LANGUAGES AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUPPORT

Learning languages enriches children’s lives and provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for all students. It provides excitement and a new challenge for children, helping them develop an expanded worldview, greater intercultural appreciation, and the ability to learn additional languages more easily.

BIST allows all students from Year 1 onwards to study languages as part of the curriculum. In Years 1 and 2, Language Fun sees all children spend 2 lessons per week on a rotation through the year of Chinese, French, German and Georgian. The Georgian classes are divided into Georgian for native speakers and Georgian for non-native speakers. Language learning classes are offered 3 times per week for Years 3 up to Year 6. Students get to experience French, German, Georgian and Spanish (Chinese in Year 3) at levels appropriate to them. The emphasis is on active learning to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through engaging activities and games.

In Secondary, students must choose between French, German and Spanish. All students follow a single lesson per week of Georgian.

If a student is assessed as requiring English as an Additional Language (EAL) support, then s/he will initially receive small group support on the English language at appropriate times. EAL teachers work closely with the classroom teachers to ensure that students receive support with the curriculum.