Mother Tongue Bilingual Programme

The Study’s mother tongue bilingual programme begins in Kindergarten. In Elementary School, students have two homeroom teachers and spend approximately half the day in English and the other half in French. Learning situations are process-oriented with the intention of encouraging the girls to explore, experiment, solve problems and absorb new concepts. In the Senior School, students follow an enriched programme of studies. At each grade level, students take enriched French language courses and are offered at least two other subjects in French. A compulsory third language option (Mandarin and Spanish) is also a curriculum requirement for grade 7, and an option in grades 8 and 9.

Walking through the halls of The Study, it is common to hear students chatting with one another, switching effortlessly from French to English and back again. This feature of bilingualism and multilingualism, known as “translanguaging”, allows speakers to access different features of various languages to maximize their communicative potential. Study students probably don’t think much about this ability, but as we plan our curriculum and look to the future, educators and parents alike understand that in an increasingly multicultural society, language skills and intercultural understanding are no longer a luxury — they are an essential part of being a global citizen.