The welcome interview

In Lausanne, the welcome interview • Guide entretien
• Formulaire entretien takes place on arrival with the parents, and sometimes with a family acquaintance and a professional interpreter to bridge the gap between the two languages. It provides an opportunity to review the family's educational background and migration plans, and to explain the challenges of schooling in Switzerland, etc. The aim of this interview is to build a relationship of trust between the parents, the child and the school, and to provide information that will enable everyone to find their bearings.
The intake interview has several phases:

The interview generally lasts between one and half and two hours, and an interpreter must be present.

The "Guide entretien d'accueil" gives guidelines on how to plan the interview. "The learner is asked to read aloud in the home language and then asked questions in the same language or in French, or both, about what he or she has just read. The questions depend on the interview. The aim is to check whether the learner can read and tell a story using intonation, varying the rhythm, etc. We also check whether they have a basic understanding of the text (what the story is about, who the characters are, what kind of text it is) and whether or not they know the story from their past schooling. Above all, it's about getting the learners to want to show what they can do, to give them encouragement so that they want to get involved in school and learn". (Guide to the intake interview, p. 10).

The placement tool

Academic competences are assessed using placement tools. In order to determine the most reliable orientation possible, it is preferable to carry out these assessments during the intake interview (they generally last 30 minutes). However, in exceptional cases (traumatised children, for example), these assessments can be carried out at a later date (in class, for example, during the first week of school). A number of assessment tools are available: in the languages or origin, in French and in mathematics (or even in English). UMA has developed specific assessment tools for learners whose home languages are not French and for learners with little or no schooling. There can be major discrepancies in mathematics and languages. The tool has a diagnostic status and aims to assess learners' knowledge in relation to the expectations of schools in the Vaud. There is no official diploma or certificate to record the outcome. We relate it to general groupings (learners aged 5-6; learners aged 6-8; learners aged 8-12).
The placement tools address all levels of compulsory schooling as well as newly arrived learners with home languages different from French in post-compulsory education (aged 15 to 25 via the Migration Portal).
The questions that will be asked concern three areas:

1. on oral language  On demande une lecture orale à l’élève dans la langue familiale puis on lui pose des questions dans la même langue ou en français ou les deux sur ce qu’il vient de lire. Les questions viennent en fonction de l’entretien. On vise à situer l’élève pour voir s’il sait lire et oraliser une histoire en y mettant du ton, en variant le rythme etc. Et on vérifie sa compréhension « basique » du texte (de quoi parle l’histoire, qui sont les personnages, quel genre de texte) puis s’il connait ou non cette histoire par rapport à son parcours scolaire. Il s’agit surtout de donner envie aux élèves de montrer ce qu’ils savent faire, de les renforcer afin de leur donner envie de s’engager dans l’école et apprendre. » (Guide de l’entretien d’accueil, p. 10).: comprehension and production based on everyday exchanges or description of an image. The exchanges take place in the presence of a family acquaintance or an interpreter and the person from CREAL (questions from the intake interview). See guide "l'entretien d'accueil";
2. on writing, focusing on languages learnt at school in a previous school context: this includes:
• "An oral part: reading aloud and comprehension Voir « logique de l'oral »of a text chosen in line with school standards related to the learner's age, basic questions about the content of the story (the characters, actions, time and place)" (Guide de l'entretien d'accueil, p. 10).
• An optional written part: written questions on a text or production of a text based on vignettes to be put in the right order.

The observations made and results of the process are used to choose the each learner’s needs category. There are four of these: complete beginners (including literacy training), beginners, intermediate and advanced, or there is the option to consider providing support from other professionals, such as teachers of intensive French courses (CIF), speech therapists, psychologists or educators. Finally, there is the option of placing the learner in an 'ordinary' class depending on their age. The people using the placement tool have several texts at their disposal and choose the one they want to use with the learner, usually according to their age.

In practice, it has been necessary to deal with the issue of the transition between different worlds and to provide guidelines for identifying and organising work with learners whose first language is not French. For this reason, we have produced a brochure on the kind of transition experienced by such learners and another reminding readers of key points about the work that needs to be done. The first brochure covers the many types of transition experienced by a learner who speaks a foreign language (from their country of origin to the canton of Vaud, from a reception class to a regular class, from pre-school to school, from the family environment to school, etc.), as well as the specific characteristics of these transitions and the relevant legal framework. The second brochure sets out the main principles behind the work that needs to be done with these learners, as well as useful websites.