Intensive French 

Until recently, there have been only two options for learning French as a second language in the school system in Canada, the regular French program, usually called 'Core French', and Immersion. Now there is a third way, Intensive French.

It is a program offering students of all abilities, who are not enrolled in immersion programs, an effective way to learn to communicate spontaneously in French. It is a literacy-based approach, which means that students learn to speak, read and write in French. Grammar is acquired through use rather than learning rules. Students talk, read and write about themselves and their experiences, and are active in the classroom. Intensive French is different from French Immersion because students do not learn other school subjects in French and Mathematics is still taught in English.  It is based on the Neurolinguistic Approach to second language learning. 

At Marine Drive Academy, we offer Intensive French in sixth grade. For five months, about 70 % of the school day is devoted to French language instruction. In the other five months, students follow their regular timetable, but French continues to be taught through a literacy-based approach to language learning. At the end of the five-month intensive period of the program, students can communicate in French spontaneously on subjects related to their experiences.