Lycée Français de Séoul (LFS) set up a Continuity through Distance Learning (CPD) program for all its students in the first days of school closure in March 2020.
LFS strictly follows the crisis management decisions of the Korean Ministry of Education and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE), and in agreement with the French Embassy and the AEFE, adapts its CPD program to the recommendations issued and the number of students allowed in the classroom.
CPD aims to help students acquire expected skills in line with the curriculum through activities prepared by the teachers and online sessions. Each teacher develops a dual system combining individual activities and group online G Meet / Zoom sessions.
Teachers assess the skills and achievements of students during G Meet / Zoom sessions and assignments. The French curriculum is organized in a spiral fashion which means that there is progression and continuity of learning within each cycle and skills are reviewed and deepened each year.
The educational teams regularly review the program and processes to bring any necessary improvements.
All teams are fully engaged to support student learning and the school’s educational offer in the best possible environment. LFS staff members are available to meet online to discuss any questions or issues that may arise.
The following Q&A section provides details on our CPD program.
ORGANIZATION OF DISTANCE LEARNING AT LFS
- strictly follows the crisis management decisions of the Korean authorities, in conjunction with the French authorities
- applies the educational principles common to the network of French schools abroad
- aims to ensure that students acquire the anticipated skills for the academic year
- offers activities which students can carry out by themselves
- updates its educational and pedagogical offer based on a weekly analysis of the program and dialogue with all members of the school community
- acknowledges that the Distance Learning program cannot simply replicate the usual teaching/learning conditions and must address the specifics of remote schooling to deliver educational continuity
- develops a CPD program on the following framework:
- a coherent common core of practices from Kindergarten to High school
- broken down into consistent shared fundamentals by levels
- tailored to each class according to ongoing projects and approaches specific to the teachers, subjects and groups of students
- modification of the timing of activities, from day to week
- Pedagogy is continuously monitored and the program adapted as needed
- Organization of a weekly pedagogical follow-up meeting
- Steering by the school management and educational teams
- Feedback from the school community via surveys and interviews
- Communication to students and parents is regular and structured
- The headmaster is in charge of crisis communication and the program’s general guidelines
- Each headteacher communicates on pedagogical issues with the students of his/her class and their and parents
- A detailed weekly program of activities is communicated
- A regularly updated FAQ is shared on www.lfseoul.org
- The new teaching methods maintain the annual learning objectives but also develop new skills
- Follow through on originally planned work objectives
- Explicitly compulsory or optional activities for individualized work
- Development of new skills
- The program includes a combination of asynchronous and synchronous learning activities
- Progressive synchronous live sessions of various durations and formats adapted to the objectives
- Asynchronous sessions with audio/video clips, feedback and online interaction with the teacher via Classroom
- Independent work sessions with guidelines and variable deadlines and formats for the production and submission of work
- Mixed sessions combining the 3 types listed above
- Interactions of various types and frequency involve a range of educational actors
- Synchronous sessions are provided by each teacher to maintain daily interactions, introduce new learning and support individual work; they are limited in number to protect students from overexposure to screens
- New interaction formats: video conferencing, audio/video clips, online assistance
- New interaction time frame: before, during and after activities
- New daily interactions: teacher-student, student-student, teacher-parent, School Life-student
- The digital tools used by LFS are encouraged and further developed, and exposure to digital tools is kept as low as possible
- G Suite Classroom
- G Suite Meet and Zoom
- Pronote
- Traditional learning material used by students – textbooks, notebooks, books
Teachers and school management meet on a weekly basis to monitor the program.
The AEFE’s Pedagogical Team assists schools and teachers in the implementation of distance learning.
LFS has chosen to focus on the tools already available and known to students and parents:
- General LFS communication: emails from school management
- Communication of the weekly Work Schedule: Pronote/Information” (for Primary school), Pronote/Emploi du temps – Timetable (for Secondary school)
- Communication of Meet sessions: Pronote/Emploi du temps (Timetable)/Memo
- Communication of work to be done by students: Pronote/Cahier de textes (Student diary)/Travail à faire (Work to be done)
- Specific work documents and instructions: Classroom
- Video conferencing: G Meet or Zoom in Primary school
- Other applications if already known by students and used on a regular basis
Please find the Guide in English in Eduka/Reference documents
LFS can provide students with laptops subject to available computer resources. Private publishers or the Centre National d’Enseignement à Distance (the French National Center for Distance Learning, or CNED) offer other distance learning tools. It is important to remember that they can only be used in addition to the measures already implemented by the teaching teams.
