It proved a real success last year and we are happy to extend it to GS/Y1 this year, after our teams have worked extensively on the preparatory works for the past few months to make sure everything is up and running by the beginning of the 2019-20 school year.
After one year of implementation, it has become clear that immersive bilingualism works: since the beginning of “shared projects”, usually based on sports or arts, interactions between students of both streams have greatly improved. This has resulted in more positive relationships and language acquisition for our students.
This approach has also had an important impact on the way our teachers from both streams work and collaborate. Since the programme was introduced, teachers have been meeting on a regular basis to discuss ideas and plan accordingly. They usually align shared topics – singling out opportunities for entry & exit points. The Immersive Bilingual Programme has also reinforced co-teaching with language teachers, who now have an opportunity to move closer to IPC or French curriculum teaching.
To go further this year, Jardine’s GS/Y1 classes have been gathered on the same corridor in order to make it even easier for teachers to collaborate and children from the French and international streams to spend time with one another. A programme of shared playtimes and lunchtimes (on a rotation system) has also been introduced.
The Jardine’s team is looking forward to seeing, once again this year, younger students learn French and English naturally and efficiently!