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Statement of Philosophy

The purpose of this document is to express Ambrit’s policy on the role of language in the school, to provide a framework for day-to-day interaction amongst its members and to outline language programmes in the school.  It is our goal that through the implementation of this policy Ambrit students will be able to interact responsibly and respectfully, with all members of the school community in order to fulfil program aims as well as the school philosophy and to be able to function on both social and academic levels to the fullest extent of their language proficiency and potential.
This policy also reflects our commitment to promote cross-cultural understanding within the school population and outlines how we plan to do this.

At Ambrit we embrace Michael Halliday’s tenet that:

“In any meaningful language event, learners have the opportunity to learn language, learn about language, and learn through language.”

Consequently we see these three processes taking place side by side, not in isolation. Units of inquiry/learning provide the ideal structure to bring this about as they generate countless opportunities for language events that are cognitively demanding and engaging for students.

The following policy statements further affirm our commitment to and understanding of our students’ language acquisition and their academic learning across the curriculum and form the foundation of our educational practice.

• We view on-going language development for all Ambrit students as the responsibility of all teachers.
• We are familiar with the research on the variables of aptitude, personality, attitude, motivation, and learning style, all of which produce different rates of second language acquisition and ultimate levels of bilingual attainment.
• We treat each student’s language development within the context of our professional understanding and knowledge and recognise their performance as a representation of their interlanguage.

This policy addresses the here and now of our school community but also looks beyond those limits in space and time, as, inherent in the policy statements is the awareness that we are preparing young people for their future, independent lives in the outside world.
           

What we do

At Ambrit, English is the primary language of instruction whilst Italian is maintained at grade level proficiency for native speakers and taught as an additional language for non-native speakers. The two languages are taught either as subjects or through subject matter content, thereby developing both basic interpersonal communication skills(BICS-the ability to communicate in an additional language) and cognitive academic language proficiency(CALP-the ability to think and to solve problems in the additional language) in both English and Italian. The ultimate instructional goal is the attainment of appropriate levels of proficiency in the two languages, taking into account those variables, as stated above, which affect language acquisition and development. 

One advantage of this approach is that it promotes an appreciation of cultural and linguistic diversity. Ambrit students transcend their own cultural boundaries to become international and independent thinkers and communicators.  Ambrit International School also values bi/multilingualism among its students for the educational and professional opportunities it may open up for them in a global community.

How we do it
Ambrit’s language programme is implemented in the following ways:

In the classroom:

• through classroom environment and strategies which provide comprehensible input, such as:

• relating new material to students’ life experiences;
• drawing attention to key specialist vocabulary;
• using a variety of assessment tools and implementing interactive group activities in an integrated curriculum;
• making high-level academic content instructionally comprehensible (through the use of contextualisation strategies such as gestures, visual aids, maps, graphs, manipulatives, drama, and songs);
• creating classroom environments that are discourse-rich and process-oriented (plentiful opportunities for students to listen, read, speak, and write through interactive strategies).

 

• through instructional strategies which specifically support content-based language learning.

• We teach students to use active and experiential learning strategies appropriate for linguistically and cognitively diverse students.
• We use specific instructional strategies for different kinds of learners and take into account their different backgrounds.
• We teach and model language-learning strategies (metacognitive, cognitive, and affective) to enable students to become self-directed and self-regulated learners.
• We integrate language instruction with content instruction (explicit attention is given to the syntactic and semantic features of language in the design of lessons).
• We teach aspects of speech, word forms, language structures, discourse and writing conventions explicitly or in the form of pop up grammar as outlined in the language scope and sequence.
• We consider holistic performance more significant than knowledge of discrete linguistic items (i.e. what students can do over what they have memorised).
• We systematically keep track of the language acquisition of all students and use this knowledge to help students overcome difficulties and facilitate progress.