The G Meet / Zoom appointments schedules are sent on Friday evening for the following week, in order to facilitate the organization of the students’ work. It is also available on Pronote in the Emploi du temps (Timetable) for the Secondary School, in the Pronote in the Information menu for the Primary School.
The access links are systematically mentioned.
In principle, the Distance Learning program is based on a hybrid teaching combination as per the advice of educational experts, with a daily mix of synchronous, asynchronous, and assignment sessions.
Live sessions are only one of the multifaceted components of education. As students, especially the younger ones, should spend limited time in front of a screen, this program allows for students to diversify their habits, activities and learnings through different methods.
The frequency and length of live sessions have been adjusted based on feedback, dialogue with parents and students, medium and long term objectives and programs per grade. The use of live sessions will continue to evolve, taking into account age, objectives and needs.
LFS does not offer G Meet / Zoom sessions for every hour of the usual schedule for several reasons:
- Refrain students from spending too many hours in front of a screen, especially for younger children,
- Within the weekly schedule, there is a daily schedule clearly indicating mandatory/optional activities. Students and families can then organize their schedule more flexibly at their own pace, but under the guidelines set forth by the teacher,
- Students also develop new skills and methodology in their personal work, such as self-organization and anticipation, which are key in the French education system,
- Not all students have access to equal digital equipment.
- Not all students can connect to the usual timetables for reasons of family organization, childcare and time differences,
- Students work at a different pace,
If all cannot attend the G Meet /Zoom sessions for any of the above mentioned reasons, it can create inequality between students. The CPD program requires a different way of working, as it is and cannot be a simple replica of a physical classroom. Work arrangements may therefore change.
For students who are at the beginner level in French, the school acknowledges that the current context does not allow for the same interactions as in the regular classroom.
In this regard, for primary students who require additional French language support, separate online sessions are to be provided by not only the regular class teacher but also by Vie Scolaire (School Life) assistants and other educational staff.
High school students who need additional French language support benefit from sessions with the French teacher.
The ability to express oneself in a foreign language is just as dependent on the different activities implemented through asynchronous activities as it is on more time with the teacher. We therefore advise parents to make full use of all asynchronous activities, focusing in particular on self-recording activities, recorded narration, activity instructions, practice of rhymes, songs, as well as returning work done to the teacher.
The teaching team continues to adapt and implement new activities during the week, such as a recorded or live session with the librarian, group projects, etc.
We are aware that the context of distance learning is of course the least adapted to children in Kindergarten, as the schooling at this age is based on interactions with adults, peers, and experiencing community life. This implies that there needs to be even more communication between parents and teachers.
Weekly programs in Kindergarten still give the flexibility for families to work at the children’s own pace, but teachers also provide suggestions of daily organization.
Although we fully realize the limitations that arise with young children, there will be a daily Meet session with the teacher, as well as language-based or special Meet sessions in small groups in French.
In order to help non-French speaking families, Korean-speaking Kindergarten assistants (Agent spécialisé des écoles maternelles, ASEM) are available once or twice a week to assist the teacher and parents in smaller groups and to provide translation in Korean if necessary. We also use audio or video recordings in Korean to translate instructions and activities.
In the French Kindergarten system, most of the learning is done through interconnected activities and interactions, games and new experiences. Thus, activities at Kindergarten level are about learning in a different way with cooking, games, counting, creative exercises, speech, handling material, etc.
Please also note that skills are addressed and taught by cycle, not by year, in the French educational system. LFS therefore monitors progress and makes sure that all required learning is completed by the children at the end of cycle 1.
All activities prepared by the teachers are designed to sustain learning and ensure that students develop the expected skills.
The French education system consists of cycles, where the ‘Common core of Knowledge, Skills, and Culture’ identifies and categorizes the necessary knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes for students per cycle, not by grade (year) as in some other systems. This means that all skills and abilities are progressive and assessed at the end of a cycle.
The French curriculum is organized in a spiral fashion, which means that there is a progression and continuity in learning within the cycle and skills are reviewed and developed each year.
At the beginning of the school year, teachers evaluate the expected skills for the year to come. If necessary, the teams will adapt the program for the next school year, as will be the case throughout the world.
