C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 A thread on the accelerated board has been hijacked to talk about France's long distance education program, aka CNED. Since it's not related to accelerated kids, I'm moving the talk here. Cleo- I would love an overview of the program if you have a minute. Are the lessons on CDRom's DVDs or are they web cast? If you have a local tutor can they just correct the homework, or do they have to watch the lessons also? My dd is also interested in going to France and she's a little nervous about the academic rigor. I had been looking into the French Amazon as a way of getting some of the curriculum, (as discussed on an earlier thread) The CNED sounds kind of cool! So--do you purchase textbooks in addition to the web program? (and then if you have a tutor--what happens after the tutor corrects the assignments? Is it like a once a week program with one assignment? (or more than one? ) And what is the cost--say you start out with one course for one year? I couldn't figure the website either! How many hours per week would the tutor need to work for this program? (we have a great one and reasonable, I'm just not sure how much more he would be available) I've always had a wish to get the satellite with the Paris programming--this sounds like a better program for students--do you get grades? Thanks so much!!! I wish they had a US office to call!!! Can I ask a question? My DD 6yr old is bilingual. We just moved from france to Oz three months ago. I have been looking at the CNED programme but I'm not bilingual, so I have been struggling a bit. I did not realise that you can just choose 'one' area of study - I thought that you had to choose the whole school programme, IFYKWIM. Obviously I am only looking at the CP level this year..... My dream is to go to France for 3 months every year and start DD in school with her friends every year in Sept....... Do you have any suggestions for me - I really do what to keep her bilingual but I am struggling already and its only 3 months down the track....she refuses to speak French with me, so I have a french babysitter come in and speak with her, however I think some more formal would be better. TIA Fi CNED is an old fashioned approach to school. Actual paper and pencils! And the books are of high quality, glossy paper, nice covers (not hardcovers though). Depending on your subject, it may also come with an audio CD. In first grade (CP) French and Music come with audio CDs. The child has to send a audio tape back every 6 weeks, reading out loud or reciting poems for French, and with a music production for music. The teacher will answer with an audio tape too, so you get to hear your teacher's voice. At higher levels, there is internet communication too, although I have no experience with it yet. We dropped the CNED for a few years, and will be going back this September. I do know there's internet communication between teacher and student, but also between students all over the world, all in French. There are 3 ways of registering for CNED: 1. subsidized classes, 2. open classes, 3. Ã la carte. Subsidized classes: This is accessible to anyone who doesn't live near a French school. The French govt will be paying for your child studies. At primary level it will cost you about 100$ for the whole year, all books, teacher reviews of the work, and official transcript at the end of the year. The child will have a France student ID. For this to be accessible, you have to work with your local France consulate. They are the ones who will green light your inscription. Open classes: Same as above except it's mucho more $$. About 700$. However, you do not need permission from the consulate. And you don't get an official transcript at the end, the child is not officially a France student. You do bypass red tape. This is the only approach available to those living near a French school, but don't want to send their kids to school there (like me!) A la carte: If you're only interested in the French class, you can go this route. You pay only for the class, the books when appropriate. You get exactly the same level of service as the other two, but limited to the French class. Of course, no transcript at the end of the year, but the class will be awarded marks. http://www.cned.fr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Thanks, Cleo! I wish I had done a better job of raising bilingual kids, so they could take advantage of an opportunity like this... But this is great information for *someone*, I'm sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Thanks, Cleo! I wish I had done a better job of raising bilingual kids, so they could take advantage of an opportunity like this... But this is great information for *someone*, I'm sure! If you have taught them Latin, aren't they considered biligual? And I agree thanks a lot, Cleo for this information. I am going to look at the CNED web site, show it to my dh and discuss... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RoyalNutella Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 A brief mention: My 2 children are bilingual in French and English (they studied in a French lycee for a few years here in the States); we have kept up with their language abilities by going to France for several summers, having tutors, etc. This is the first (and last) year we are trying CNED. My kids' tutor recommended it as a way of solidifying their knowledge but without really understanding it herself. To be frank, it has been a huge disappointment. Very rote; pages of information (Hist/Civ/Geo) without any sort of imaginative pedagogy involved, and WAY over-the-top explanations absolutely inappropriate and unsuitable for an 11 and 12 year old. Even our outside tutor agrees it's more for senior high school level students. Our very bright 11 year old hates it; it doesn't suit his style and my fear is that he will hate French as a result. I'm not sure how to get out of it--we've paid for 3 a la carte courses and would like to finish them, but certainly not by the end of next June. More like a year and a half. Does anyone know if this can be done? The last thread writer indicated "see above", which is vague. Can one just repeat the following academic year with the same materials, or is one obliged to pay again? Needless to say, there will be no continuation of CNED for us! If you value creativity and/or your child learns differently, DO NOT register for this program! Try another approach for your bilingual child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 (edited) I'm not sure how to get out of it--we've paid for 3 a la carte courses and would like to finish them, but certainly not by the end of next June. More like a year and a half. Does anyone know if this can be done? The last thread writer indicated "see above", which is vague. Can one just repeat the following academic year with the same materials, or is one obliged to pay again? For courses à la carte, you have one year from the start to the end to finish. You can't push it further than that. However, nothing is stopping you from using the material at home at your own rhythm and not sending the homeworks in. CNED will consider a course as being passed if 7 or 8 homeworks are in (7 for CP to CM2, I'm not sure for College) Needless