Language Policy of

Northview School

Northview School strives to enhance each student’s self-worth, confidence, and pride by providing curricular programs and activities that encourage participation in multicultural experiences to make the most of the advantages offered by a multicultural school community. The linguistic and cultural diversity of the school’s population is considered to be both a strength and a rich resource in the promotion of language learning among students.

Northview School seeks to enable children to function as international citizens who, in part, possess the ability to function capably and comfortably within and between cultures. Developing the capacity to speak more than one language is an integral part of this preparation and, as a result, the provision of additional language instruction has been made a mandatory requirement.

The language of instruction used to deliver the curriculum at Northview School is English. Students admitted to the school are taught the skills needed to become proficient readers, writers, and communicators in the English language both for social interaction and academic success.

Students must complete one year of English each year they are in attendance. 

Students, who require it, will be provided with specialist instruction in English as a Second Language.

The mother tongue is the one that is most strongly linked to the culture that an individual identifies with as their culture of origin, and often is the language used in the home. The first language is the one in which the individual is most proficient. Northview School encourages the development of the mother tongue and first languages of students through a culture of acceptance and celebration of linguistic diversity within the community. There is also recognition that a strong level of competency in the mother tongue or first language of students can be an important ingredient in their success as learners of additional languages. Parents seeking mother tongue or first language support for their children will be assisted in locating suitable teachers for this purpose.

Modern Foreign Languages comprise an essential part of the international human experience. At Northview School, Spanish and French instruction will educate students to become linguistically equipped and culturally aware in our pluralistic world.  Upon entry, students select a Language B that they will study throughout the MYP.  Students remain in Spanish or French throughout the five years.  Through their language learning, students will gain knowledge, appreciation, and understanding of the different cultures where French and Spanish are spoken. By realizing that there are multiple ways of viewing the world, students would be able to communicate in multilingual communities in a variety of contexts and in culturally appropriate ways.

English as a Second Language (ESL) refers to English instruction that is given to assist the student in gaining sufficient English language proficiency to cope within the English-speaking school environment. Instruction is designed to equip students with enough language to enable them to:

• forge social relationships and cope with the practical expectations of life in an English-speaking school.

• gain the spoken and written language required to function fully in the mainstream academic classroom.

This is accomplished through a combination of “pull-out” specialist instruction and support within the mainstream classroom. The school provides trained specialists to support the language learning of students with special learning needs.

At Northview School every teacher is regarded as a language teacher. To this end Northview School teachers aim to maintain awareness and promote skills in language learning for all students in the language of instruction, modern foreign language, and, where feasible, mother tongue. In this way the aim is for language instruction to be integrated throughout different areas of the curriculum.

Northview School seeks to develop the elements that will encourage students to be positively engaged in learning an additional language to the mother tongue or first language. Building on the encouragement of a strong foundation in a student’s first language, these include the following competencies:

• grammatical competence (referring to knowledge of vocabulary, sound and

  grammar)

• sociolinguistic competence (knowledge of how to use language appropriately in

   different contexts)

• discourse competence (linking elements of language together to take part in

   certain kinds of discourse, for example, conversation or debate)

• strategic competence (knowledge of appropriate strategies to use if

   communication breaks down and knowledge of how to learn language)

• cultural competence (includes sensitivity toward attitudes, norms, behaviors and

   cultures in which the other language is spoken).

Because we are in a constant cycle of improvement, Northview School has established action steps that will focus our efforts.

·        Continually improve assessments and assessment processes by devoting time to collaborative planning that is in vertical and horizontal groups.

·        Continually update/increase the types of opportunities for students to participate in language enrichment.

·        Continually support individual teachers’ professional development needs in effective language practices by budgeting allocated money towards best practice staff development and classroom coverage

·         Purchase additional language-diverse texts for the library and literacy library each year.