Multilingual education in CM2

At the Lycée français de Vienne, multilingualism is not just a pedagogical ambition—it is a reality we strive to develop.

Guillaume Jacques, a primary school teacher, incorporates multilingualism into his teaching practices. The previous week, he welcomed Christine Hélot, a renowned specialist in bilingualism and multilingualism, whose work deeply informs our pedagogical reflection.

During the session on Friday, May 8th, students worked in groups formed by the teacher to encourage exchange and cooperation among diverse linguistic profiles and to learn how to adapt to one another. Each group received a worksheet with precise instructions centered on a common goal: discovering poetic structure, understanding different types of rhymes—simple, following, or embracing—and experimenting with poetic writing.

What made this session particularly inspiring was the freedom given to students to communicate in the language they master best. This allowed each student to fully contribute, enrich the collective work, and share their linguistic and cultural sensitivity.

The final productions were written in French—the common language of our institution—but also in each student’s mother tongue, thus fostering a true dialogue between languages and cultures.

A beautiful illustration of the richness of the Lycée français de Vienne and the concrete implementation of our multilingual policy, a key pillar of our school’s educational project.