Mother Tongue

 

5 classes per week

Mother tongue language is the language that is most strongly connected to the culture that an individual identifies with as their culture of origin, and often is the language used at home. Mother Tongue or first language is usually the language in which the individual is most proficient. First language learning is very important due the power it has to shape our thinking and emotions as well as it’s identity-building capacity.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that:

The education of the child shall be directed to [...] the development of respect for the child’s parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate and for civilizations different from his or her own.

(UNICEF. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989: Article 29)

 

In MYP at CAIS, we offer English, Chinese, German and Korean Language and Literature classes for native, or near-native speakers.

The IB requirements for languages in the MYP are:

• one language and literature subject and one language acquisition subject, or
• two language and literature subjects, or
• two languages language and literature subjects and one language acquisition subject.

However, this is not always possible for all students and we strongly encourage the development of students’ mother tongue languages. Time is scheduled for students to study their mother tongue. We rely on parental support to provide instruction for Mother Tongue.

Any parent who can provide support for additional Mother Tongue languages is encouraged to contact the school.