Multilingualism
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The goal of our Multilingualism program is for students to be informed by global perspectives, uninhibited by global boundaries, prepared to deal with unfamiliar cultures, and receptive to the contributions of others.
ISSAC believes learning multiple languages gives our students such broad cultural connection, in addition to proven cognitive benefits.
While instruction of core subjects is in English, all ISSAC students are also taught Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Spanish daily.
Our program, using Better Chinese for Mandarin, Sing & Speak for Spanish, and other auxiliary materials, follows a Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) model to focus on social language acquisition or Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS).
We make use of highly designed technology and procedures, in small group instruction, to incorporate the “Key Characteristics of All Quality Language Learning Models,” according to the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE):
Integration of language and culture.
Active engagement and meaningful interaction.
Contrastive analysis to build linguistic and cultural diversity within an affirming climate.
Standards-aligned curriculum and high quality instructional materials, as well as exposure to authentic language models and texts.
Valid and appropriate assessment.
Age appropriate instruction differentiated and scaffolded for different levels of language proficiency.
Systemic professional development and support for teachers.
Use of technology integrated into teaching and learning.