Due to Bahrain's diverse international population, we have extended our classes to include a special education unit for English as a Second Language (ESL.) Students who have English as a second language may require ESL before being admitted in to mainstream classes. The ESL class is normally required for children 6-11 years who have been to school in their own country but who do not have the required level of English to succeed in a mainstream class.
The ESL programme at Nadeen International School is specifically tailored for non-English speaking children based on age, level of understanding and ability and willingness to learn the language. Students are divided into small classes based on different criteria and move forward within the ESL Programme after regular progress assessments.
The ESL Programme offers the opportunity for a child to experience intensive language learning. At the same time, the children are offered the chance to integrate daily within the mainstream school, taking part in various extra-curricular activities such as Art, P.E., Music, Cooking and Library. The main focus of the classes is language.
Although the success rate with our ESL Programme is very high, with most students improving greatly and gaining sufficient skill and confidence to eventually join the mainstream classrooms, success is also dependent on a child's willingness and enthusiasm to learn the language and on support and practice from home. In addition, the ESL Programme does not guarantee written and spoken fluency in the language, nor promotion to the appropriate year group, after only one academic semester.
An informal assessment is given to all ESL Students before a place is offered in the ESL class or in the mainstream class. This will usually involve the child and ESL teacher meeting on a one-to-one basis for 15-30 minutes. During that time the teacher will encourage the student to engage in conversation about various topics, in order to ascertain how much spoken English the student has. The child will also engage in a number of selected activities appropriate to their age, in order to assess their understanding. If space is available, the place will then be offered according to language level in the ESL Programme.
ESL is an ongoing process and completion of a term or academic year of ESL does not necessarily indicate that the child has completed the ESL Programme. In some cases, a child will be withdrawn from the ESL class for a short time after completing a particular course to see how s/he copes in the mainstream class without the additional ESL support. If necessary, the child will be readmitted into the ESL class for another course.
Once a child is confident in the regular class, and able to function at a level which will promote learning in all areas of the curriculum, ESL will no longer be required.