Mother Tongue within the Curriculum Launch: 7 November 2017
On the 7th of November, our ‘mother tongue within the curriculum programme’ officially launched. Over 100 Secondary students joined us to support all the languages we speak in Primary. Primary students had the opportunity to explore their learning in their own languages, whether that was connected to building block towers or finding out about dinosaurs. In Year 6, English native speakers even created a human bar graph to show how many different countries represent native English speakers. Primary students came out of the experience energised from using their languages and from interacting with their knowledgeable Secondary buddies. The core aim of this programme is to encourage our students to continue developing their languages at home, and at school, to enhance their learning and strengthen the connections to their home cultures. More information about mother tongue within the curriculum can be found below.
Mother Tongue within the Primary Curriculum
For 45 minutes a week, year groups are reorganised such that, wherever possible, children are able to work with other students who share their language. In Reception and Year 1, the children often participate in play-based learning opportunities outside and in the classroom. In Years 2-6, children complete a mainstream curriculum task in their mother tongue or identity language. Children with multiple mother tongues or identity languages may change their language group, by project or term, to include the development of all their languages. The aim of these ‘in class’ sessions is meaningful use of children’s languages for learning.
Mother Tongue within the curriculum supports language maintenance. Class teachers do not explicitly teach the language in these sessions and initial instruction is often in English. Children participating in a language group must, at minimum, be able to speak that language.
We warmly encourage parents to join us during this ‘within the curriculum’ slot to support their children’s mother tongue development. In this designated time period, children are likewise supported by secondary students who share their mother tongues. For more information, please contact:
Mindy McCracken, Mother Tongue and Identity Language Leader
