Madame Ballvé  
Bienvenue! (Welcome!) Je m'appelle Madame Ballvé (My name is Madame Ballvé) and I am the French teacher here at Signal Hill Elementary! I have been at Signal Hill Elementary since the school opened in September 2000. This also marked the beginning of the FLES (Foreign Language at the Elementary School) program in Prince William County schools; two offer French, four offer Spanish. Today, the FLES program is called the World Languages Elementary Program (WLES).
I firmly believe in learning foreign languages before the age of 10! First of all, exposing a child to foreign language at an earlier age, gives them more of an opportunity to develop native proficiency. Because a child's mouth is not yet fully developed, it is easier for me to actually get my students to produce sounds in French, which makes their pronunciation magnifique! Research also shows that learning a foreign language at an earlier age actually helps to develop stronger skills in language arts, math, and critical thinking. French is a very good base for learning other Romance languages (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian) as well as English. I love telling the students that more than 1/2 of their current English vocabulary actually comes directly from French! I teach students in grades 1-5 once a week for 40 minutes. I am still SO excited (it's been 3 years already) that I actually have my very own French classroom; I even have a Smart Board! It's my home away from home! Please come and check out the French-speaking country posters in the back of the room! Bienvenue to all who come by! :) | |
|
|
|
| « | January 2012 | » | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
|
29
|
30
|
31
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
