Bilingualism in International Schools

A Model for Enriching Language Education

Maurice Carder

• Publisher: Multilingual Matters
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9781847695734
• Topic: Filología
• Subtopic: Lingüística

International Schools have developed since their inception from a largely native English-speaking student body to schools such as the author's, the Vienna International School (VIS), where there are students of 90 nationalities with 65 mother tongues. Maurice Carder proposes a "three-programme model" for addressing the language and curricula needs of these students: a content-based second language programme; a programme of cultural and linguistic training for all staff; and a mother tongue programme for minority students. The model is based on research findings and practice: at the VIS every year approximately 1/3 of the graduating students gain an IB Diploma (International Baccalaureate) because they are able to take their mother tongue (other than English or German) as Language A1. The book contains insightful chapters not only for school leaders, programme designers and teachers, but also for parents. Inserted boxes of student responses give an authentic voice to the needs of second language learners, and many useful resources and websites are given.

Chapter 1

International Schools: Their Origins and Development. Overview of the Three-programme Model for Second Language Students

Introduction

This chapter will give an overview of the International School network around the world, with a brief review of how it came into existence and the communities it serves. It will discuss currently used models for the teaching of English, the language of instruction, to non-native speakers, followed by an outline of research findings that show the results, positive and negative, of different programme models. A highly successfully three-programme model will be introduced, and will show how it supports literacy in students’ first and second languages with resulting cognitive and metalinguistic advantages. The positive aspects of students’ inherent linguistic talents will be presented, along with the case for strong parental involvement. Each part of this model will be thoroughly described in the subsequent chapters of this book.

An Overview of International Schools

International Schools are found in various parts of the world. They have been set up primarily to serve the educational needs of the children of those working outside their countries of origin. They developed originally from the initiative of some internationally minded groups of individuals seeking to provide education that might promote peace and international understanding. One such was the International School of Geneva, created in 1924 through the efforts of parents of different nationalities working at the League of Nations and the International Labour Office, and with the help of the Rousseau Institute of Education. Some schools developed under the diplomatic umbrella, one example of which was the Djakarta International Primary School (now the Djakarta International School) founded in 1951 with the assistance of the US Embassy. Others were set up for more pragmatic reasons when, after the Second World War, thousands of businessmen, diplomats, artists and other expatriates, usually from the economically advanced countries, were sent abroad to work on a temporary basis. For them schools were created on the model of national schools, mostly by private initiative, so that their children’s education would not be interrupted by a stay overseas. Over the years, as the numbers of nationals enrolling gradually decreased, these schools accepted more and more non-nationals, many of them non-English speakers whose parents wanted them to learn English. The stage of change of student nationality in schools abroad can sometimes be gauged by the name of the school, or more precisely by the changing of the name. ‘The American School of X’ or ‘The British School of Y’ might come to style themselves ‘The American International School of X’ or ‘The British International School of Y’. Increasingly, such schools are dropping the country of origin and becoming simply the ‘International School of Z’. All these schools formed the core of what is today the International School community.

The word ‘community’ is perhaps misleading: International Schools are for the most part completely independent, linked together only by their international-mindedness, by the use of (in most cases) English as the language of instruction, and by their membership in one or more of the professional organisations that came into existence to serve them. These are: The European Council of International Schools (ECIS); the Council of International Schools (CIS); the International Schools Association (ISA), which developed what is now the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum for the Diploma certificate, the Middle Years Programmes and the Primary Years Programme; the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), which manages the IB curriculum and the teacher in-service programme that supports it; and several regional organisations servicing American schools in various parts of the world and usually fully supported by the US State Department Office of Overseas Schools. The first two of these organisations began as one – ECIS – and remained as such until June 2003, when CIS split off from ECIS and became a separate organisation. CIS is now the body responsible for accreditation, teacher and executive recruitment and higher education recruitment, all offered worldwide; while ECIS continues to devote itself to services such as professional development in Europe, awards, fellowships, advice on student and programme assessment and curriculum development. The two organizations share facilities, some staff, publications and some financial schemes, and work together in many other ways (see www.cois.org and www.ecis.org).

