Welcoming an Allophone Pupil in Primary School: A Week-by-Week Protocol

You open your professional email on a Tuesday evening. The principal informs you that a student is arriving on Thursday. They do not speak French. You have twenty-four students, a CE1 program to complete, and suddenly this simple question: how do we do it?

This guide answers that question. Not in theory. Not in generalities. In protocol. What you do before the arrival, what you say on the first day when no words are exchanged, how you assess their actual level without trapping them, and how three months later you measure if they are falling behind or catching up.

The ministry speaks of over 70,000 newly arrived allophone students (EANA) welcomed each year in primary and secondary education. You are not alone. But the first time, it feels like no one has really equipped you.

Who is an allophone student, in administrative terms

An allophone newly arrived student (EANA) is, in the vocabulary of the National Education, a student whose first language is not French and who has arrived in the French school system for less than twelve months. The circular n°2012-141 of October 2, 2012, still in effect, sets the framework.

Three clarifications that are often confused:

• “Allophone” does not mean “previously unschooled.” An eight-year-old child arriving from Ukraine after two years of Ukrainian CE1 is allophone, not illiterate.
• “Allophone” does not mean “in academic difficulty.” A student who does not speak French may have an excellent level in mathematics. They need to be tested non-verbally before any conclusions.
• “Allophone” is a temporary status. After a year, the student no longer has this administrative status, even if their French remains fragile.

The regulatory framework in five useful points

Here is what the circular states and what applies concretely in your school:

1. Enrollment is a right. No municipality can refuse schooling. The child is enrolled in the school of their sector, regardless of whether they speak French or not.
2. Initial assessment is mandatory. It is conducted by the Casnav (Academic Center for the Schooling of Newly Arrived Allophone Children) or by a trained teacher. It tests skills in the first language, mathematics, and French if applicable.
3. Inclusion in regular classes is the rule. The student follows the class corresponding to their age, unless a motivated contrary decision is made. No automatic downgrading of a cycle because they do not master the language.
4. The UPE2A is a support mechanism, not a placement. The Educational Unit for Newly Arrived Allophone Students welcomes the child for 6 to 12 hours per week when it exists in the school or nearby. The rest of the time, they are in their reference class.
5. The support time lasts a maximum of one year. For families wishing to accelerate acquisition, intensive online French courses offer a structured complement. Beyond that, the student exits the system and continues with ordinary support (APC, RASED if needed).

For the official details, the Eduscol page dedicated to the schooling of allophone students gathers the texts in force, diagnostic assessment tools, and the list of Casnav by academy.

Before arrival: what you do in 48 hours

You have two days. Here’s what you prepare, in this order.

Tuesday evening, ten minutes in peace. Open the file sent by the principal. Note six pieces of information: the first name (and its pronunciation if it is in Latin characters), the last name, the exact age, the presumed first language, the country of origin, the date of arrival in France, and the family composition. These six points change everything else.

Wednesday morning, contact Casnav. Call or email the Casnav of your academy. Request a placement test in the first language if the child is over six years old, a possible assignment in UPE2A, and the list of available interveners. The Casnav generally responds within 48 hours.

Wednesday noon, material preparation. You set up a table near a calm and kind neighbor, a visual binder with the schedule in pictograms for the first week, a laminated “survival words” sheet (yes, no, I understood, I did not understand, bathroom, water, pain) and a blank notebook dedicated to communication with the family. If you know the original language, double the sheet in bilingual format.

Wednesday evening, class information. You inform your students on Wednesday evening, not Thursday morning in front of the child. Three sentences are enough: a new student is arriving tomorrow, they come from such a country, they do not speak French yet and that’s normal, we help them by showing and smiling, not by speaking louder.

Day 1: welcoming without a common French word

The first day is not about learning. It is about emotional security. A child who feels safe will learn. A child who feels threatened will remain mute for six months.

Seven fifty. You welcome the family at the classroom door, not in the hallway. You shake the parent’s hand, smile at the child, and say their first name correctly (you practiced it the day before). If the family speaks a little French, you ask in a few words what will reassure the child: a stuffed animal, a photo, a ritual word. If not: hand on heart, smile, nod. It’s universal.

