Children should start learning a foreign language soon after they have come to grips with their native tongue.

Languages teacher Riquette Bonne-Smith said youngsters should begin classes in a foreign tongue while still in the first year of primary school.

Mrs. Bonne-Smith, founder of the new La Maison Francaise des Bermudes and La Casa Espanola de Las Bermuda, said it was easier to teach a child a new language than a teenager.

"I'd like to see every child in Bermuda learning a language by at least the age of five,'' she said. "If they start in high school it is almost too late.'' Late last year Mrs. Bonne-Smith moved the school from her Pitt's Bay home to Canal Road in Pembroke, just opposite the Bull's Head parking lot.

And with the move the school added Spanish to its French programme which has been open since Mrs. Bonne-Smith and her husband, lawyer Orlando Smith, received permission to hold classes in their home last October.

The couple opened the school -- for four-year-olds to adults -- after realising the difficulties many locals had with speaking a foreign language, especially while traveling.

"I'm building a quality language programme for Bermuda,'' Mrs. Bonne-Smith, who has taught elementary to college level in Jamaica, US and Bermuda for the last 17 years, said.

Today the school has roughly 100 French students and 45 Spanish students enrolled, she said.

Both the French and Spanish schools are equipped with three immersion instructors, Francoise Palou who teaches French and Roslyn Famous and Catalina Sposato who teach Spanish.

Ms Famous said all her students -- young and old -- were very enthusiastic about learning Spanish.

"The children are really quick and eager to learn it,'' she said. "And my adults are great. They are all very receptive to it and have a great retention for it.'' Ms Famous said the Spanish lessons were good for children because they introduced them to the language before they became old enough to build an aversion to learning a new language.

"They will feel comfortable with the language and won't be so hostile to it once they are in high school,'' she added.

All school activities -- singing, reading, or watching films -- in the hour-long classes are conducted solely in French or Spanish.

The classes, held in three separate rooms, are smaller than the usual language classes in regular schools, allowing students personalised attention.

And each child in the French classes has his or her own textbooks and workbooks, published by the top French publisher Hachette.

The children are grouped according to age; four to five years, six to eight, nine to 12, and 13 to 16.

"I like children to start early,'' she pointed out. "It's much easier the earlier they start. If they start early, by the time they reach high school they can study literature in French.'' Adults are grouped according to proficiency level. There are three levels, beginning, intermediate and advanced.

"Presently our adults are doing business French or Spanish (office lingo) or general French or Spanish,'' Mrs. Bonne-Smith said. "Some of them take the courses to help them when they are traveling.'' And the school boasts a small bookstore to allow the public to buy and rent foreign language materials. The selection contains children favourites like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

In addition to literature, the bookstore sells T-shirts, pencils and audio materials.

The school also has a multimedia rental service to enhance the classroom experience by allowing students to use the language outside the school.

For $8 a month, students can rent up to three videos weekly and take out as many magazines and newspapers as they desire. The video collection contain such classics as The Lion King.

And in a bid to help the students practice what they have learned in a social setting, the school also organises free French or Spanish cultural events.

Mrs. Bonne-Smith said she would like to have the school enrolment increased eventually.

"I would like to have more students enrolled,'' she admitted. "A lot of people are not aware of the programme.'' And she said she would like to expand the school's curriculum.

"I'd like to offer German and an oriental language next year,'' Mrs.

Bonne-Smith said.

La Maison Francaise des Bermudes and La Casa Espanola de las Bermudas is located on Canal Road in Pembroke.

Children and student French and Spanish classes are $15 per lesson while adult classes, in both languages, are $25 per lesson.

Those interested in more information about the schools' Spring term -- April 14 to June 27 -- should call 296-5676.

SPANISH IMMERSION -- Sisters Jessica (left) and Olivia Hollis get a little extra attention from Spanish teacher, Roslyn Famous.

VIVE LA FRANCE! La Maison Francaise founder Riquette Bonne-Smith conducts a French class for a group of six-to eight-year-olds.