Our English as an Additional Language (EAL) department supports students whose first language is not English to acquire the level of linguistic competence necessary to succeed in the mainstream academic classroom.
We believe that the most efficient way to provide this support is by immersing the students in an authentic language environment which is comprehensible, yet challenging:
Our language curriculum recognizes and respects the varied interests, abilities, needs and diverse cultural backgrounds of our students. It presents a progressive course of study, which gives insight into the structures and functions of the language, and emphasizes communication. Students are also encouraged to access their mother tongue to provide content support on their academic journey.
Language acquisition grows incrementally through a constant and natural interaction of the four modes:
In our programme, students are assessed on their participation, oral work, and teacher observation. Students can exit the programme at any time during the school year when their work reaches the required standard of fluency and accuracy to succeed in the mainstream classroom.
Children learn languages best if they are given comprehensible input and opportunities to practise in a non-threatening environment. That’s what we provide here at ISD.
