EABJM anchors its pedagogy on the natural creativity of children, their appetite for learning and their boundless curiosity. A team of educators, specializing in English, reading, writing, math and science assist and coordinate our teachers and contribute to the on-going process of curriculum and professional development, both in and out of the classroom.

All areas of learning share the same goals: develop a base of solid skills and a capacity for independent critical thinking, nurture curiosity and promote self-confidence. To pursue these goals, the pedagogical drivers are similarly common to all disciplines: action (to do) and accomplishment (understanding that one can succeed). In terms of curriculum content, EABJM follows the French national curriculum with several exceptions:

• English is taught every day (1.5 hour) and students are grouped according to their English proficiency level so that can be taught at a challenging level. In addition, beginning in CE2 (third grade), science is taught in English.
• The curriculum is enriched at all levels with, for example, Chinese language instruction (compulsory in grades 3-4-5), an integrated science program and an activity-based math curriculum.

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English at EABJM is all about having fun while learning in a supportive, stimulating environment. The active, multi-sensory approach to language learning appeals to all learning styles. Differentiated ability groups, EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and EMT (English Mother Tongue), cater to the needs of every child, whatever their linguistic background.

The goal for EFL children is to absorb English naturally as they did their first language, thus becoming accustomed to new sounds, rhythms and intonations. The “Knock-Knock” audiovisual method is a tried and tested tool for beginners. Students benefit from an enthusiastic, dedicated team of English mother tongue teachers and from constant interaction with their EMT peers. At EABJM we aim to make our students confident and competent speakers and, from CE1 (second grade), writers of English, able to communicate and understand, and able to value the linguistic and cultural diversity of the international school community to which they belong.

EMT students are given the opportunity to speak their language in an environment similar to the one they would have in their home country. EMT children have manuals used by children in English speaking countries. As well, classes are equipped with British and American teaching materials and EMT teachers stress both language skills and knowledge of the world around us through theme teaching.

Early reading

Children have a powerful natural drive to read. Our role, from the earliest age, is to facilitate and nurture this drive, and to do so at their own pace, within the help of a multi-sensory sign/oral approach that combines the deciphering of phonemes with movements and sounds. The learning experience develops visual (graphemes) and auditory (phonemes) discrimination in the context of a child’s everyday experience and perception of the world. By the end of Grande Section (Kindergarten), many students are accomplished readers. They are grouped together in CP (first grade) classes that will take their skill set into account with a more structured, faster pace and more complex texts.

Learning to read in two languages?

A child only learns to read once in syllabic languages. Once a child has understood how to combine vowels and consonants to form syllables, and syllables to form words, that child can read. Changing language changes pronunciation, but not the reading process. Indeed, once reading competency is established, transferring skills to a different language (from French to English) takes place at astonishing speed. This is why one of the basic tenets of our pedagogy is to tackle reading sequentially: first in French—because classroom activities are reinforced by outside written stimuli in French, from street signs to billboards and magazine headlines—and then in English.

Although some children could successfully learn to read simultaneously in both languages, others might develop long-lasting phoneme confusions, which the sequential approach prevents. Accordingly, we strongly urge bilingual parents not to teach their child to read in another roman-alphabet language until complete mastery of reading in French has been achieved. There is no problem, of course, with languages using different alphabets or ideograms.

Writing

Oral expression
Oral expression is at the core of all activities, throughout the Nursery and Primary School. In History, as well as in Science and Math, students learn:
- To find the right words to express themselves and present their point of view
- To argument, defend and debate
 
Written expression
From CP (1st grade) on, students write every day. They learn to write to inform, to convince, to explain, to summarize and build writing skills, but also simply to tell or invent a story. They write alone or in groups, or even in writing workshops with visiting writers. Starting with a first draft, a patient process of rewriting and editing leads them, with the help of a word-processor, to a finished work product in which they take great pride.

“One learns by doing, by becoming engaged; one learns gradually, through trial and error; one learns by interacting with peers and with teachers; one learns by formulating hypotheses, confronting them to others and testing their validity with experimental facts.”

These words, loosely translated from Georges Charpak’s, 1992 Physics Nobel laureate and EABJM advisor, express our pedagogical objectives. Indeed, our goal is to engage students in formulating their own learning experience, to develop their curiosity, and to stimulate their creativity. This entails starting from what one knows, and then to experiment, exchange, observe, describe, listen, analyze, debate and work with teammates.

• In math, this goal is pursued from the very beginning (Moyenne Section : pre-K) with pedagogical tools, sometimes brought in from outside, such as Cuisenaire rods, but mostly developed internally. To approach math as an experimental science, tackling complex “real” problems through manipulation develops critical reasoning and a taste for problem solving. It also helps children create their own conceptual framework while building a solid skill set. The exceptional results achieved by our students in national standardized evaluations of math literacy testify to the validity of our pedagogy.
• Similarly, in science, EABJM makes extensive use of "La Main à la Pâte," a student-centered method originally developed under Georges Charpak’s leadership, that enables students to explore thematic modules such as sound, the five senses, the universe, ecosystems, energy, color and light.

More than twenty years ago, EABJM opened a window on an Eastern language and culture for primary school children with the introduction of Japanese language studies. In September 2004, Chinese took the place of Japanese and became part of the school curriculum. From CE2 (third grade) to CM2 (fifth grade) Chinese is taught for 30 minutes daily (Chinese becomes elective in sixth grade).

As is the case for English, an active, immersion-based multi-sensory approach to language learning engages the children and appeals to all learning styles. Chinese instruction is particularly rewarding: hearing and speaking Chinese develops children’s ability to discriminate and reproduce new sounds, reading Chinese characters challenges their visual memory and pattern recognition capabilities, and writing/calligraphy reinforces fine motor coordination. And of course, as with all other language studies at EABJM, Chinese is, most importantly, a tool to access, understand and appreciate the culture of China.

In Lower School, EABJM and the Parents Association join forces to offer a wide range of extracurricular activities that are mostly available after school and run by both French-speaking and English-speaking teachers. Examples include danse, writing workshops, science labs, math workshops, basketball, choir, music initiation for nursery-age children, theater…

Children in direct contact with works of art and historic monuments perceive history as their reality and develop the foundation upon which a solid cultural edifice can be built. This is why our teachers organize numerous outings in and around Paris, taking advantage of its matchless depth of cultural sites and resources. In addition, week-long trips outside Paris, focused on specific themes, culminate in a final work product, such as a book, a play or performance, often involving, a science report, or a special mime, circus or theater class.

Finally, in CM1 and CM2 (4th and 5th grade), one to three-week trips are organized in English-speaking countries.