Bilingual schools, does it work?

Bilingual schools, does it work?

Nearly all the public schools in most of Spain are “bilingual English-Spanish.” That means that some of the subjects every year are taught in English…That sounds great, doesn’t it?

Well, actually it isn’t. Teachers have poor English skills (some regions only require a B2 level of English), the subject in English has 20% less contents than the Spanish one (because pupils have to make an extra effort to study it in English), Students don’t ask any doubts because they don’t feel at ease with their English level and they don’t want to make a fool of themselves…

I think that the right way to help students to improve their English level isn’t to teach them Maths or History of Spain in English. Last year, in an excursion in the countryside, I asked some teenagers the name of a tree which keeps its leaves all the year, and they automatically said “evergreen.” They didn’t know how to say it in Spanish, because they learn Science in English. And the surrealism begins when they learn the names of the kings and queens of Spain (“Charles the Fifth” instead of “Carlos I”, Ferdinand and Elisabeth instead of “Fernando e Isabel”) and they don’t learn their name in Spanish. A total aberration. 

The right way to help them is to facilitate other language situations like extra-curricular activities, for example (some schools organise cooking contests in English), to offer field trips and exchange activities with an English speaking country, to promote additional activities (movies, games, projects). And of course, improving the pedagogy they use in their English lessons.

One of the main dangers of this bilingual model of schools is segregation of students according to their economic status. Bilingual model is chosen by “good students” (or by those who can afford private after-school tutoring), and those from less privileged backgrounds are marginalized.

The traditional method of teaching English in Spain didn’t work very well, but this new approach is not at all the solution.