LANGUAGE PROGRAMS

EAL Program

English is the language of instruction and primary language of communication at CISN.

The English as an Additional Language (EAL) program at CISN is committed to providing students with the support they need to fully participate in CISN curriculum with a rich English learning environment. All support has the ultimate goal of helping students to reach a high level of English language proficiency, so that they are able to use academic language confidently in the areas of vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Our EAL program:

• Promotes understanding and respect for cultural individual differences.

• Partners together with parents, other teachers, and our students to foster language development.

• Promotes successful language learning through active engagement in school activities and social interactions.

EAL teachers carefully review student records, observe interactions in the classroom, and conduct English proficiency testing to help inform the decision as to who requires additional support in English acquisition. Support varies from one grade level to another and alternates among consultation with homeroom teachers, in-class support, co-teaching, and focuses small group pull-out lessons.

Chinese Program

Chinese is the language of the world's oldest and richest continuous civilization. It is the most widely spoken language on earth and is becoming increasingly influential. CISN Chinese program is an integral part of the curriculum, which offers challenging, exciting and genuine opportunities for students to obtain the ability to communicate in more than one language to participate more fully in the greater global community.

We ensure children master vocabulary alongside learning academic content in Chinese. They will build their vocabulary and knowledge of Chinese characters and sentences through the significant reading and writing-related cognitive skills which come with mastering the Chinese written language, students begin to use grammatically complex sentences, extending meanings and cultural idioms confidently.

CISN has a traditional Chinese culture room with Chinese furnishings and artwork. This provides the students with a connection to the curriculum and Chinese classical stories, tales, and poems. Children are able to understand cultural references, festival events and other interesting facets of Chinese culture to further enhance their learning.