IB World School Feature Story
The influence of the Primary Years Programme (PYP) on language immersion and dual-language education Isela Consuegra, Head of School and Aldo Anzures, PYP Coordinator, Escuela Lomas Altas, Mexico City, Mexico
For more than 30 years, Escuela Lomas Altas has been the home of many students from local and international families. The school’s philosophy was designed with the purpose of addressing each of our student’s needs, both educationally and personally. The necessity for dual-language education and personalized care is the rationale behind our philosophy. Our main goal is to achieve enduring understanding between students from diverse backgrounds, while strengthening English and Spanish proficiency. Here, students learn through the language rather than simply learning the language. English and Spanish become the common form of communication within our school community. The students’ fluency and their cadence in the use of both languages are reflections of their skill. That which begins as the language through which students exercise and acquire skills in pre-school becomes an entire form of communication and a way of life by the end of primary school. We are sure that the impact that dual-language education has on our students is an experience that changes their lives in a very positive way. The PYP as a catalyst for language learning As ongoing learners in a PYP community, we engage in interesting teaching/learning adventures upon which our students build their knowledge. At the same time, we focus on what we consider our ultimate objective as educators: teaching children how to learn through hands-on experience in an internationally-minded context, where an IB learner profile-based education is fostered in our students, teachers and parents. Our learning community includes people from around the world with different beliefs and cultures. This has given our students a richer perspective of the commonalities around the world and on how language can be a vehicle for learning and understanding who we are and how we express ourselves. As educators with a highly personalized curricular framework, the implementation of the PYP has reinforced our idea of a student-centered education. We are now more aware of the need to enhance the knowledge and skills of our students in order for them to become responsible and knowledgeable about the importance of language learning. Furthermore, the PYP approach to language learning can be seen in our kindergarten immersion program. Students learn about language through the integration of the national standards, the scope and sequence of our program of inquiry, and through the language itself. This is accomplished through our inquiry, conceptbased learning and collaborative teamwork. These approaches to language learning have improved our teaching practices, making them more holistic, authentic and coherent with our own philosophy. Our pre-school is English-only and is modeled on the integrated day, where students work on different activities explained to them in the morning. The children work through their activities at their own pace and must complete all the activities assigned on any given day. Formal instruction in both languages begins in lower primary years where we firmly reinforce written and verbal skills. Reading in both languages is also strongly promoted throughout the students’ primary education.
International Baccalaureate Organization 2012 Page 2