Eight o’clock. The student enters. You place them at their prepared table. You give their neighbor the mission of “buddy of the day”: showing the materials, accompanying them to the bathroom, introducing them at recess. No more.

The morning. You do not solicit verbally. You have them do what the class is doing with visual support: if the class is writing the date, they copy. If the class is coloring, they color. You observe: do they hold their pencil correctly? Do they follow a line? Do they recognize numbers in mathematics? These first ten observations are worth an hour of testing.

Recess. You stay nearby. You note: do they approach others, do they stay back, do they search for a reference with their eyes? These signals guide the entire first week.

End of the day. You take two minutes to show the child the class schedule with its pictograms and you circle what will happen tomorrow. You escort them to the door. You greet the parent with a word: “Everything is fine.” Four syllables they have heard all day, which they associate with a smile. That’s enough.

The first week: visual tools and stable rituals

The first week has one goal: for the child to understand the flow of the day. Understanding the routine precedes language production. Always.

Rituals to establish from Monday

• Display of the schedule in pictograms on the board, updated every morning.
• Labels for classroom objects (door, window, board, desk, notebook) in French and, if possible, in their first language.
• Name card of the class on their table, with photos.
• Color code for subjects (French blue, mathematics red, etc.) consistent in everything they handle.

Essential visual tools

• Thematic pictorial lexicon: the classroom, the cafeteria, the playground, school supplies.
• “I need” board: pictograms for common needs. The child points instead of asking.
• Family communication notebook with pictograms and standard phrases translated into several languages.

Preparing this material takes time the first time. This is also where many primary teachers draw from pre-designed kits. On Iniprof, a library of free resources for primary school teachers gathers ready-to-print visual tools – including the back-to-school welcome kit and the dys sheet (usable as is for an EANA, as the needs for visual clarity overlap). This avoids having to recreate everything on a Tuesday evening at eleven o’clock.

What is worked on orally in week 1

• Greetings: hello, goodbye, thank you.
• The first names of the closest classmates (buddy + table neighbors).
• Three school instructions: take, put away, look.

We do not go further. Language overstimulation exhausts a child in total immersion.

The first month: the FLE diagnostic assessment

By the end of the third week, the child is calm enough to be assessed without stress. You conduct – or have conducted by the Casnav – a diagnostic assessment covering four distinct dimensions.

Skills in the first language. If you have access to a translated test (the Casnav offers about thirty), you measure the actual school level. A child who reads fluently in Arabic or Ukrainian at eight years old is not a beginner in reading. They are a beginner in written French. A nuance with heavy consequences.

Non-verbal mathematics skills. The test takes place without sentences: numeration, comparison, calculations, elementary geometry. Many EANA reveal a level here that is higher than their age class – and it needs to be adapted upwards, not downwards.

Oral French skills. We use the grid of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) adapted for primary. Level A1.1 (called “survival”) concerns almost all EANA in their first year. The realistic goal is to reach A1 in six months and A2 in twelve months. Online French courses can usefully complement the system outside of school hours.

Written French skills. We separately test phonological awareness (which develops independently of language) and written production.

The reference tool for this assessment is provided by France Éducation International (formerly CIEP), which also offers DELF Prim, the version for 8-12 year-olds of the French as a foreign language diploma. DELF Prim is not mandatory, but it is a useful benchmark for situating progress on an international scale.

Differentiating daily in all subjects

Once the diagnosis is made, you adapt. Here’s what works in a regular class, without having to redo the entire session.

In French

You keep the same session for the class and add for the EANA:

• A systematic visual support for each instruction.
• An identified tutor buddy who repeats and reformulates.
• Simplified objectives: copy instead of produce, circle instead of write.
• A weekly word notebook, a maximum of ten words, with a drawing and a model sentence.

In mathematics

The EANA are often comfortable from the start. You mainly adapt the vocabulary of the statements:

• You read the statement aloud while miming it.
• You translate the key words (how many, more, less, as much, each, everyone).
• You let the child work at their own pace, even beyond the class program.

In history-geography and sciences

These are the most difficult subjects for an EANA because they require specialized vocabulary. You plan:

• An illustrated lexicon prepared in advance (ten key words per session).
• Photos and diagrams more than texts.
• An oral assessment, through scoring or drawings.

