PEDAGOGICAL REMARKS
The aims which form the foundation of the educational plan offered by the school, stem from the desire and the will to meet the challenges encountered during the formation of the child’s linguistic competence. A competence which will enable them to communicate and function in an ever-changing society.
Whilst maintaining their native linguistic and cultural patrimony, the children will be encouraged to familiarize themselves with the English language from the very start, thus embracing the current trend in societies worldwide, where it is often necessary for ever-increasing numbers of people to understand and communicate in languages foreign to their mother-tongue. Tourism, job opportunities and the shortening of distances between countries, due to technology and the speed of travel, have provided opportunities for people to compare and share cultural and socio-economical differences. It is, therefore, essential, to equip the person with the linguistic tools necessary on such occasions.
Certain of the importance of the English language in communication amongst people from different countries, a bilingual Italian/English infant school is, without doubt, the most suitable environment in which the children can learn a second language in the easiest and most natural way.
Examples of how children can easily acquire two mother-tongues, can be seen in those families with parents of different nationalities. A bilingual infant school can achieve the same results, where classes will enjoy separate portions of the day, at one time with a native English speaker and another with an Italian teacher.
It is on this understanding that our bilingual infant school will provide the opportunity for children to learn English gradually through games and workshops designed especially for children, together with story-telling and nursery rhymes in the English language offered by native/bilingual educators with an excellent knowledge of English.
Weekly lesson/workshop of motor skills development, swimming or babyoga to improve on and enhance the timetable/programme. Within such a framework, children are able to acquire a language foreign to their mother-tongue naturally, instinctively.