Classrooms blazing the trail in NSW for bilingual education

At Campsie Public School, some subjects may be taught in a different language. As part of the government funded bilingual program, such language skills are being taught to our students. At Campsie Public, not a single child speaks only English and has another language from home. Phil Irvine, the principal of the language- diverse school boasts that they host a total of 39 different languages and cultures between its 720 students. Due to this, the program had been very successful and now could be introduced to other schools as well. It is hoped that other schools will take on the program too.

Campsie was one of four schools to take on the trial in 2010, along with three other schools teaching three different languages.

The idea was, that through immersion, by teaching the students one or so hours a day in a different language but based on a regular class such as history or geography. 75 percent of the parents agreed that their children had become involved in the program, meaning more involvement in education and the curriculum. Internal school data showed the rise in academic performance. It had been theorized that being bilingual improved cognitive abilities.

However an issue was raised. The NAPLAN testing was creeping up and parents/teachers were concerned that due to this program, there was not enough preparation time involved. But the beauty of the immersion program was that it was never taken away from the content but merely delivered differently. Being exposed to culture and language allows the students to take a peek at the world, educating them in the differences of cultures and the diversity they will face later in life. ''It opens your eyes up to the world and what it is to be a world citizen,'' Phil Irvine said.

Reference:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/classrooms-blazing-the-trail-in-nsw-for-bilingual-education-20130908-2te22.html#ixzz2iz6lfV4s