Singapore Math Emphasizes Mastery, not Memorization

The French School of Austin, or Ecole Jean Jacques Rousseau, emphasizes multilingualism, multiculturalism, and academic excellence. Located in Austin, Texas, the French School of Austin/Ecole Jean Jacques Rousseau offers students in preschool through eighth grade a challenging curriculum that includes Singapore math. 

After children in Singapore began ranking highly in math, the rest of the world took notice and began adopting what is now known as Singapore math. This encompasses the country’s methods for teaching math to children in kindergarten through sixth grade. 

Some educators credit the success of Singapore math to its emphasis on mastery rather than memorization. American math classes have traditionally relied on memorization and math drills, with immediate results on tests. Singapore math, on the other hand, is based on child development theory. It focuses on helping students master a smaller number of concepts each year, so that they understand the math they’re applying at a fundamental level. 

Singapore math is still relatively new to the United States, as it was introduced in the late 1990s by Jeffrey Thomas and his wife, Dawn, a native of Singapore. However, schools in 40 states have incorporated it into their curriculum, a number that will likely continue to grow.

Benefits of Small Bilingual Class Sizes

Founded by experienced educators Dr. Hind Louali and Sonia and Mohammed Louali, the French School of Austin, also known as Ecole Jean Jacques Rousseau, offers full-time French instruction programs taught by highly-qualified teachers who are also native speakers. The French School of Austin/Ecole Jean Jacques Rousseau follows the standards set by the French Ministry of Education and purposefully keeps student-teacher ratios low to ensure more opportunities for one-on-one support and enhance each child’s learning experience. 

Low student-teacher ratios are ideal for bilingual learning environments, where students may need extra support in reading and writing skills while learning other core subjects. Additionally, some of the anxieties associated with second language learning are measurably reduced in smaller classes. In one study, language students in classes with fewer children reported higher feelings of security, which contributed to higher levels of class participation. 

The benefits are especially notable for elementary school students. More teacher attention can increase student achievement and reduce student behavioral issues. Calmer class environments are more conducive to learning and help promote a supportive class culture.

Why Learn Multiple Languages?

Ecole Jean Jacques Rousseau, also known as the French School of Austin, provides multilingual education from preschool through eighth grade. Many students at Ecole Jean Jacques Rousseau graduate speaking three languages, and six major languages are represented in its student body.

Speaking multiple languages doesn't just equip these young people to converse with those in other nations, it provides health and social benefits that last a lifetime. Those who speak multiple languages generally develop better attention spans and improved multitasking abilities, and face lower risks of stroke than monolingual speakers. They also experience cognitive decline at a slower rate than those who only know one language, often experience delayed onset of common aging-related diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia, and have lower stress levels than the general population.

Bilingualism also often correlates with open-mindedness. Bilinguals typically deal with environmental changes more effectively than their monolingual counterparts, and are more open to new experiences.

Advantages of Immersion Education

The French School of Austin, École Jean-Jacques Rousseau, provides a bilingual education in French and English to children aged 3 to 13 years. The preschool program at the French School of Austin, École Jean-Jacques Rousseau, offers total French immersion, while continuing French language instruction features throughout its curriculum.

Research shows that when children engage in immersion education in a second language, they develop cognitive skills that are comparable to their peers who become bilingual at home. These skills include a heightened metalinguistic awareness, which presents as a knowledge of different elements of language, such as words and syntax, and the ability to verbalize this knowledge.

Immersion education also allows children to develop more ease in their learned language. Students who begin such programs with command over one language develop second language comprehension and fluency skills that are comparable to native speakers. Meanwhile, these children develop a heightened awareness of their own native language and its components.

Additionally, children who learn in immersion environments develop improved executive control, or executive function, a crucial set of mental processes that includes control of inhibitions, flexibility of thinking, and command over working memory. Studies reveal that they are more able to decipher complex problems with contradictory information as compared to their monolingual peers, largely because they show a greater facility to attend only to the information that they need.

Children in immersion programs also become increasingly adept at speaking to people from different language and cultural backgrounds. They show greater sensitivity to the needs of their listeners and can learn new languages more quickly. These skills can make a child not only more adept academically, but also more in-demand as a professional in a multicultural world.

Does Class Size Actually Matter?

Ecole Jean-Jacques Rousseau, or the French School of Austin, provides preparatory education to international, American, and French students in preschool, elementary school, and middle school. One of the unique features of the French School of Austin, Ecole Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is the fact that it has small class sizes that promote hands-on involvement from bilingual teachers.

On average, class sizes in the United States range from about 23 students to almost 30 students depending on the state and the grade of students. For this reason, many states have introduced legislation that attempts to reduce classroom sizes to benefit students and teachers. However, it’s often debated how worthwhile such legislation would be, despite decades of research showing that smaller class sizes do improve student performance.

According to several studies, students in smaller classrooms outperform their peers on all assessments and in all subjects. In fact, they are usually one to two months ahead of students in larger classrooms in terms of their content knowledge. This benefit is seen regardless of whether students come from high- or low-income families, or whether they have been lower-achieving students during their time in school.

There are several reasons why this improvement occurs. Many people assume that it is because teachers with smaller class sizes are able to tailor their instruction more effectively to each student. While this does play a role, teachers don’t automatically change their behavior just because their class size is smaller; they need to be trained before their teaching habits change.

Smaller classes may also improve student performance because students in such settings are shown to behave better in class. This lets individual students, and the class as a whole, learn more efficiently.

FLES French National Contest

The French School of Austin Ecole Jean Jacques Rousseau is proud to offer high-quality academics alongside rigorous French language instruction. The French School of Austin Ecole Jean Jacques Rousseau has been teaching a bilingual curriculum since 2005. The school also encourages students to participate in national competitions, such as the French National Contest. 

The FLES French National Contest is an annual competition in which French language students from grades 1 through 12 take a written and speaking test and are graded against each other for prizes. Only the top 20 percent of students are eligible for participation in the speaking component-- to make it into the top 20, students must achieve a nearly perfect score in the written portion. Students can receive one of five awards:

1. Platinum Medal, which is given to the student who achieves the highest score in his or her level/division. 
2. Gold Medal, which is granted to students in the 95th percentile. 
3. Silver Medal, bestowed to students in the 90th or 85th percentile. 
4. Bronze Medal, for students in the 80th or 75th percentile. 
5. Mention d'honneur certificate, which is for those in the 70th to 50th percentile.