Teachers plan many learning activities. The teacher can assess the skills and achievements of students both during the G Meet / Zoom appointments and through the written work that is regularly submitted via Classroom.
Therefore, teachers continue with assessments during this period. When this is the case, teachers then specifically indicate that the activity will be subject to formal evaluation, as well as its conditions. The results are taken into account in the report cards (bulletins).
In the same way, class councils are held and report cards are sent at the end of the term. If the program is to be extended, it will be indicated in the report cards.
Yes, this allows the school to follow up on schooling and to contact the family to check on the students’ working conditions.
It is possible to ask the teacher questions by email and online meetings can also be arranged directly between parents and teachers via G Meet / Zoom.
SUPPORT AND FOLLOW-UP AT HOME
In Primary School, the schedule of activities is sent at the end of each previous week on Pronote/Information to parents and students. It is also shared in the G Classroom space of the class as a reminder.
In Secondary School, the details of the activities and work to be done during the week are available to parents and students on Pronote:
- G Meet sessions: in the Cahier de textes (Student Diary) / Emploi du temps (Timetable) / Memo section.
- Work to be done independently: in the Cahier de textes (Student Diary) / Travail à faire (Work to be done) section; G Classroom can be used to share further details regarding Work to be done.
Distance learning indeed leads students to spend some time in front of the computer.
LFS puts into practice the principles below to limit this exposure to screens:
- No digital exchanges between teachers and students on Saturday and Sunday
- Meet appointment schedules reflect the usual recess and lunch times during which students are asked to move away from the screens
- Teachers can consult the workload requested by other teachers in the class
- Meet appointments are arranged to alternate between working on paper and textbooks and working on the computer
- Work should be carried out as much as possible with the usual tools, notebooks and textbooks
- School work should end by 6:00 p.m. if the parent feels that the child has spent too much time on the computer
- Planned daily physical activities and outdoor outings in compliance with current health measures.
A weekly meeting is scheduled between teachers and management to ensure the monitoring and development of the system.
The educational service of the AEFE supports schools and teachers in the implementation of distance learning.
LFS can, subject to conditions and with a deposit, provide students with suitable computer equipment.
Please read the IT User Charter and complete the loan request form at: daf@lfseoul.org.
You can also address your questions and requests directly to LFS IT team at: informatique@lfseoul.org
LFS recommends the following for parents’ support:
- Define a suitable location.
- At the end of the week, review the following week’s program with the child.
- Establish a daily schedule, setting priorities and identifying mandatory activities.
- In the daily schedule, point out the alternate times for work and relaxation, additional activities planned or not by the teachers, outings in compliance with the health recommendations, and “idle” times, which are necessary to develop the child’s imagination and creativity.
- Every evening, read with the child the instructions given on Pronote or Classroom, and identify the activity time defined by the teacher.
- If the work requested could not be completed in full for reasons if family organization, let the teacher know.
- Impose time and quantity limits: beyond the usual timetable, put away the child’s school belongings.
- Ensure that screen time, reading, listening, physical exercise and relaxation are regularly alternated.
- Encourage and congratulate the child on its progress in organization and use of digital tools.
- Maintain a sleep rhythm essential for learning; children should get up at a fixed time, they are not on vacation!
- If possible, plan family activities, reading out loud, games… For many, social life is limited to long-distance relationships with peers and teachers.
In both primary and secondary schools, activities are offered in such a way that children can carry out most of them independently.
If the work is not finished within the allotted time, stop. If the student is unable to keep up with the pace of the program, the main teacher should be informed as soon as possible.
Do not be alarmed if the child does not finish certain activities. Do not insist and move on. The teacher will resume learning later.
Parents are not required to fully guide and assist the child. If need be, they can start the activity together and then leave the child to work on it by him/herself.
The above recommendations apply to all situations.
Parents have access to the main information concerning Meet sessions and the work to be done through Classroom and Pronote We recommend checking on completed work in the evening and on work to be done in the morning. A schedule posted in a common living space at home can be useful.
For secondary school students, a virtual basic service via G Meet is offered once a week by the Vie Scolaire (Student Affairs) team. Students can use this time to ask for advice or ask methodological or organizational questions.
In Primary School, the teacher proposes activities known to the students and which correspond to the classroom routine. The teacher can supplement the instructions with a video or audio clips which will specify the organization of the day. This support is also provided during the Meet appointments.