In arts and PE

These are the subjects where the EANA reveals themselves. You let them participate normally. This is often where classmates discover that they are good, that they are funny, that they exist beyond their silence in French. Never underestimate this lever for social integration.

A rule that serves all year: never lower the level of cognitive expectations, lower the level of language requirements. An EANA in CE2 must reason like a CE2. They just do not have all the words yet.

Three months later: the interim assessment

At three months, you take stock. Not a major assessment. A structured observation on eight criteria, to be recorded in the student’s file:

• Oral comprehension of common instructions: yes / partial / no.
• Simple written comprehension (reading their name, the date, a short instruction): yes / partial / no.
• Spontaneous oral production in class: yes / solicited / no.
• Written production (copying, writing simple words): yes / partial / no.
• Social integration (friends, games at recess): yes / partial / no.
• Student posture (materials, autonomy, attention): yes / partial / no.
• Progress in mathematics: compliant / superior / fragile.
• Visible well-being: yes / variable / no.

Reading the assessment: if six out of eight criteria are positive, you continue calmly. If four are, you request an assessment with the Casnav and the family. If fewer than three are, you contact the district team to consider enhanced support.

At this stage, you also provide the family with an adapted interim report: pictograms, visual scale, a handwritten note in simple French. Many allophone parents do not read your standard report. Do not assume otherwise.

Common mistakes made the first time

Here are five traps that are found year after year in schools that the Casnav supports.

Speaking louder. Volume does not create understanding. Gesture, image, and slow articulation create it.

Over-correcting pronunciation. An EANA who says “the dog it runs” understands the sentence. Correcting them on the redundant pronoun in November is hitting on a foundation not yet set. We let it pass for six months.

Asking parents to “speak French at home.” This is a documented error by all research in language didactics. A solid first language supports learning French. Abandoning a first language slows everything down. Parents continue their language at home.

Confusing mutism and misunderstanding. A child who does not speak in class for three months learns a lot. This is the silent phase. It is normal. We respect it.

Evaluating in French before the end of the first term. A grade in French in October for an EANA who arrived in September makes no sense. You assess what they can do, not what they cannot say.

Partners to rely on

You are not alone. Four interlocutors to activate from the first month. Families can also inquire about how to find the ideal training in France to accelerate linguistic integration.

The Casnav of your academy. Unique reference for EANA. It trains, advises, provides tools, and supports isolated schools. The first call to make.

The UPE2A teacher in the area if the school does not have an internal UPE2A. They sometimes intervene under a convention, sometimes remotely, sometimes in training for the teaching team.

The association of parents in the first language when it exists (Ukrainian, Syrian, Ivorian associations, etc.). It helps with translation, mediation, and extracurricular integration.

The Canopé network via the Cap École Inclusive platform for educational resources validated by the ministry. The EANA section is structured by level and subject, with downloadable sheets.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does an allophone student stay in the system?

The official framework provides for one year of enhanced support. In practice, many children need two years to reach operational school French, especially in writing. Inclusion in regular classes remains continuous throughout.

Can an allophone student be held back?

The circular is clear: an EANA is not retained in their class for linguistic reasons. They can be retained if a cognitive or academic difficulty is evidenced by a team, regardless of language.

Is training required to welcome an EANA?

No. Any primary teacher can welcome an EANA. FLE-S (French as a second language) training is useful but not mandatory. The Casnav trains on request and offers short modules in the academy.

What is the role of the AESH if the student has one?

The AESH is assigned for a disability, not for the language barrier. An EANA without a disability does not have an AESH. If they have one, their role remains focused on the notified disability, not on translation.

What to do if the family does not read French?

All communication tools must include pictograms and, if possible, a translation. Academic translation services are free for important meetings (educational team, orientation, follow-up team).

To go further

Welcoming an EANA is not a rare skill. It is a competency of the primary teacher profession in 2026. More than half of schools in France have at least one allophone student in the year. Preparing seriously once is saving time for all subsequent arrivals.

The best strategy can be summed up in three words: anticipate, visualize, wait. Anticipate the materials and routines before arrival. Visualize everything that can be: schedule, lexicon, instructions. Wait for oral production without forcing it. The rest will fall into place.

And the next time the principal opens your door on a Tuesday evening to tell you that a child is arriving on Thursday, you will know what to do even before they finish their sentence.

Anthony FLE