Pedagogical unit as a form of work with pupils whose mother tongue is not French in public school in France

Špela Bajželj

Summary:  In the article we discuss the regulatory framework for integration of pupils whose mother- -tongue is not French into compulsory education in France. We find that integration and schooling of those pupils are defined in a Circular on the organization of schooling of newly arrived pupils whose mother-tongue is not French, laying down that on arrival all those pupils are enrolled (i) in a suitable grade/class, to which pupils of the same age, or one or two years younger pupils, are enrolled, in accordance to their demonstrated acquired knowledge of mathematics; and at the same time (ii) in a pedagogical unit for newly arrived pupils whose mother-tongue is not French, where they learn French as a second language and a language of schooling. We observe that some academic centers for schooling of newly arrived pupils whose mother-tongue is not French and pupils of itinerant and travelling families have prepared some guidelines indicating more specifically the reception procedure and the schooling of those pupils. We present Academic center of Lille classification system on the basis of which receiving- -inclusive plan is conceived. The latter defines the extent of integration in pedagogical unit (from 0 to 21 hours weekly) or the extent of individual teaching aid for learning French language (up to 40 hours), the extent of individual teaching aid and of extracurricular activities. In the second part of the article we analyze how the current setting prevents segregation of pupils and address the lack of recognition of importance of mother-tongue of pupils whose mother tongue is not French. The importance is of declarative nature and does not ensure real possibilities for learning mother-tongue.