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Promoting instruction in a child's first language
By Daniel Jubert |
May 30, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
LOWER School vice principal at SCIS Pudong campus
Walk into any international or overseas school, and it doesn't take long to find a student whose first language is not English. Enrollment often resembles the diversity of a United Nations General Assembly, with some students speaking three or four languages at an early age.
Meanwhile, the predominant language of instruction at most international schools is English, which leaves non-native speakers little time to develop their first language in an academic setting. This may result in quick deterioration of a first language, a major problem for language development, especially in reading and writing fluency. Language acquisition research indicates that a second or additional language is learned best when the first language is learned well. Native language is a building block for learning other languages and a strong predictor of overall academic success.
Thus, it is important to provide mother tongue instruction to complement the predominantly English-based language curriculums taught at most international schools in Shanghai. This can be facilitated at school or at home, providing a venue for students to continue developing their first language. Instruction should promote first-language fluency by offering curriculum and instruction similar to that which a child would receive in a home country.
At Shanghai Community International School, our dynamic and thriving native language programs offer instruction in Dutch, Swedish, Danish, French, German and Finnish. Classes are offered after school and are taught by teachers from home countries.
Native language instruction in reading, writing and oral language has obvious benefits for mother-tongue fluency and also supports English-language learning. Native language programs also provide a context for students and families to develop friendships and celebrate cultural traditions. Promoting a first language has far-reaching benefits for linguistic, psychological, cognitive and social development.
Walk into any international or overseas school, and it doesn't take long to find a student whose first language is not English. Enrollment often resembles the diversity of a United Nations General Assembly, with some students speaking three or four languages at an early age.
Meanwhile, the predominant language of instruction at most international schools is English, which leaves non-native speakers little time to develop their first language in an academic setting. This may result in quick deterioration of a first language, a major problem for language development, especially in reading and writing fluency. Language acquisition research indicates that a second or additional language is learned best when the first language is learned well. Native language is a building block for learning other languages and a strong predictor of overall academic success.
Thus, it is important to provide mother tongue instruction to complement the predominantly English-based language curriculums taught at most international schools in Shanghai. This can be facilitated at school or at home, providing a venue for students to continue developing their first language. Instruction should promote first-language fluency by offering curriculum and instruction similar to that which a child would receive in a home country.
At Shanghai Community International School, our dynamic and thriving native language programs offer instruction in Dutch, Swedish, Danish, French, German and Finnish. Classes are offered after school and are taught by teachers from home countries.
Native language instruction in reading, writing and oral language has obvious benefits for mother-tongue fluency and also supports English-language learning. Native language programs also provide a context for students and families to develop friendships and celebrate cultural traditions. Promoting a first language has far-reaching benefits for linguistic, psychological, cognitive and social development.
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