Language Policy
HUSEYIN AVNI SOZEN ANATOLIAN HIGH SCHOOL
LANGUAGE POLICY
CONTENTS
- PURPOSE AND PRINCIPLES
- LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY
- LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION – ENGLISH B
- MOTHER TONGUE – TURKISH A1
- LANGUAGE B _GERMAN AB INITIO
- LANGUAGE SUPPORT
- MOTHER TONGUE SUPPORT
- LANGUAGE POLICY COMITEE
- LANGUAGE POLICY REVIEW PROCESS
- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- REFERENCES
LANGUAGE AND PRINCIPLES
This language policy aims to provide the implementation of our school's language learning program and the IB DP programme. This document outlines the philosophy and practices of language instruction.
This language policy is to inform teaching and learning in the classroom, to guide curriculum and to involve all parties - students, teachers, parents and the staff – to provide an education based on language acquisition, which is vital for an international-mindedness and global citizenship and a must have in the IB educational philosophy.
LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY
It is an undeniable fact that the foundation for all learning is language. It is not only the primary means of communication but it is also the foundation of lifelong learning. Language enables students to develop critical thinking, social skills and personal growth. In order to be successful learners, students must be able to use language efficiently, accurately and confidently in a variety of contexts for a variety of purposes. HASAL has standards for it language philosophy as follows:
- All teachers are language teachers.
- Students who have adequate language proficiency can understand and participate in other subjects more actively.
- Language is fundamental to all learning, communication and thinking skills.
- Providing multi-perspectives through language can develop international mindedness.
- Language is central to students' cultural identity and their personal and cognitive growth.
- The School should ensure that each learner has an equal access to the curriculum for a successful teaching and learning environment.
At HASAL, our mission is to provide our students an education that meet the demand od 21st century, which is to be a global citizen with a deep understanding and respect for all cultures and languages. With the IB programme, our purpose is to create inquiring, intellectual and proficient students who will be lifelong learners and work for a better world.
The IB DP programme teachers and mother language teachers (Turkish)will colloborate constantly to make sure the curriculum content and the fundemental concepts of the IB programme are effectively carried out.
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION – ENGLISH B1
The prep English programme is an intense language acquisition pragramme which is designed to meet the students' needs to be proficient in the English language. After the students finish the prep class, they will habe the proficiency that is needed to study and complete the IB Diploma Programme.
At HASAL, students receive twenty hours of English class per week. All four skills are covered. They have 8 hours for the main course, 4 hours for reading, 4 hours for wrting and 4 hours for speaking. Students also attend a weekend programme on Saturdays and they study with native speakers.
MOTHER TONGUE TURKISH A1
Turkish lesson is one of the lessons in the curriculum that is compulsory in every level of education. Since it is the students' mother tongue , they must be proficient in Turkish language. The purpose of Turkish and Turkish Literature lessons are to help the student comprehend and interpret with analyses and syntheses what they have read and to present it in the correct form within the rules of the language. In Turkish literature lesson students also study literary works such as poetry, novels, plays and stories. The study is based on analyzing the literary work and relate his/her point of view with that of literary work. This kind of study is beneficial to English classes as well.
In prep classes students have 4 hours of Turkish lessons. In the remaining four years, students have 5 hours of Turkish Language and Literature.
LANGUAGE AB INITIO- GERMAN
German, which is the second foreign language taught in our school, is compulsory for all grades. The main target of this five-year course is to enable our students to communicate in both written and spoken language. Practice of the four basic skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) is equally important throughout this course. Rather than learning German, we aim at the acquisition of the language through integrated skills in the classroom which is our main strategy in English as well.
In order to achieve communicative competence in German, we make use of various teaching materials and exercises and thus try to improve students' both receptive skills (listening and reading) and productive skills (writing and speaking). For this very purpose we use different teaching materials such as videos, songs, readers and put a special emphasis on expanding vocabulary knowledge.
In accordance with the curriculum, prep students receive a four-hour course per week at the end of which they are given an opportunity to sit for Goethe A2/Fit Examinations and get a certificate. In addition to this four-hour course, if prep students need further practice of the language, they can attend the weekend courses at HASAL. For the remaining four years, students have a two-hour German course per week.
As for evaluation, we assess our students using different types of questions such as open- ended questions, short answer questions, multiple choice questions, dialogue completions and we also evaluate their spoken performance and project works.
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
For those students who need extra support with their language studies, additional support and remedial work is provided. This work involves in and out of class activities and programmes. For instance, during the summer holidays, trips to the UK or Austria are organized and there, students can attend two or three-week language courses and practise their English and/or German in real life situations. On the other hand, inside the classroom, teachers closely monitor student progress and via co-operation with the families, school administration and the school counselling service, additional support is provided to our students who are graded lower compared to the rest of the students.
English is the main language of instruction in IB Diploma Programme. However, Turkish is the mother tongue and the working language at HASAL. Therefore, the development and maintenance of Turkish is also considered very important. Students actively participate in discussions and debates both in and outside school and also take part in Model United Nations.
HASAL is an active participant of national and international competitions, projects and programmes which are organized to promote language development both in the mother tongue and in English. Sister school projects with various schools abroad are an example in this sense.
MOTHER TONGUE SUPPORT AND LANGUAGE A SUPPORT
Students whose mother tongue is not Turkish at HASAL will be supported by available resources including tutoring either during school or after school by Turkish teachers. Hasal also provides an environment where their cultural identity and mother tongue are respected and supported.
Turkish native students have already many sources and opportunities to be supported for their development of mother tongue; on the other hand, HASAL is responsible for providing teachers, resources and school supported self-taught subject to the foreign students.
LIBRARY
Our school library with a great variety of books in Turkish and English has a remarkable contribution to students' academic studies. The school library has a rich source of classical and modern works of art, besides, the number of books and sources in the library keeps increasing day by day in order to equip our students with up-to-date knowledge.
The library offers an extensive selection of books for students from all grades and also a convenient atmosphere to study and do research. In addition, digital resources are accessible and various types of periodicals are available in the school library.
Apart from the main library, for the use of prep class students we also have a mini library consisting of English readers of different levels and several periodicals in English.
LANGUAGE POLICY COMMITTEE
IB coordinator, heads of language departments, language teachers, members of parent-teacher association, members of student council, librarian and school administration constitute the language policy committee at HASAL.
LANGUAGE POLICY REVIEW PROCESS
At the end of each academic year, the steering committee reviews the language policy of the school and accordingly, necessary adjustments are made if there are any. This opportunity to question and improve the efficiency of the school language policy also enables us to review the roles and responsibilities of the committee.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Language development is a major issue at HASAL. In this sense, each member of the teaching staff is responsible for language development in general. We do know that we are to integrate language in every area of the curriculum.
Inevitably, teacher training and development are directly related to student development. Therefore, all through the academic year, the teaching and administrative staffs at HASAL have a variety of opportunities for internal and external seminars, workshops, online or face-to-face training on a regular basis. Thus, they keep themselves up to date with innovative learning and teaching strategies to stimulate the importance of languages.
In order to foster teachers' language development, the English teachers in our school give a four-hour English course to the other members of the teaching staff who would like to improve and practise their English. At the end of this eight-month course, teachers have a chance to attend an English summer course in the UK.
References:
"Guidelines for Developing a School Language Policy"https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/ib-language-policy-en.pdf (2014)
