Multilingual learning practices: Leading and innovative approaches in international schools
CIS (Council of International Schools) is a global membership community shaping the future of international education. The CIS community includes more than 1,600 member schools and higher education institutions in 121 countries. CIS is recognized as a leader in school evaluation worldwide, with more than 740 schools currently engaged in CIS International Accreditation.
To identify leading and innovative multilingual teaching and learning practices, as well as areas for ongoing development, CIS analyzed 299 accreditation reports from international schools published between 2022-2025. These reports included 306 distinct commendations related to multilingual practices, compared with 168 recommendations for development. This evidence suggests that multilingual teaching and learning is a significant strength across CIS member schools.
Analysis of the commendations highlights four recurring patterns of innovative practice.
Additional language learning as a whole‑school strategy
In schools where multilingualism is a recognized strength, additional language learning is embedded within whole‑school policies and structures. School policies explicitly recognize multilingualism as a core component of the curriculum and intercultural learning, reflected in integrated timetabling and staffing decisions.
Language learning is effectively led at senior leadership levels, with defined leadership roles in multilingualism, academic language, and mother‑tongue provision that also support staff career development. Capacity‑building systems are embedded in whole‑school practice, with language teams sharing strategies across departments and supporting subject specialists through innovative approaches to professional development.
Students’ language development is assessed and tracked collaboratively by academic teams and additional language teams, such as English as an Additional Language (EAL). Targeted curricular support is provided to ensure student progress and continuity of learning.
Bilingual and multilingual program design
Schools are frequently commended for designing “truly bilingual programs across all phases of the school”, offering “authentic multilingual pathways”, and for resourcing bicultural curricula delivered in two or more languages. In these contexts, multilingualism is positioned as a structured learning pathway rather than an add‑on subject.
Students are supported to develop high levels of proficiency in two or more languages through deliberately layered program design that values the local language, additional languages, and mother tongue as tools for learning. This approach reinforces language as a means of thinking, learning, and identity formation.
Embedded classroom practice
Across the commendations, embedded classroom practice refers to language support that is integrated into day‑to‑day teaching rather than separated from academic learning. Teachers use bilingual co‑teaching models and integrated pedagogical approaches that accelerate language acquisition while maintaining appropriate academic challenge.
One such approach is Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), in which subject content is taught through an additional language, supporting both subject mastery and language development. Effective classroom practice commonly includes scaffolding strategies that make learning accessible, differentiation aligned with students’ language profiles, tailored resources that support full engagement in the curriculum, and close collaboration between language specialists and classroom or subject teachers. Consistent classroom‑based language learning strategies reinforce academic language development across subject areas.
Mother‑tongue or home‑language enrichment
Mother‑tongue or home‑language enrichment appears in the commendations as both a curricular commitment and a strategy for fostering belonging. Effective practice integrates home‑language learning into the curriculum and co‑curricular programs, recognizing language as central to identity and cognitive development.
Strong practice also enables families and community members to engage meaningfully through bilingual communication channels and accessible multilingual messaging, reinforcing partnerships between home and school.
Implications for strengthening multilingual practice
Accreditation reports also point to opportunities for schools to further strengthen innovative practice in multilingual learning. These include sharpening whole‑school multilingual philosophies and policies, aligning leadership structures with classroom practice, and making multilingualism visible across school culture, curriculum design, and communications.
At the classroom level, schools are encouraged to continue building staff capacity in scaffolding language within subject teaching, strengthening consistent differentiation for multilingual learners, and developing shared strategies for academic language development. Curriculum coherence, including clearly articulated bilingual pathways and vertically aligned language learning goals, supports continuity and progression across school divisions.
Ongoing assessment, monitoring, and evaluation remain essential. Schools benefit from using clear language‑proficiency benchmarks, tracking the impact of language support provision, and strengthening data‑informed decision‑making. Finally, sustained attention to culture, multilingual identity, and community engagement ensures that multilingualism is embedded in everyday learning experiences rather than limited to events or celebrations.
Reflection
Which of these leading practices are already evident in your school, and where might there be opportunities to further strengthen innovative approaches to multilingual learning?
