School of Young Politicians Gymnasium 1306
Language Policy
2016, March
IB Mission Statement
The International Baccalaureate® aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people
who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to
develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and
lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
School of Young Politicians Mission Statement
The School of Young Politicians provides students with education which enables them to become
holistic lifelong learners who are not only knowledgeable but also caring people contributing to the change
of the world making it better and more peaceful. Being internationally minded and tolerant they understand
that the differences should be respected and act as compassionate members of the world society.
IB Learner Profile
Inquirer
We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn
independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout
life.
Knowledgeable
We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines.
We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.
Thinker
We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyze and take responsible action on complex
problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicator
We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We
collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups.
Reflective
We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our
strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.
Open-minded
We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions
of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the
experience.
Principled
We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the
dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their
consequences.
Caring
We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a
positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.
Balanced
We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives—intellectual, physical, and
emotional—to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with
other people and with the world in which we live.
Risk-taker
We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and
cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the
face of challenges and change.
SYP is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School which is authorized to offer the DP and is a
candidate school for the PYP meanwhile intending to proceed with the MYP authorization. Being a state
autonomous school we create a challenging and motivating multilingual environment where the language of
instruction is both Russian and English. The school emphasizes the importance of language learning as it
believes this gives our students an opportunity to experience different cultural backgrounds and to enhance
the understanding of international mindedness through the promotion of cultural identity, intercultural
awareness and global citizenship.
At SYP we believe that all teachers are to be language teachers as all subject curricula are based and built on
language. The aim of our language courses is to develop our students as confident learners who approach
the language learning process as to an inquiry into the context of the language where the students can see the
connections, can explore the culture of the language they study and have a better understanding of the
world.
As a state school we are strongly committed to providing our students with access to Russian language
learning, to all experiences connected with the in depth understanding of the Russian culture.
However, the school gives an equal importance to the development of the native language the student
has. The school also obliges the students to have a language acquisition course as opens new learning
perspectives to the students.
SYP offers equal learning opportunities to all students and offers a choice of the programme they like to
study: state programme or the IB. Regardless of the choice the language policy is the same for all students
of the school.
The time allocation to the language and Literature teaching gives a strong base to develop strong language
skills in our students.
Russian Language /Literature hours are as follows:
1-4 grades – 7 hours a week 40 minutes each
5-6 grades – 8 hours a week 40 minutes each
7 grade – 6 hours a week 40 minutes each
8 grade – 5 hours a week 40 minutes each
9-11 grades – 5 hours a week 40 minutes each
English (First foreign language):
Grade 1 – 2 hours a week 40 minutes each + 2 hours of extracurricular activities 40 minutes each.
Grade 2 – 3 hours a week 40 minutes each + 2 hours of extracurricular activities 40 minutes each
Grades 3-4 – 3 hours a week 40 minutes each
Grades 5-7 - 4 hours a week 40 minutes each
Grades 8-10 – 5 hours a week 40 minutes each
Grade 11 - 6 hours a week 40 minutes each
Second Foreign Language:
All grades 2 academic hours per week each 40 minutes
The level of language learning is externally assessed with the help of different language Olympiad
participations, exposition to internal assessment namely GESE ( Graded Examinations in Spoken English)
Trinity and Cambridge Exams: Starters, Movers, Flyers, KET, PET, FCE, CAE.
SYP students annually go on summer vacations to England to have a 3-week language practice in a reputable
summer language school ―Elac‖. For the junior students native speakers are invited from England and a 3 week course is arranged in the suburbs of Moscow in a picturesque resort ―Sosnovy bor‖.
Students of grades 5-6 have a course in St. Leonard school (Mayfield), grades 7-8 in Jubilee Campus of
Nottingham University and grades 9-11 in Eastbourne College.
Being an authorized IB World school, SYP aims at strictly keeping to and effectively practicing of the
following points of the IB Standards and Practices document:

The school develops and promotes international-mindedness and all attributes of the IB learner
profile across the school community. (IB Standard A, Practice 4)
•
The school places importance on language learning, including mother tongue, host country
language and other languages (IB Standard A, Practice 7).
•
Teaching and learning addresses the diversity of student language needs, including those for
students learning a language(s) other than their mother tongue (IB Standard C3, Practice 7).
•
Teaching and learning demonstrates that all teachers are responsible for language development of
students (IB Standard C3, Practice 8).
•
Collaborative planning and reflection recognizes that all teachers are responsible for language
development of students (IB Standard C1, Practice 8).
•
The school utilizes the resources and expertise of the community to enhance learning within
the programmes (IB Standard B2, Practice 11).
Practices of the IB Standards at SYP
The school places importance on language learning, including mother tongue, host country language
and other languages (IB Standard A, Practice 7).
