Bilingual Schools - Learning to Speak Two Languages at Once!

Someone who is bilingual is able to speak two different languages. (From the suffix 'bi' meaning two). Likewise, someone who speaks three languages is said to be trilingual. There are growing numbers of bilingual speakers throughout the world. In Australia, as in the United States, there are large numbers of people who are bilingual. In part, this is due to the various waves of immigration which have brought people from many different cultures to Australian shores for a whole host of reasons. From the early Chinese settlers who came to Australia in search of gold during the 1800's, right through to Vietnamese immigrants who found safety and sanctuary after a fragile existence as 'boat people', Australia has come to be a very multi cultural nation in the twenty-first century.

So it is fitting that it is also a country which now promotes and encourages children in schools to learn a second language, and to become bilingual. Some children have come to Australia already speaking another language and may or may not be fluent in English, while others may only speak English and have no second language skills.

Some schools in Australia have developed strong reputations for teaching languages to their students. They have developed methods of teaching their students based on an immersion method. This approach is where part (often around half) of the curriculum is taught in one language, and the other half in English. Teachers are often designated as being an 'English' teacher or an 'other language' teacher. So for example, at a school where Italian is taught, some teachers would only speak to the children in Italian, while some would only speak in English.

Often subject areas are taught in a designated language, so Physical Education and Health and Art might be taught in English, while Science and Math might be taught in Italian (or whatever language is the focus of the school).

These schools require highly specialized and skilled teachers, who are able to offer both subject matter expertise in their teaching areas, as well as a high level of language teaching skill in their chosen language.

There are lots of benefits of choosing a bilingual school, although the choice requires careful consideration. There is an argument which says children are much better able to learn a language if they are immersed in it over an extended period of time, rather than being taught the language simply through once or twice weekly language classes.

It is also possible to provide many and varied learning experiences which can teach children about the culture, traditions and way of life related to the language of the school. Ultimately children can complete their time at a bilingual school with a high degree of language competence and fluency in both English and a second language.

Some examples within Australia of bilingual schools are:

Bayswater South Primary School in Victoria

Italian Bilingual School in New South Wales