stanford undergraduates enrolled in the university’s semester abroad
program are invited to teach the children English through immersive structured play. The
students talk only English. As they are not trained language teachers, they are paired with
an English-speaking parent, where possible.

Over and above the specific components of the English project, an ethos of cross-cultural
openness and curiosity lies at the heart of St. Benoit’s initiative. Students learn English
children’s songs, and they study the traditions, history and geography of different countries,
anglophone and otherwise, starting in the very young classes. This spirit of cultural openness
reflects the community St. Benoit serves, which welcomes families with a wealth of different
heritages and languages spoken at home.

Prepared in Jan 2023 by B-Lingue, a group of English speaking parents, for APEE the St. Benoit Parent Association
https://ecolesaintbenoit.webflow.io/
What next?
St. Benoit’s English project continues to grow and will be expanding in autumn of 2023 to
include classes in the 3eme cycle (CM1, CM2 and 6ieme). To support that growth, the school
will be requesting an expansion of the hours of the English teaching assistants for co-teaching.
Furthermore, as one of two winners of the City of Paris participatory budget scheme, St Benoit
will be integrating video projectors into its classrooms in 2023. The supervised use of video
offers a chance to supplement the children’s English exposure in a way that is engaging and
benefits their learning. Finally, the school is in the process of developing an English language
library for use by students and teachers. English speaking parents are invited to read in English
to the children during library hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you integrate a child who arrives at St. Benoit and hasn’t done English previously?
The approach to English learning is welcoming and immersive. The school does not differentiate
between children by their level of language mastery. The aim is to encourage English speaking,
rather than to correct grammar or pronunciation, so that all children benefit from learning,
regardless of their starting point.

How do you evaluate if a teacher is bilingual in English?

All new teachers must first be interviewed in English. Only if they pass that interview are they
invited to continue the application process.

What is offered to children in classes without a bilingual teacher?

The teachers who are not bilingual occasionally trade places with other teachers who are, so as
to give their class access to a bilingual teacher. In addition, the Stanford-parent joint initiative
targets the classes without a bilingual teacher and the English assistants spend more time in
these classes.

How many hours of English instruction is my student getting?

It is hard to quantify the English instruction throughout St. Benoit, as it differs by class and
according to the student’s choice of extra-curricular activity. The Académie de Paris grants the
designation of bilingual school when students are exposed to at least 6 hours of English per
week. On average, students in the reinforced English grades (currently Petite Section through
CE2) hear one-to-two hours of English spoken a day during school-hours. This estimate
combines contributions from the bilingual assistants, facilitators, and classroom teachers, as
well as the Stanford students and English-speaking parents.

How is the children’s English assessed?

The English project is integrated with the overall school curriculum, so the children’s language
skills are assessed in the same way as their other competencies. Starting in primary school, a
child’s learning is assessed through a standardized report card (le livret scolaire unique), which
is completed each semester and available online.

Prepared in Jan 2023 by B-Lingue, a group of English speaking parents, for APEE the St. Benoit Parent Association
https://ecolesaintbenoit.webflow.io/