1. EFFECTIVE trilingual EDUCATION: LESSONS for SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
FRED GENESEE
McGILL UNIVERSITY
Montreal, Canada
Astana, Kazakhstan
Nov. 2016

2. 1965 THE ST LAMBERT EXPERIMENT
“ This book tells the story of a community-based Canadian project aimed at developing nativelike skills in a second language by having that language used as the main medium of instruction during the elementary school years.”
1965

3. THE GOALS OF CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION (CLIL)
second
language
general
learning
Skills

4. RATIONALE for CONTENT-BASED LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION
To ensure acquisition of authentic, useful language.
To motivate language learning by integrating second language learning with learning school subjects.
To provide a cognitive and social basis for second language learning – to connect second language learning with students’ lives in and outside school.
To align second language acquisition with cognitive and social development and, in this way, to exploit students’ natural language learning ability.
To reflect current theories of second language learning.

5. 50 YEARS LATER: 2016 Context Matters Strong leadership is critical
POLICY MAKERS
HEADS of SCHOOLS
HEADS of DEPARTMENTS
EDUCATIONAL SPECIALISTS
Context Matters
Strong leadership is critical
All languages should have equally high status
All children can become bi/multi-lingual
Pedagogy and teachers matter
L1 is a useful tool for L2 learning
Evaluation is critical for program success

6. (1) SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ARE CONFIDENT of THE BENEFITS of TRILINGUAL EDUCATION
CONFIDENT EDUCATIONAL LEADERS:
are liaisons between school and community and parents
provide vision for the whole school
are responsible for planning, especially professional development
make informed decisions that ensure success

7. (2) SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE
THEY KNOW THAT RESEARCH SAYS THAT:
ongoing professional development is important
all languages should have equally high status – additive trilingualism
all children can become bi/multilingual
pedagogy matters
the home language is a useful tool for l2 learning
evaluation is critical for program success
the benefits of trilingual education take time to appear

8. (3) SCHOOL PRINCIPALS TAKE A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE
Research shows that it takes time for students to become functionally proficient in additional languages
It takes time for teachers to become competent in the new skills and methods they need to be effective
It takes time to assess the create effective programs because change takes time
Educators develop long term plans to ensure success in language and academic domains

9. (4) SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ARE REFLECTIVE, ANALYTIC and READY TO CHANGE
Research shows that effective school administrators:
are aware of research findings on effective trilingual programs and use those findings to shape and modify their program
use student achievement data to monitor and shape the school’s program
ensure that school assessments are aligned with program goals
consult with teachers to identify the resources teaches need to be effective, including their professional development needs

10. EFFECTIVE TRILINGUAL SCHOOLS DEPEND ON EFFECTIVE SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

11. THANK YOU