Andrew Finch, PhD

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Andrew Finch, PhD

• European Models of Language Learning
• Implications for Asia and Korea

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Research trip to Europe, 2008
This fact-finding trip looked at various school
types in various countries in Europe, focusing on
bilingual and multilingual models. The data
consists of observations, interviews, and
anecdotal information from students, teachers,
parents, head-teachers, academics and education
officials.
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Educational establishments visited

• Kindergartens (state)
• Primary schools (state)
• Secondary schools (state and private)
• Universities and attached state schools
• Business colleges (state and private)
• European Schools (Schola Europaea)
• Ministry of Education (Finland)

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Overview Holland

• GSG Schagen secondary school (state)
• Bottom-up design and implementation of a
  communicative English program
• Horizon College vocational college
• Scala College, private college (secondary school)
  for advanced-level students
• Bilingual school
• Bergen European School
• Multilingual, E.Bacc exams, European School
  curriculum

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Overview Holland
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Overview Finland

• Vaasa Swedish University, Dept. Eng. Education
• immersion program (Swedish/Finnish)
• Vaasa Swedish Uni, attached state primary school
• immersion (Swedish/Finnish) and English
  Department
• Vaasa Finnish University, Dept. English Education
  
• immersion program (Finnish/Swedish)
• Vaasa Finnish University, attached state
  secondary school and kindergarten
• 9-year immersion program (Finnish/Swedish)

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Overview Finland

• Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied
  Sciences
• Bilingual education (Finnish, English).
• Helsinki Kulosaari Secondary School (Lower
  Upper secondary)
• Bilingual education (Finnish/English)
• International School of Helsinki
• Immersion education (English)
• Ministry of Education

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Overview Germany

• University of Education of Weingarten
• Wolfegg Primary School
• Primary level Content and Language Integrated
  Learning (CLIL) (some classes in English)

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Overview Luxembourg and Brussels

• Luxembourg European School 2
• Brussels European School 1

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Overview Luxembourg
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Overview Luxembourg
What the Luxembourg case shows is that a three
language policy in education can be successful if
certain conditions are met. These appear to be a
combination of curricular and extra-curricular
elements, similar to those found in the European
School system where equal success is present,
together with a long-term commitment in the
programme to enhancing both language as a subject
and language as a medium of instruction.
(Beatens Beardsmore, 1993, 118-119)
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Overview Belgium
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Overview European Schools

• England Culham
• Mostly local students European Schools
  Curriculum
• Holland Bergen
• Mix of EU and local students ES Curriculum
• Luxembourg 2
• Mostly EU students ES Curriculum
• Brussels 1
• Mostly EU students ES Curriculum

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Overview European Schools

• The European School program does not fit into any
  clear-cut model of bilingual education. It is
  neither an immersion nor a submersion programme.
• It represents a combination of maintenance,
  transitional and enrichment programmes.
• The first language lays the foundations for
  education and is maintained throughout the
  programme, but gradually decreases in
  significance as the pupils get older.

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Overview European Schools

• Reading and writing are initially taught through
  the medium of the first language.
• A second language is introduced as a subject from
  the beginning of the programme and gradually
  takes over in secondary education.
• As the second language increases in significance
  it represents a type of transitional experience
  which enables students to pursue higher education
  in this language if desired. (Beardsmore, 1993,
  p. 123)

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What can we learn from Finland?
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Findings

• Teacher training
• Core Curriculum
• Trust
• Choice
• Parents
• Learning culture

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Findings Finland

• Teacher training
• Teachers in Finland are highly qualified (MA).
• They study for at least 5 years, with a minimum
  of 2 years teaching practice.
• Education is appreciated in society.
• Teachers are respected.

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Findings Finland

• Core Curriculum
• The government gives a set of guidelines and
  requirements (using the CEFR).
• As long as the teachers achieve these
  requirements, they can interpret the curriculum
  in any way they wish.
• The government is not allowed to specify what
  should be taught or how to teach it.

