Last Monday our school hosted the festive conclusion of the Post-bachelor course 'Inclusive and multilingual learning environment' for teachers from the Eindhoven region. We received colleagues from different schools for an inspiring meeting about guiding NT2 multilingual students in secondary education.
The multilingualism director training offered us as teachers the opportunity to deepen our knowledge and develop practical tools for supporting students learning Dutch as a second language. We worked on strengthening language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing), and learned strategies that help students understand test questions, apply jargon and formulate clear answers.
During the meeting, we presented how we are now applying what we have learned in our schools. In short pitches, we shared concrete examples of how we engage NT2 multilingual students in education. These stories formed the basis for valuable discussions in which we exchanged experiences and ideas. We closed the day festively with drinks and the presentation of certificates to all participants.
The influx of multilingual students has increased sharply in our region in recent years - and we notice this at our own school as well. The Brainport region is rapidly developing into an international community, with more and more expats, knowledge and labor migrants, and status holders. We see this growth directly reflected in the composition of our student population.
In order to support them in the best possible way, this school year we have not only invested in professionalization within our school, but also carried out a target group analysis internally. With this we wanted to gain insight into what these students need as well as what we as colleagues need to support them well.
Based on these insights, we have set up a special NT2 classroom within the LCL, where students receive additional language support in small groups. We are also working on a school-wide, inclusive, multilingual language policy. In this way we ensure that support for NT2 multilingual students becomes a structural part of our educational offering, attuned to their language proficiency level and the curriculum. In this way, they can participate fully and successfully in suitable further education.
With this meeting, we not only completed a learning journey, but also took a beautiful step together toward an inclusive and language-aware education in our region.
