Growing and enriching: CELEBRATING THE LANGUAGES WE DON’T SPEAK
At our Malaga Private School the student demographic has changed drastically in recent years and we have gone from almost 85% local students in 2018 to 68% at the present time. In addition, we have started to welcome pupils of all ages throughout the year, which presents an added challenge when it comes to integrating them into the classroom and making the adaptation as favourable as possible.
With this trend, we are seeing more and more pupils arriving at school with a very low or poor level of English and Spanish, which is why the EAL (English as an Additional Language) Department is becoming more and more important.
EAL tries to make pupils feel welcome and welcome, as children’s well-being and happiness is a key factor in a positive approach to learning. There are over 40 languages spoken in our school and we are proud of this and celebrate it.
Throughout the year we have been celebrating the richness of a multicultural and multilingual environment for all of us. We want to encourage not only a positive attitude towards English and Spanish on the part of our new students, but also that we all learn in the process.
For example, for Valentine’s Day, EAL students expressed themselves in their own mother tongues. In the words of Eve Kelly, the EAL teacher:
“Valentine’s day was a wonderful opportunity to embrace the different languagues and cultures throughout the school. The primary EAL students madre a video wishing everyone in the British School os Malaga ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’s from all around the world!”