As communities worldwide become more interconnected, bilingualism has emerged as a crucial asset, enriching individuals’ lives in myriad ways. Bilingual instruction is also unparalleled compared to other learning strategies and has proven tremendously beneficial to students.

At Tessa, bilingualism is one of the three core pillars of our school philosophy that craft our educational approaches. We challenge our students in English, French, Mandarin, or Spanish, empowering them to reach their full potential.

Benefits of Bilingualism

Beyond facilitating cross-cultural communication, early exposure to bilingual education also offers a wealth of cognitive and academic advantages.

Bilingualism improves executive functioning and builds cognitive connections in the brain – the parts responsible for multitasking, memorizing, focusing, and planning. Findings show that bilingual children are on average 6.5% more efficient in their thinking skills than monolingual children.
Researchers at American University show that by the end of middle school, students in dual-language programs were performing one grade level higher on reading assessments than their peers who were not enrolled in these programs.
In a large-scale study of Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and Grade 1 students, bilingual students outperformed monolingual students in mathematical reasoning and problem solving.

Learn more about advantages to have a bilingual brain through the video below:

Our Immersion Progression Model

Bilingualism is integral to every stage of the education experience at Tessa. To ensure that our students develop strong language skills in both English and the target language, the Immersion Progression Model is strategically designed and applied. For an overview, our 80:20 immersion (Preschool) and 50:50 dual-language (Primary School) teaching approach is designed to promote students to become fully bilingual and biliterate.

80:20 Immersion Stage: From Nursery through Kindergarten, the majority of instruction (80%) is conducted in the target language, allowing students to build strong, life-long foundations in the language.

“Bilingualism is an experience that shapes our brain for a lifetime.”
– Dr. Gigi Luk, the associate professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education

50:50 Dual Language Stage: Starting in Grade 1, students will receive instruction and absorb knowledge in English and the targeted language equally in order to gain proficiency in both.

To meet this ideal, different language teachers – all of whom are native speakers of the language they teach – regularly collaborate to exchange their classroom observations and enhance the learning experience. Our teachers not only teach the language but also teach content through the target language, which enables students to gain linguistic competence while making academic progress in core subjects, including Science, Social Studies, Language & Literacy, and Math.

Check out this short video of our students talking about bilingualism:

The power of bilingualism is undeniable, conferring a multitude of advantages that improve individuals’ lives and enhance society as a whole. By embracing bilingualism, our students are prepared to navigate the complexities of the globalizing world with confidence and proficiency.

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