The schedule is sent at the end of the week for the following week to allow parents to prepare the activities with the child and to pass on, if necessary, the instructions to the person in charge of childcare: work to be done, how to organize the day.
No pressure for younger students (generally up to CE2), if what was planned for the day is not carried out in full. At the end of the day, the child reviews it with his parents. What has not been finished will be done later or not at all if not possible.
You can trust your children and the teachers who prepare the activities.
You can also ask adults known to the children (grandparents, etc.) to provide remote support.
The teacher may give instructions in the daily video presentation or at Meet sessions so that the student can engage in the activity with a clear understanding of what is expected of him/her. The teacher favors activities in which the student already has a high level of independence.
Mandatory activities remain limited and may be postponed if necessary.
The child will only stay focused on a task for a short time; this is normal for young children. It is therefore necessary to vary the activities and let him/her play freely or rest between each activity, then invite him/her to finish.
We advise to alternate between the activities that require concentration with the more playful ones and motor skills activities. Children learn more and better when they are involved and active. Play, experimentation and exposure to new experiences are major ways to learn and develop.
Again, do not worry if an activity is not completed, we will move on or it will be rescheduled.
As mentioned above, ASEM Kindergarten assistants (Agent spécialisé des écoles maternelles, ASEM) are available once or twice a week to assist the teacher and parents, providing Korean translation if necessary.
In Kindergarten, activities are to be organized throughout the day according to the child’s rhythm and level of autonomy.
In Elementary School, the idea is not to have children work as many hours as they would have in a face-to-face classroom: teachers provide general guidelines and recommendations for a daily schedule which follows the weekly schedule, with mandatory and optional activities. Children and parents can organize their work in a flexible way, at their own pace.
The school recommends a maximum of 2 hours per day of effective activity for the mandatory learnings in mathematics and French in Cycle 2 (CP, CE1, CE2), and up to 3 hours in Cycle 3 (CM1, CM2).
In Primary School as a whole, a student’s schedule should be based on the teacher’s recommendations for daily and weekly organization, with a mix of compulsory and optional activities adapted to the pace of each child and his/her family.
ADMINISTRATIVE FOLLOW-UP AND EXAMINATIONS
Many changes have been made by the French Ministry of National Education for the 2021 session of the baccalaureate exams. Find all the information here: https://www.education.gouv.fr/examens-2021-les-reponses- your-questions-323222
Yes, if you choose to do so. LFS issues an Exeat, a certificate attesting that you have applied to leave the school and paid all the required fees. This certificate is essential for enrolling in another school, whether in France or abroad. Under no circumstances may a student be enrolled in two schools at the same time. This procedure will be applied in the same way upon return.
Parents are required to inform the primary school, middle school or high school in the event of absence, mobility, departure and enrollment at another school.
Since the beginning of the crisis, LFS has been applying the instructions and decisions of the Korean authorities, as requested by the French Embassy and the AEFE. The extension of the closure and the re-opening date respect the decisions of the Korean Ministry of Education and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, in agreement with the French Embassy and the AEFE.
LFS is however free to set start and end dates for the academic year as well as for school vacations.
The 2020-2021 school calendar remains unchanged to date.
As LFS is part of the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) network, LFS vacations are validated within a defined AEFE and French Ministry of National Education framework.
Please also note that the French school curricula are developed in a spiraling system and by ‘cycle,’ not by grade (year). If it happens that some learning skills cannot be acquired under the current exceptional conditions, they will continue to be worked on the following academic year.
As was done last year, once LFS management has a clearer picture of when and how the school re-opens, the school will make every effort to reimburse the cafeteria fees. The reimbursement will take into account cost savings made during the closure.
EMERGENCY CHILDCARE SERVICE
Yes, an emergency childcare system has been set up, but only for children whose parent(s) work(s) without other childcare solutions.
The emergency childcare is for students from 3 to 10 years old, from Kindergarten to last year of elementary school (PS to CM2).
The emergency childcare is open from 8:20 am to 3:15 pm in line with the usual school day schedule..
Parents must have completed the online Health Questionnaire on Pronote to certify that their child has no CPVID-related symptoms.
Students enter through the main entrance, go through temperature checks, and are welcomed by Student Affairs staff in the lobby. They are then directed to the activity rooms.