International Schools may have a student body of anything from 50 to 6000 students. Fees charged can be very high, and these are mostly paid in whole or in part by the company, organisation or embassy for which one of the parents works. It is often the case that members of the local community who would like their children to receive an education in the English language are prepared to pay the frequently high fees in order to have their children educated in what is seen to be a prestigious institution. International Schools are mostly independent in ownership and management (though there are also state-run schools with international streams, and occasionally those that receive government subsidies). Governance can at times be a complicated issue: a Board of Governors may consist simply of international business representatives or be a combination of representatives of the host-country government, international organisations (such as the UN), international business and the local community. The variety of cultural perspectives can make it challenging to arrive at a consensus on a range of issues: budget, staffing, curricula, holidays or other matters. Despite this, most International Schools are successfully multicultural, some eminently so.

It is not unreasonable, then, that the majority of International Schools have a British- or American-based curriculum. They started with one or another of them and for a very long time there was no alternative. The IB Diploma programme for the age group 16–18 was the first to be developed and was in wide use well before the Middle Years Programme came into being. The last part of the programme – for primary schools – came along only in the early to mid-1990s. Now, many schools (including some national ones) use the International Baccalaureate curriculum either in whole or in part. School leaders are also principally from the English-speaking world, largely the US, the UK and Australia. School staff are also principally from these countries, often referred to as ‘expatriate’ staff, with smaller or larger groups of staff hired locally, for whom fluency in English is usually required.

The number of students attending International Schools around the world has been characterised as being equivalent to the population of a nation of three to four million (Jonietz & Harris, 1991), and the population has doubtless doubled or trebled in the 15 years since that was written. It has been estimated that the CIS serves the interests of some 200,000 young people worldwide, children of parents working for international organisations, diplomats, those employed by transnational corporations and those in the surrounding community who wish to benefit from an international education.1 The large majority of these schools – over 90% – offer an education solely through the medium of English. (The remainder mostly offer education in either French or Spanish; only a few offer bilingual or trilingual education, the whole curriculum offered in two or three languages to all students.) Many parents are more than happy with this situation; they see an effective education in English as the best means of ensuring an affluent future for their children in the new ‘globalised’ world. (For discussion of the position of English in the world today, see Brutt-Griffler, 2002b; Crystal, 1997; Ferguson, 2006; Graddol, 1997; Pennycook, 1994; Phillipson, 1992.)

Schools differ considerably in the ratio of nationals to non-nationals in the student body, ranging from an 85% British and/or American enrolment to fewer than 10% from any one country. Anything from 5 to 90 different nationalities may be represented. Such schools may be accredited by only one body such as the CIS, or one of the North American accreditation bodies such as the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Or they might be accredited by two at the same time, with the use of the same Visiting Team in a joint visit.

Nor are International Schools a cohesive body in the sense that they have a common curriculum, or even the same rules and regulations: Each school has to work according to the laws of the country in which it is situated (unless it has extra-territorial status, as some American schools have) and may have different examination requirements – IB, SATs, A levels, IGCSE. There will be much variety: some schools, for example, run both the IGCSE and the IB-MYP for 16 year olds. The accrediting agencies for International Schools have therefore developed an accreditation instrument that takes account of these varieties, while at the same time setting standards for all areas of the programme and operational structure and administrative frameworks.

English is currently the world’s lingua franca, and also the language of the world’s most powerful state.2 Many school leaders and educators in International Schools take for granted, therefore, that English will be the language of the school curriculum, and that all students will need to become fluent in it in order to succeed. In the majority of International Schools, those who do not have English as their first language are offered some language education in the form of ESL classes.3 Surprisingly, there are some schools in which ESL is not taught at all; children are simply left to sink or swim. And though schools are slowly becoming aware that each student’s language has its own inherent worth, its own values, and furthermore promotes cognitive development and therefore ought to be represented somewhere in the curriculum, in some schools the matter of mother tongue instruction will often be completely ignored.

