A Calandreta is a bilingual school in Occitania

Occitania

Occitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...

 in the South of France where the Occitan language is taught alongside the French language

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

. These schools are based on the same principle as the Gaelscoileanna movement in Ireland, the Ikastolak movement in the Basque Country, the Ysgolion Meithrin

Ysgolion Meithrin

Ysgolion Meithrin is a movement for the formation and support of Welsh Medium Nursery groups. These voluntary groups are often crucial in the subsequent establishment of a Welsh Medium primary school in the area. The movement is particularly active in Anglicized areas of Wales and has had major...

movement in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, the Diwan

Diwan (school)

Diwan is a federation of Breton language-medium schools in Brittany .-Concept:The Diwan concept, which allows children to learn French and Breton through immersion was inspired by the Gaelscoileanna movement in Ireland, Ikastolak movement in the Basque Country and the Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin...

schools of Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

, and the La Bressola

La Bressola

La Bressola is a cultural association founded in Perpignan, France in 1976 to promote a network of community-run schools engaged in Catalan language immersion programs in France, particularly in the comarques of so-called North Catalonia. The first center was opened in Sant Galdric in September...

 schools of Northern Catalonia

Northern Catalonia

Northern Catalonia is a term that is sometimes used, particularly in Catalan writings, to refer to the territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659...

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Bilingualism from an early age is recommended by many linguist

Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....

s, as it helps children become more adept at learning additional languages. Some studies have shown that bilingual children have advantages over monoglot children in other subjects.
The first Calandreta appeared in 1979 in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Twenty-six primary schools exist as of 2008, as well as two high schools comprising about 2100 students in all. The Calandretas are privately run, secular and free of charge. They follow a program approved by the Ministry of National Education

Minister of National Education (France)

The Ministry of National Education, Youth, and Sport , or simply "Minister of National Education," as the title has changed no small number of times in the course of the Fifth Republic) is the French government cabinet member charged with running France's public educational system and with the...

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