At SYP, language teaching is organized based on the programme requirements and aiming at reaching the
specific learning outcomes for the strands of speaking and listening, reading and writing, and viewing and
presenting appropriate to the student level. The inquiry-based authentic learning is promoted through an
investigative approach of different genres.
The access of the curriculum using student‘s mother tongue is not only allowed but also strongly
encouraged.
In the Primary School the language of instruction (Russian) is integrated into the units of inquiry or
organized into stand-alone language sessions. English is taught to students in all grades from Nursery
to Grade 5.
We have over 15 different nationalities at our school and we can‘t provide students with classes where the
language of instruction is their own mother tongue, however the school supports them in the development
of their mother tongue providing with a variety of resources in that language as well as with an after
school tutoring hours. All mother tongue classes in Primary need to be arranged and paid for additionally
by families via the Programme Coordinator. These lessons are included into the after-school hours.
In the Primary School, we value that children continue learning in their mother tongue as it helps them to
achieve better results. We place children in classes with other children who speak the same languages
whenever possible. We prioritize those children who are new to learning Russian. We encourage parents to
talk, read and write with their children in their mother tongue, and we also organize an International
Language Weeks annually and International Literature Day at the Primary School.
In the Secondary School, language is divided into studies in language and literature (Language A) and
language acquisition courses (Language B). A student is required to take at least two languages. In the
Nursery and Pre-K they study Russian or English, beginning from the Kindergarten to grade 1 they have
Russian and English, from Grade 1 to Grade 5 they have at least three language courses: Russian, English
and one more foreign language based on their choice. Our students have the opportunity to study up to five
languages having three languages as the minimum required number of language courses in the Secondary
and High schools. These courses are offered according to the student‘s level in the languages: Russian,
English and one more language French/Spanish/German/Korean - based on their choice. The study of the
mother tongue different from the language of instruction in the school is not considered to be one of the
required language courses.
If the Diploma Porgramme does not provide the student‘s mother tongue or strongest language (Language
A) in its regular program, then the School recommends the students to have the language studied as a selftaught or externally supervised Language and Literature/Literature course.
Teaching and learning addresses the diversity of student language needs, including those for students
learning a language(s) other than their mother tongue (IB Standard C3, Practice 7).
Differentiation in language lessons is based on best practice according to the standards and practices of the
IB. Depending on the students‘ needs the teachers may have differentiated approach to the whole teaching
process starting from the individualized instructions to the differentiated tasks and specific learning goals.
Teaching strategies may include working in small groups, using different resources with different levels of
language complexity, as well as changing the level of questioning and tasks for individual students.
Students may also have choices so they can follow their own interests or use a preferred learning style. SYP
follows the recommendations on the student placement in the language courses based on the levels of their
achievements and the corresponding phase requirements. There are also after school language tutoring
courses to support the students who have the need.
The language needs of the students are determined through the diagnostic test when they are enrolled into
the school, at the beginning of each academic year and through the ongoing progress tests at the end of each
term. Based on the results a special language development programme is formed for the students of similar
levels of achievements and specific goals are identified for meeting within the defined timeline. Teachers
differentiate for the range of students‘ needs in different ways. In the Primary School, students might for
example be placed in flexible ability groups. In homerooms, students may be grouped by ability for reading
groups, but work in mixed ability groups for other tasks. The Primary School also offers an ‗Russian
immersion‖ program for students in need of extra support.
In the Secondary School, students are placed in classes according to the IB‘s continuum of language
learning phases. The School has a flexible placement policy that allows student movement throughout
the school year in relation to students‘ progression along this continuum.
In the Diploma Programme the choice of the Language A is based on the students‘ choice and for
Language B the school offers English, Russian, Spanish, French and German. If the student had no
previous experience of studying the chosen language, ab initio is offered. In case of having a previous
experience, the level of the student language is determined and accordingly SL or HL is suggested for
the choice.
Teaching and learning demonstrates that all teachers are responsible for language development of
students (IB Standard C3, Practice 8).
SYP recognizes the importance of the language as the key source of teaching any of the subjects and bases
the development of the curriculum emphasizing the role of the language of instruction and the level to
which the students are able to access the curriculum. Thus, the subject teachers accept their responsibility of
being also language teachers working on the development of all the concepts related to their own subject.
The basic skills for all types of communication - oral, written and visual - are planned for every year
curriculum. The development of the language skills enables our students to go from simple communication
to the core of academic language.
SYP recognizes the importance of reading in the development of the language skills thus creating the needed
atmosphere for enabling the students to spend more time on reading both in school and at home organizing
different competition, reading evenings, Literature evenings, meetings with famous authors etc. Teachers
also make use of guided reading and literature circles to develop students‘ reading skills.