A minority of International Schools offer more sophisticated state-of-the-art language models, which include a theoretically based ESL programme, a comprehensive system of first language (mother tongue) instruction, and an in-service training session for all staff on linguistic and cultural awareness. Such a model, the three-programme model, is suitable for adaptation to most International Schools. It is discussed further along in this and subsequent chapters.

A Grade 7 Korean Student

I lived in Korea most of life. Of course, I studied in Korea. I think our education is stricter than here. I really studied hard by my mother when I was young. That time was very horrible to me but now it helped to me too much. Although I took many times how to learn, I had good experience and got more confidence about studying. I’ve learnt Art for long time because I like drawing and I would like to have a job relative Art.

Now, I’m in Vienna. English is big problem to me and German also. The more serious thing than language is culture. I don’t know. Sometimes those problems are coming up to me. I’m not sure the problem is really because of culture or my personality. And this school is more freely than Korean school.

First time, I was confused. I used to study strictly by someone but here is different. We have to study ourselves. So, what happened? Of course, I spent playing most of time. Nothing to do and I had many ESL classes last year. I knew most of them, so I didn’t study hard as I was in Korea. Of course, now is better than before. I have a lot of homework and to do something. And I tried to enjoy my school.

Next, I’m going to study more about Art. I didn’t have any details of my plan yet but important thing is when I was drawing or painting picture, I felt comfortable and good, growing self-confidence. I don’t want to be a second in my life. I want to be a first, so I’m going to study more hard as I can. I hope I want to be a very refinement person.

For those not familiar with International Schools, the following extract (from Keson, 1991: 55–7) gives a good introduction. It describes the arrival of a ‘typical’ parent at a school in northern Europe:

The school’s stationery looked rather impressive, but the actual facilities look a bit, shall we say, makeshift? You can see that the building was not built to be a school, and the playing fields seem to be entirely lacking ... but the children passing by seem to show an alert curiosity. Both pupils and teachers seem to be speaking with a variety of accents, not only British and American but Australian, Irish, and others less easily identified.

He then goes on to portray an International School classroom (1991: 56, 57):

In reality, anyone who has walked into an international classroom probably found it a friendly, noisy, and fascinating place. Visitors (and parents new to the experience) often comment on how well the students get along, how they learn from their classmates, and how considerate they seem to be towards others. As one fifth-grader from ‘back home’ visiting his transplanted cousin once remarked, ‘How come there’s no fighting?’ Part of the reason why the groups work well together is that the classes are generally quite small and each individual can get quite a bit of attention. The job of teaching is not very bureaucratic, so teachers can actually devote most of their time to the learning process and often spend many extra hours making sure that the needs of each student are met.

A long-time international teacher says, ‘International students are fun, they don’t feel the enormous pressures of a single-culture school pressing down on them, they relate well to adults, and they can also contribute a unique point of view to discussions. Like the snacks that are shared at lunchtime, each child has a different and often surprising point of view.’

Let us now look at successful models for bilingual education of interest to International Schools.

Different Models of Bilingual Education

There are various bilingual education models that are appropriate in national settings, but they cannot usually be adopted by International Schools owing to the large variety of mother tongue speakers present in these schools. But two of the most suitable for International Schools are as follows.

Teaching through the host-country language + immersion in second language(L2) for non-native English speakers

In countries such as Germany, France, Spain and Italy, where the host-country language is accepted as useful or desirable, all students will be taught this language for several hours each week. In addition, certain activities or subjects, depending on grade level, will also be taught through the host-country language. This model is the principal way in which mother tongue English speakers can benefit from bilingualism and non-native speakers from trilingualism should they be able to participate. Students who are not yet fairly fluent in English may not be required to attend such classes: there is sometimes a schedule conf...