to say, there will be no continuation of CNED for us! If you value creativity and/or your child learns differently, DO NOT register for this program! Try another approach for your bilingual child. CNED does not match everyone and most people don't use it as their sole source of education. It is 100% schooling, and schooling the French way. Maybe you and your tutor were not aware of the French approach to education, but the material is indeed deemed appropriate for the age level in France. You didn't say what level your kids are doing. An 11 yo should be in CM2, a 12 yo in 6ieme. My own kids did those levels, and were fine. Yes, it's repetitive (but not extremely so - I've seen much worse!) but I never thought it was that demanding. In fact, my kids seem to be having a blast most of time. They are not doing Hist/Civ/Geo though, just French and foreign languages. My kids (currently one in 6ieme and one in 3ieme) love discussing their various poems, and comparing styles. And my kids are science oriented kids. So CNED does not do everything wrong. Edited November 27, 2011 by CleoQc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Do you have to be a French citizen for this to work? I have been looking at this for awhile for my eldest dd who has been studying French for years and would like to move there/attend school there in high school or college. I live in the boonies of the USA, so there are no French Consulates anywhere near me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 Do you have to be a French citizen for this to work? I have been looking at this for awhile for my eldest dd who has been studying French for years and would like to move there/attend school there in high school or college. I live in the boonies of the USA, so there are no French Consulates anywhere near me. Nope, open to all. The price varies but you most likely qualify for the low price. And the material is also available for free if you don't want the long distance supervision. (which is often limited to mere exam grading) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloggermom Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Are all the classes completely in French? I am guessing this wont work if we aren't fluent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 And the material is also available for free if you don't want the long distance supervision. Really? Where? Do I need to sign up or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 Are all the classes completely in French? I am guessing this wont work if we aren't fluent. The material is meant for French speakers, and is not a FSL program. Really? Where? Do I need to sign up or what? http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/default.aspx It takes a lot of digging in that site to be able to find it. Tell me which grade you're interested in, and I'll give you a better link. For example, this is the link to CM2 francais (5th or 6th grade, approximately) http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/Ecole/Ressources.aspx?PREFIXE=AL5FFM2&CONCEPT=AL5FFM2-INTR-223912-1&EXERCICE=AL5FFM2-EXER-223911-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I saw something (or thought I saw something) about graphisme but could not find it when I went back. Anyway, I did find a bunch of stuff under Ecole --> and then the various choices, which was not hard at all! I don't know why I didn't see it before. Merci beaucoup. This is a nice thing to know about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 I did find a bunch of stuff under Ecole --> and then the various choices, which was not hard at all! That's because what you just found is not the real meaty content ;-) So go to Ecole or college, then grade level and subject Once you get to that page, what you're really getting is just a little hand holding to verify if you already know the stuff. Choose one of the 12 (or 10) headings, honestly it doesn't matter which one. You'll get another page with 1 - Je retiens > 2 - Je m’entraîne > 3 - Pour aller plus loin at the top Click on "pour aller plus loin" (all 12 headings will lead to the same place) that's where you really have the course. And the 'corrigés' for the exercises too, btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If you have taught them Latin, aren't they considered bilingual? No. Not unless they can *speak* Latin and communicate fully in that language. And there are very few people in the world who can do that. :) Certainly not my kids! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 woah, I just realised this thread was started in 2008! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 woah, I just realised this thread was started in 2008! Funny, huh?!? :) Our kids were TINY then! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 That's because what you just found is not the real meaty content ;-) Thanks, this is actually what I found! I like the audio files. Neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez J Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Very rote; pages of information (Hist/Civ/Geo) without any sort of imaginative pedagogy involved, and WAY over-the-top explanations absolutely inappropriate and unsuitable for an 11 and 12 year old. Even our outside tutor agrees it's more for senior high school level students. Our very bright 11 year old hates it; it doesn't suit his style and my fear is that he will hate French as a result. The CNED goes by grade from 1st grade up. So, it cannot be only for senior high students. A teacher or tutor is required until 6e when the instruction is student-directed instead. My understanding is that the first year of each three-year cycle is always the hardest. The kids really struggle that first year. So, if you inadvertently chose one of those years, you would have found it very tough. I'm not sure how to get out of it--we've paid for 3 a la carte courses and would like to finish them, but certainly not by the end of next June. More like a year and a half. I really had a problem with the timing as well for years. Delivery of the materials was not until mid-september - a full month after we had started school. So, we were still not finished by the end of the school year. With it online now, what I did is start with the online materials when our school year started. Then, I switched to the books when they arrived much later. We practically opened the package, took out a test and mailed it in. LOL! Only way I can get on schedule. Can one just repeat the following academic year with the same materials, or is one obliged to pay again? I think you have to pay again, but you can repeat. Needless to say, there will be no continuation of CNED for us! If you value creativity and/or your child learns differently, DO NOT register for this program! Try another approach for your bilingual child. We have had mixed feelings about CNED. Ultimately, we continue with it. We quit last year and used grammar and language arts cahiers you can buy in a store. We were not successful at achieving a complete language arts program on our own. For all its faults, CNED delivers a full curriculum that is guaranteed by France to educate your student completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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