In either case, each school will need to develop a bespoke model, curriculum, and tracking system to best support and understand student development in the home language/s. For schools with a linguistically diverse population, a creative approach to supporting home languages is needed, whether that be through a combination of extra-curricular and in-school offerings, or through the development of multilingual approaches in the classroom (translanguaging). This strong link also means that when we are concerned about school language development, understanding development in the home/dominant language is key to differentiating between a potential language delay/SEN or just the effect of language acquisition.įor schools with a linguistically homogenous population, the benefits of promoting equal development in the home and school language can be addressed by moving from an English-only model to a bilingual model. Given this, it is always in the best interests of the child (and school) to promote continued development of both language and literacy in the home language/s. There is a unique link between the development of a child’s home language and their progress in the development of English through school, which has been attested through decades of research in different contexts.

The profile of home languages is increasing in international schools, in part based on better understanding of the nature of bi/multilingual development, and also, one would hope, as a key area of development for diversity, equity, and inclusion approaches. There are fit for purpose tracking systems (Bell Assessment Framework and WIDA, for example) but these do not have accompanying curricula and materials, as they need to be aligned with the school curriculum and not stand-alone. There is a draw towards using English Language Teaching (ELT/EFL) materials and assessment, but these are not a good fit for students learning through English, and will not provide the type of language development they need, or any reasonable data on how their level of English corresponds with access to the curriculum. For all of these language areas, understanding student development and developing responsive programmes requires understanding how languages interact and influence each other, and having accurate data about language development across a student’s language profile.Įnglish as Additional Language as a category and programme is not unique to international schools, but the development, implementation, and tracking of an EAL programme needs to be created based on the school profile (curriculum, students, language profiles). The three language areas that are affected are English as an Additional Language (EAL), home languages, and host country languages. While we can find and use curricula for any other area of learning from national and international options, the unique situation of languages and language learners in international schools means there are no ‘one size fits all’ solution, and therefore no ‘one size fits all’ curriculum. One of the most challenging areas in international education is languages. Eowyn Crisfield, specialist in languages across the curriculum, including EAL, home languages, bilingual and immersion education, takes a look at how school leaders can address the linguistic diversity in their school.

Linguist schools