SCHOOL ORGANISATION AND INTEGRATION
SCHOOL ORGANISATION AND INTEGRATION
How can schools organize home language classes within their structures?
Which models make them accessible for all pupils?
Schools can integrate home language teaching in various flexible ways, depending on their resources, student population, and local context. When planning the teaching, schools should consider practical factors such as timetabling, classroom space, and coordination with other subjects to ensure it complements rather than competes with the existing curriculum.
They should also make use of the full language potential within their community, drawing on the expertise of teachers, parents, and external specialists. Flexible roles are key to success: in-school language teachers act as coordinators, while staff with specific language knowledge, parents, and community members can help guide and support multilingual learners.
1. In-school classes
With visiting teachers: In this model, pupils remain in their own schools while qualified home language teachers come to teach.
With staff and parents: When a qualified teacher is not available, schools can make use of staff or parents who speak the target language. Alternatively, language teachers who do not speak the language themselves can still play a valuable role by guiding the learning process and helping to align the curriculum with home language learning.
The in-school approach allows pupils to learn their home language in a familiar environment, integrated into their regular school day.
2. In-school classes at a designated location
Here, pupils from different schools gather in one designated school where home language lessons take place. This model helps organize teaching more efficiently, especially when the number of students per language is small. Students meet with one another, but they have to travel to and back.
3. Hybrid or online classes
Here, pupils from different schools meet in a digital language school. The lessons take place online, preferably during school time and supervised by someone in the regular school. Another option is after school time, with a parent at home. This setup is both logistically and financially efficient, but constraint by age group and digital equipment.
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