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Findings Finland

• Core Curriculum
• Local municipalities can set their own curricula.
• Local municipalities can permit different
  approaches (bilingualism, immersion, etc.)
• The government does not inspect schools.
• The government is only involved if a school
  wants to change the number of subject hours.

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Findings Finland

• Trust
• Teachers are highly qualified and are trusted to
  do their job, without monitoring and without
  excessive paperwork.
• Local municipalities are allowed to decide their
  own educational criteria (within the framework of
  the national core curriculum).

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Findings Finland

• Choice
• Parents can choose whether (or not) to put their
  children in bilingual programs.

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Findings Finland

• Parents
• Working with the parents has been an important
  factor for success in each of the schools
  (Marchi, 1991)
• Without the pressure, enthusiasm, commitment and
  interest of groups of parents and teachers, it
  is unlikely that bilingual education would have
  begun or advanced as it has. (Baker, C., 1993,
  p. 21)

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Findings Finland

• Learning Culture
• Language and learning is important in Finland.
• Education is free at all levels.
• Teachers are allowed to practice holistic
  teaching
• Teachers have freedom (teaching, assessment.)
• Small class size (c. 25 students)
• Family support

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Conclusions Benefits of bilingualism

• Bilingual approaches observed in Europe have
  various benefits
• students can communicate, interact, study (and
  later) work in more than one language
• high scores on PISA
• appreciation of diversity
• cultural awareness.

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Conclusions Possible features

• A number of features of European language
  education models can be adapted to the Korean
  education system without fear of importing
  culturally and socio-economically inappropriate
  practices and assumptions.

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Conclusions Infrastructure

• Teacher training (and training of teacher
  trainers) is extremely important.
• Before bilingual education is adopted, it is
  crucial to set up a strong infrastructure for
  teacher training and teacher support.
• This includes bilingual textbooks, in-service and
  pre-service bilingual teacher training, and a
  bilingual exam structure.

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Conclusions Infrastructure

• Teacher-trainers need to be retrained.
• Rather than preparing students and teachers to
  teach grammar-translation and reading skills,
  they need to teach bilingual teaching skills.
• Teachers in other subjects than English will
  need to be trained for bilingual teaching.

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Conclusions Infrastructure

• Bilingualism programmes should start early and be
  ongoing 9 year programs, starting at
  kindergarten level.
• Students could study in their L1 in upper high
  school (as in Finland), or they could take exams
  in their L2 (as in the European School model, and
  the Luxembourg model)

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Conclusions Choice

• Compulsory bilingual education will need massive
  government investment in teacher-training and
  teacher-support (textbooks, etc.), and will not
  be appropriate for all students.
• Parents should be given the choice to send their
  children to bilingual (state) schools (or not).
• Teachers should be given the choice to work in
  bilingual (state) schools (or not).

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Conclusions Small beginnings

• Bilingual education can start on a small scale.
• Individual schools can attract (and give
  opportunities to) competent bilingual teachers.
• Bilingual education can expand according to
  supply (teachers) and demand (parents).
• Korea has a large bank of potential bilingual
  teachers who have studied abroad and can teach in
  the L1 and the L2. They are the starting point
  for bilingual education.

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Conclusions Trust

• Teachers need to be highly qualified,
  well-trained, and bilingual.
• They must be allowed to get on with their
  profession, without restrictive curricula.
• They must be trusted to produce responsible
  citizens with higher-order thinking skills.
• Communication with (and the trust of) parents is
  vital.

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Conclusions

• This presentation has looked at characteristics
  of European language learning models which help
  (enable) them to be successful.
• It is not necessary or appropriate to import
  foreign educational models 100.
• Appropriate characteristics can be adapted to the
  Korean educational system.

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The end

• Baetens Beardsmore, H. (Ed.) (1993). European
  models of bilingual education. Clevedon
  England Philadelphia Multilingual Matters.
• aef_at_knu.ac.kr
• www.finchpark.com/ppp/
• Click below to see more videos about the
  multilingual approach.