The writing process of drafting, revising and finalizing is modeled and explored in all languages. The use
of literature, games, role-play and multimedia supports our students‘ understanding of different genres as
well as develops their vocabulary, sentence construction, use of tense and punctuation. Using the text as a
model, students and teachers can begin to analyze the features of different genres before jointly and
individually constructing written or presented pieces. During the revision process, students are encouraged
to develop their knowledge of grammatical and spelling conventions by self-correcting. Finalizing writing
may involve students sharing writing with others, keeping it for themselves or publishing it for a chosen
audience.
The development of an accurate language use is one of the main aims of the language teaching. For this
purpose teachers introduce different strategies how students can detect their own mistake and how they can
have self-correction. To help students remember the structures or words which are difficult, teachers
encourage the strategy of associating the words and structures with words and structures from other
language/s which is/are better mastered by the student thus creating connections among different language
skills of the students.
The language department work with other departments and with the School librarians to:
•
collaborate on vocabulary and concepts across the curriculum,
•
spread use of a common language about language
•
teach the conventions of referencing, citing and the principles of academic honesty
SYP is for the idea that all teachers are teachers of language thus promotes it in all professional
development opportunities.
Collaborative planning and reflection recognizes that all teachers are responsible for language
development of students (IB Standard C1, Practice 8).
Based on the fact that students learn a language and using a language as a means of their learning, the
whole teaching staff takes the responsibility of the student language development. For making this happen
the collaborative planning and the regular meetings of the departments is in the schedule of the teaching
staff and meeting on the regular bases enables them talk through all the needs of the students related not
only to their subject knowledge and skill development but also to the development of their language skills.
The Chart of Student skills expectations allows tracking the communication skill development through the
whole continuum of the student learning process making some certain differentiations and developing
individual plans in case there is a student who needs it.
At the Primary School, all teachers review the language scope and sequence to ensure that it is as relevant
and comprehensive as possible. Teachers then plan collaboratively, during grade level meetings, grade
meetings, meetings with the primary coordinator and the primary principal as well as with the language
learning support staff.
In the Secondary School, the whole teaching staff meets once a week to have a collaborative planning of
the curriculum and has once a week meetings within their own department to collaboratively plan their
units of teaching, develop summative tasks, task specific criteria and to standardize their assessment
practices. During these meetings teachers plan what will be taught, reflect on best practice and consider the
needs of individual students. They also discuss articulation, transitions and progression in all the
programmes of the three sections of the school and ensure that the delivery of the programmes is consistent
and current with developments in the IB.
The school utilizes the resources and expertise of the community to enhance learning within the
programmes (IB Standard B2, Practice 11).
All language teachers are responsible for using a range of quality texts so that students can explore different
genres such as recounts, stories, explanations or persuasive writing in different languages and at different
levels. Students also have access to a variety of dictionaries to assist them including picture dictionaries and
mother tongue dictionaries. Programme coordinators and the language department head collaborate with the
librarians in ordering and cataloguing books in different mother tongue languages for the library and as
classroom resources.
Students have access to other resources such as newspapers and magazines –that they can also subscribe toin a variety of languages, which help them to be aware of current affairs, to foster an interest in reading, and
to develop confidence, fluency and comprehension. The use of ICT is an integral language learning tool.
Students are encouraged to use iPads or iPod Touches to access programs or tools to support their language
learning such as Google Translate or voice-activated applications. Lastly, games, art, music, maps and
artifacts are used to help students make connections in their language learning. Interactive Smartboards are
also used to encourage a more interactive approach to teaching and learning in order to accommodate the
various learning styles of the students.
The community is considered a valuable resource to aid language learning. Students go on numerous field
trips such as to museums, libraries, theatres and cinemas where they have an opportunity to use the host
country language in context and gain an insight into the host country culture. Guest speakers such as story
tellers or representatives from different organizations are frequently invited into school, and they may speak
in English, in French or in other students‘ mother tongue languages. Throughout the year, students are
exposed to numerous celebrations linked to the diverse cultures within our community to promote
international mindedness and an appreciation of Russian culture.
The involvement of parents is important in our School. They are able to expose students to different mother
tongue languages through visits to the library and classrooms and during days such as ―International
language Days‖. Presentation and communication skills in all languages are showcased to parents and other
members of the community through projects such as the grade 5 Exhibition, the grade 10 Personal Project,
our school theatre performance and school productions using local venues and associations.
References:
Guidelines for developing a school language policy – April 2008
Learning in a language other than mother tongue in IB programmes – April 2008
Programme standards and practices (For use from 1 January 2014)
International School of Paris – Language Policy