The MLRC School Network acts as a global research–practice partnership for schools dedicated to enhancing outcomes for multilingual learners. Members of the MLRC School Network participate in discussions and collaborative research to address common problems of practice in teaching multilingual learners. In the past year, numerous member schools engaged in action research, starting their journey by attending an MLRC Research Symposium. In the coming months, we will spotlight some of our partner schools that are actively involved in action research projects centered on teaching multilingual learners.
The International School of Beijing (ISB) is committed to delivering evidence-based, high-quality educational programs tailored to its community’s diverse needs. Established over 40 years ago, ISB honors traditions while embracing modernity, fostering a vibrant learning community. With over 1,700 students from more than 50 nationalities, ISB values each student’s unique linguistic and cultural background. Recognizing students’ multiple language resources and cultural understanding, ISB provides equitable educational opportunities aligned with the latest research and practices, ensuring it remains at the forefront of educational innovation.
As a leading international school in the EARCOS region, ISB launched its Dual Language (DL) program in 2016 to be linguistically and culturally responsive to its students, families, and the host country’s context. The DL program offers instruction in both English and Chinese following a 50/50 dual language model with alternate-day language switches. This model immerses students in one language on one day and another the next, ensuring students use both languages to learn and demonstrate understanding across all subjects. Bilingualism and cultural competence are embedded in the curriculum, teaching, and assessment practices, offering students a window, mirror, and sliding door experience. Long-term commitment to the program yields impressive results in standardized tests in English, Math, and Chinese.
In December 2023, ISB participated in the MLRC Research Symposium to further its commitment to evidence-based educational practices. Engaging with the MLRC helps ISB address significant research gaps in Chinese-English dual language program curriculum and instruction, while fostering a community of practice that enhances collective efficacy and job-embedded learning for its teachers.
Starting at the MLRC Research Symposium, ISB launched an action research project focused on optimizing instructional time through translanguaging practices within the dual language program. The research question guiding the project was: How can the dual language team leverage translanguaging practices within and across classrooms to optimize instructional time? After a comprehensive literature review, the DL team identified eight evidence-based translanguaging practices to implement in their daily teaching. To answer the action research question, the team employed a variety of data collection methods, including observations, document analysis, focus groups, and surveys, providing comprehensive data from multiple perspectives.
One of the eight identified translanguaging practices at ISB was the use of the Language Map, which highlights each student’s language use in various domains, encouraging discussions about their linguistic practices and setting the stage for effective translanguaging. In the Daily News practice, students reflected on what they learned in one language the previous day and summarized and applied that learning in another language the next day. Additionally, bilingual culminating tasks were widely embedded in their translanguaging design of units. These tasks enhanced comprehension by allowing students to learn and demonstrate learning content in both languages, promoting skill transfer, fostering cultural competence, increasing engagement, and providing a holistic assessment of students’ abilities. This approach ensures a more inclusive and effective learning process.
Data collection for the research project involved utilizing teacher observation tools and peer observations to gather real-time data on classroom practices, reviewing documents and artifacts related to language use and instructional practices, conducting focus groups with students from grades 3 to 5 to understand their experiences and perspectives, and administering reflection surveys to teachers to capture their insights and experiences. The success of this project was bolstered by strong support from school leadership through being actively involved in the research process, providing necessary resources, and fostering an environment that values continuous improvement and innovation. This partnership ensured that the findings lead to actionable improvements in multilingual education practices.
ISB summarized the findings of their action research project through a Capstone report, shared with MLRC School Network members through the MLRC School Network Hub. Check out a sneak peek of their report here!
Sign in to the Hub to see the full-report, and reports from other schools who have recently completed their action research projects across the three different MLRC Research Topics: Collaboration, Inclusive EAL & Translanguaging.
ISB remains committed to creating a dynamic and supportive learning environment for all students. Participation in the MLRC School Network and ongoing action research projects underscore the school’s dedication to excellence in multilingual education.