Bilingual Education

The 2021/2022 school year marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Bilingual Program. At that occasion, we have produced an anniversary short film featuring students, parents and teachers, who share their experiences of learning in the Bilingual Program as part of this bilingual "family".

 


RTL Klub TV channel recently made a short film about bilingual education focusing on the work of the Bilingual Program. It aired at 9:35am on Sunday, November 5, 2017.

 

Bilingual Education

Science

Mathematics

History

Upper grade lesson snapshots

 

 

Our Kindergarten videos:

 

 

Our Primary School Videos:

End-of-year Videos

At the end of every school year, each child in the Bilingual Program completes an interview with their main class teacher. Here are two good examples. Katinka’s video is a series of excerpts from her end-of-year videos from Grades 1, 3, 5 and 8, Matyi's is from the end of 1, 3, 6 and 8 grades. With these videos you can experience their growth and the changes in the use of English over the years. Both of them started in our kindergarten program at the age of three; neither family lived abroad, nor was either family bilingual. So while both Matyi and Katinka were very good students, they are also in many ways average representatives of our program.

 

Katinka, 2008 through 2016
Matyi

 

 

Co-teaching

These videos are good examples of what we mean when we say that our program is bilingual. We co-teach: we switch languages multiple times within a given lesson, and the children use the language targeted for the given exercise – yet both teachers are actively involved in the lesson, whether in a leading or a supporting role. These videos are also good examples of the type of methods we employ. We emphasize activities that are interactive, enjoyable and communicative. We also integrate content and language in order to provide an environment rich in English language, culture and subject content – so that for our students, English is not primarily a subject but a natural communication tool.

 

2a Mathematics

In the 2a Mathematics clip, we see a targeted review lesson with activities designed to practice both math content and language. We also see two different types of teacher demonstrations, alternation of language and a fine example of the students sticking to English due to the provision of clear language targets.

 

4a Science

The 4a Science lesson excerpt again emphasizes our core principles of active, student-centered, communicative teaching, with students working in groups and in pairs, moving about and making use of hands-on materials, including self-checking activities that further emphasize the role of teacher as facilitator. Language targets and language support are again utilized, with digital tools and platforms also making an appearance.

4a Mathematics

The 4a Mathematics clip is another very good example of co-teaching – or the Bilingual Family Model. Here we see the presentation of new material with very tightly integrated co-teaching and no repetition of material. Students are engaged intellectually and kinesthetically; in addition, we see clear language support, students working in groups, and an engaged class throughout.

1a Mathematics
4a Story

 

 

4a Mathematics

 

Teaching English as a Foreign Language

We chose this EFL video because it’s a good demonstration of student-centered teaching in monolingual classrooms where the teacher aims to facilitate and guide while maximizing the students’ opportunities to talk, think and actively, joyfully discover and learn. It also contains a very nice activity reviewing structure, or grammar, where the work with the students is done contextually and seeks to emphasize meaningful use of language – another core principal in our program. For us, English is not a subject. Rather, it is simply a tool for communication.

 

 

2a English
3a English

 

 

4a English
4a English

 

 

 

Afternoon Tutorials

Tutorials are an ideal setting for consolidating and further developing students’ skills and knowledge. In the first example (to the right), filmed in November of 2016, a typical lower school grouping of four students, in this case in Grade 1, collaborates to practice math with their teacher, focusing on key mathematical concepts and expressions, and even pronunciation.

Mathematics

 

In the second segment, from the same tutorial, the students focus on speaking skills while reviewing vocabulary from their classwork that week. They begin with a fast-paced passive reception activity and then move on to spoken production. One thing to notice is how the children pass key information between themselves in English, rather than reverting to their native language. Miss Jenny also uses personalization to keep the children energized and on task.

Speaking Skills

 

Megyeri Úti Primary School

 

This video features a group of first graders in their third month in our program. As you can see, they are already able to process lesson content – and actively communicate – in both English and Hungarian throughout the lesson.