- Date: October 09, 2024
- Time: 12:30 – 13:30
- Cost: BAISIS member – £55, BSA member – £75, Member additional attendee – £25, Non-member – £110
- Audience: Teaching staff, EAL staff, pastoral staff, classroom support staff, Deputy Head Academic, SLT/SMT
- Platform: Zoom (online)
Content overview
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language by an individual or group of speakers. This webinar will explore the benefits of creating a multilingual school environment and fostering a culturally diverse educational community.
This webinar is ideal for practitioners who are passionate about promoting multilingualism and cultural diversity in their setting, even if they don’t speak multiple languages themselves. Whether you’re a teacher, pastoral lead, senior leadership or simply interested in creating a more diverse and inclusive school environment, this webinar is for you.
Training topics will include:
- Embracing multilingualism (benefits of a multilingual environment, fostering inclusion, supporting multilingual students academically and socially)
- Promoting multilingualism in the classroom (practical strategies and tips to promote multilingualism regardless of language skills)
- Creating a multilingual culture across school (celebrating linguistic diversity through school activities, events, signage, in boarding houses, working together)
Learning outcomes:
- Understand the impact of multilingualism on students’ learning and integration experiences
- Practical tools to integrate multilingualism in the classroom
- Tips and initiatives for promoting multilingualism across your school
- Recognising the importance of a multilingual approach to foster inclusivity and cultural appreciation.
Speaker:
Marijke Rivers-Andries, Middle School EAL Coordinator at The American School in England
Marijke Rivers-Andries is the Middle School EAL Coordinator at TASIS England. She has been in international education for more than 10 years since she moved from Belgium to the UK. Marijke experienced first-hand what it was like to be an English Language Learner when her family moved to the United States in 1992. Even though she was only ten at the time, she did not realise the impact this one year abroad would have on her life. She would not be in the role she is today without that experience. Marijke is passionate about multilingualism and about advocating for students whose first language is not English. She loves bringing their home languages into the school, making sure students do not need to leave a large part of their identity at the door. As the Middle School EAL Coordinator, Marijke uses a collaborative approach with her colleagues and keeps close connections with the parents of English Language Learners by running frequent workshops discussing English language learning and multilingualism.