 

School-wide recommended practice

• We model metalinguistic learning strategies.
• We encourage methods of teaching and assessment that enable students from diverse backgrounds to develop and demonstrate fully their language proficiency (see also Ambrit Assessment Policy).
• We give ongoing feedback to students on their linguistic and cognitive development through observation and measurement strategies.
• We hold high linguistic and academic expectations for all students.
• We involve parents in the linguistic and academic development of their children.
• We recognise and support students’ linguistic and academic needs and strengths.
• We create heterogeneous class groupings to ensure a broad language and cultural mix and to facilitate language learning.
• We refer students who require additional support in their learning to the student services team.
• We encourage dispositions needed for life in an international world (e.g. empathy, flexibility, respect for others’ languages and cultures through ongoing language study).
• We nurture a global perspective of cultural events not only in our language classes, but also throughout our academic programmes.
• We appoint staff from various cultures.
• We address multi-cultural themes.
• We encourage the participation of diverse-culture representatives in a decision-making capacity regarding social and cultural activities through involvement with our parent association, ‘Friends of Ambrit’.

 

Beyond the classroom

• Language input outside the mainstream programme

Native speakers of English and Italian make progress in their first languages and attain proficiency in their second languages. Students coming from non-English or non-Italian backgrounds find themselves immersed in both languages in the school and community.

Language acquisition is supported outside the classroom in the following ways:

• social integration into the school and community;
• the building of a positive self-image for each child;
• practising Italian, the host country language, in school and in the local community, for example through field trips, by interacting with guest speakers, and in community service;
• appreciation of mother tongue diversity, exploring similarities and differences;
• promoting awareness of the diverse types of discourse and language varieties found within the community.

 

• In the home

A number of parental actions will facilitate linguistic and academic success for Ambrit’s students, whether or not they come from a bilingual/multilingual background. They are:

• showing and maintaining a positive attitude towards learning additional languages;
• developing and maintaining mother tongue literacy skills in the home; associating closely with members of the language groups in community activities;
• getting together with other parents to exchange ideas and reduce isolation;
• encouraging and supporting children’s additional language acquisition;
• supplying multilingual materials in the home e.g. bilingual dictionaries;
• keeping informed about language issues in order to support their children’s language development by consulting the Ambrit EAL blog, journals, etc.;
• taking advantage of language learning experiences in the community.
• making use of library resources in English and Italian to support Units of Inquiry/learning as well as multilingual and bilingual books for independent reading,
• supporting their children’s learning, for example through their own language learning experiences and by demonstrating that they value other cultures and languages.

 

Who we do it for

• Ambrit welcomes children from all nationalities.
• The director, through the admissions process, aims to create heterogeneous groups for each grade level.
• The school makes every effort to maintain a student body composed of at least 20% English first language, 45% third language nationals and 35% Italian first language.

 

English first language students are all admitted to the school in accordance with the admissions policy.

 

Italian first language students are accepted:

• in pre-school providing that one parent of the applicant speaks English;
•   at other levels if they have attended English medium school abroad and require no EAL support.

Third language speakers with no English:

• are admitted through grade 6;
• may on occasion be admitted in grade 7 and 8 if half-day, private EAL instruction is provided by the family.

 

Ambrit’s Language Programmes

• English - All students follow the mainstream English programme.

• Italian as a first language - Students maintain grade-level academic skills and literacy in alignment with the curriculum of the Italian Ministry of Education. Students expand and enrich language skills through other subjects such as math, history, geography and science. After completing this programme it is possible for the students to take the State examination at the end of 5th grade and 8th grade, which enables them to continue their education in the Italian educational system.

• English as an Additional Language - EAL support is provided in the classroom (push-in) from Prep to grade 3. From grades 4 to 8 pull-out, individual tuition, for students who are non-English proficient, will be provided at an additional cost.

• Foreign Languages - We provide opportunities for the study and acquisition of languages in addition to English and Italian (French, Spanish and Mandarin) from the 6th Grade.

• Mother Tongue - where the home language is neither English nor Italian
• We co-ordinate, with the after-school programme, requests to set up mother tongue classes
• We provide guidelines for parents, encouraging them to use the mother tongue in the home.
• We collect information about the languages used at home through the Ambrit Language Survey, which givesus a detailed language profile of each child.
• We offer the possibility of the promotion of mother languages at school by providing facilities (room, cupboard-space etc), for after-school lessons.