The Performing Arts in Language Learning

Trained at the Centre International d’Etudes Pédagogiques, Dr. Hind Louali founded Ecole Jean-Jacques Rousseau (the French School of Austin) in 2005. As the director of the school, Dr. Hind Louali, oversees a specialized language immersion program that emphasizes language, math, arts, and music for preschool through eighth-grade students.

The French School of Austin includes in its curriculum a mandatory French performing arts program, designed to reinforce French fluency and cultural education. Recent research shows the value of performing arts to learning a second language and related cognitive skills. Performing arts offer students the opportunity to express an idea using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic sensory information. Once they have developed this skill, students can more easily map concepts into more abstract forms such as oral or written language.

A 2014 study found that among second language learners, lessons that included drama components contributed to more linguistically specific and productive language. Additionally, teachers and students were more engaged with the multi-sensory learning process.

Austin-Based Think Bilingual Encourages Second Language Learning

The founder and director of Ecole Jean-Jacques Rousseau (the French School of Austin), Dr. Hind Louali supervises all school employees and oversees the development of the school’s French language immersion curriculum. Outside her leadership role with the French School of Austin, Dr. Hind Louali serves as a member of the board of directors for Think Bilingual.

Nonprofit organization Think Bilingual aims to provide Austin citizens with tools and services that make bilingualism and second language acquisition more accessible. Think Bilingual promotes bilingualism and multicultural understanding through its Outreach Program, which offers workshops and educational series that teach families how to support bilingualism in their homes.

Participating in community events such as the Univision Familia & Hogar Expo, Think Bilingual shares helpful tips with parents on incorporating a second language into home life. Think Bilingual has also sponsored and hosted screenings of the documentary Speaking in Tongues, about several families who placed their children in American public schools where the teacher did not speak English.