Yes, groups are limited to a maximum of 8 students in Kindergarten and 10 students in Elementary school. LFS can accommodate a maximum of 36 students in total.
No. Digital equipment use inside the school is prohibited by LFS Rules and Regulations for elementary students.
For the moment, no. However, when the schedule makes it possible, we can provide a group of students with a room computer or a digital tablet to participate in a few G Meet classes.
There are mainly ‘occupational activities’: games (play corners in Kindergarten with various materials), board games, outdoor playtime, relaxation or dancing games in the gym, motor skills exercises in the playground, reading, storytelling corners, coloring, crafts or simple manual activities, time in the library, etc.
Here is an example:
Welcome (10 min), Activities (1h30), Recess (30 min), Activities (1h), Lunch (30 min), Recess ( 30 min) or Rest for the young children in Kindergarten, Activities (1h15), Recess (30 min), Activity (1h). End of day.
Students are welcomed and cared for all day long by LFS Kindergarten assistants and educational assistants.
Yes, lunch will be served at the school canteen.
In the same way as you would during the regular school year: first send an email to the Student Affairs team at viescolaire@lfseoul.org, then communicate the reasons for absence/late arrival and, if necessary, supporting documents via Pronote/Vie scolaire
ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESOURCES
Online Media Libraries
- Éduthèque offers free and secure access to digital educational resources free of rights provided by major cultural and scientific institutions which are partners of the French Ministry of National Education and Youth.
Access: LF SEOUL, classes_lfseoul - The National Library of France (Bibliothèque nationale de France – BNF) offers on Gallica a large number of books (books, manuscripts, news and magazines, audios, videos, pictures, maps, music scores), over 80 educational files, video conferences, virtual exhibitions, competitions – all free of charge.
- The youth library of the Arab World Institute (Institut du Monde Arabe) provides about 5,000 books in Arabic, French and in both languages.
- The digital library of UNESCO.
Audiovisual Channels
- Educ’ARTE : over 1,000 videos (in French, German, English) on all school subjects, from CP (grade 1) to Terminale (grade 12), on major current affairs and media education topics. Customised content tools: cutting out excerpts, annotating a video, creating a mind map.
- LUMNI, an educational platform with over 10,000 items of content offered free of charge to students and teachers by France.tv, Ina, Arte, France Médias Monde, Radio France and TV5Monde: games for Kindergarteners, introduction to reading with Yétili, a visit to Europe with Scooby-Doo for primary school students, the TV magazine “It’s not Rocket Science (C’est pas sorcier)”, code lessons for middle school students, revision assistance for high school students, current affairs, information literacy.
- TV5MONDE offers free thematic or news-related pedagogical files to FLE students and a native French-speaking audience.
Great French Museums
- Major French museums and monuments offer an educational offer copyright-free on each of their websites, available to teachers:
- Quai d’Orsay Museum (including podcasts for children based on exhibited paintings and iconic works / online conferences / virtual visits);
- Quai Branly Museum ;
- Universcience (Palace of Discovery; City of science and industry);
- Paris Museum of Modern Art;
- National Museum of Immigration;
- National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM); on art history; educational fact sheets on the National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC) website;
- 14 museums in the city of Paris provide free access to 150,000 works.
Dance and music
- Réseau Canopé and the Francofolies have created Enfants de la Zique, a platform which promotes music and the work of French artists with a wide range of multimedia resources on offer.
- The Centre national de la danse de Pantin Tadaam platform to do online choreographies with choreographers.
Private publishers and organizations
- Encyclopædia Universalis (encyclopédies Universalis): Universalis Edu (high school) et Universalis Junior (primary and middle school) with bilingual English-French versions: illustrated media encyclopaedia, dictionary and atlas; innovative tools to facilitate the appropriation of content (Mon Universalis: personal space to save, edit and share articles, personalized Mental Maps, a Listening (Écouter) function to learn languages.
- Encyclopædia Universalis gives free access to its resources until 30th April to the schools within the AEFE network; they also offer a special subscription rate.
- Glose Education: a collaborative reading platform, a bookstore of 4,000 digital books made available free of charge to teachers and students for the duration of the Covid-19 crisis, anywhere in the world and on all digital media; a social network of readers with an interface allowing them to annotate and comment directly on the books. Demander aux enseignants de créer un compte afin que les élèves puissent ensuite s’inscrire.
