Supporting languages at ISB: the after school mother tongue program 2015 – 17

As our school year draws to a close it is a good opportunity to both reflect on what has developed in mother tongue support at ISB, as well as look forward to further growth in the future.

Over the last two years we have had over 20 after school classes covering 9 language groups (Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Hindi, Korean and Swedish). We have had over 100 children participating in the program at different times, the majority of whom are from the elementary school. The teachers we have employed are qualified, have appropriate clearance, and all have received the child protection training offered by the school.

Apart from the classes themselves, we have an ISB mother tongue blog (https://inside.isb.ac.th/mothertongue/) which gives interested parents, teachers and community members the opportunity to explore the world of mother tongue maintenance and development; issues to do with the importance and benefits of bilingualism; brief snapshots of the classes in action; and biographies of the mother tongue teachers.

Other on-going projects commenced include: a permanent mother tongue bulletin board outside the Elementary School Office where class activities are displayed on a rotating basis; the setting up of an Elementary School mother tongue special interest group; the development of a ‘Welcome to ISB’ video; the development of additional mother tongue classes in Middle School; and ongoing plans for the development of bilingual signage.

This year has seen an agreement between ISB and the educational group Danes Worldwide and NIST to formalize the teaching of Danish across a range of Bangkok schools based upon the ISB model. The involvement of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce has been important in this development.

Looking to the future, there will be opportunities to explore how we might integrate mother tongue perspectives into our day-to-day school activities and we will also be looking to expand the number of languages we support, especially with some of the larger language communities.

Exciting projects on the horizon include a comprehensive school-wide language survey; an expansion of Thai learning for Thai speaking children; and the development of an Elementary School Language Ambassador Program.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank a lot of people and introduce the new program coordinator, Ms Avery Fischer Udagawa. Avery is a qualified teacher (K – 12) with experience across all divisions here at ISB. She is an accomplished translator (Japanese / English) and is raising her children multilingually. She will bring fresh perspectives, new ideas and a broad skill base to the position and I think we are extremely lucky to have her with us.

I have been fortunate to have worked with Cindy Plantecoste and the members of the native language group. In particular, Khun Charuwan, Khun Tommy, Khun Ying, Caryn, Karen, Nube, Guofang, and Khun Patty.

A special thanks to my boss, Bob Connor, for support throughout my time at ISB; Khun Fon and Khun Venus for covering and fixing all my mistakes (and telling no-one); and to my office mates – Livnat, Charlotte, Helen, Yannick, Rachel and Angela who made coming to work fun. Mostly, Yannick and I did what we were told.

Not least, I would like to thank the parents who have supported the program. Their contributions, in time, enthusiasm and financial support has allowed the program to flourish. Thanks also to Olga Steklova for her contributions to the blog – I’m sure Avery will be looking forward to more next year.

Most importantly, I would also like to recognize the efforts of our mother tongue teachers in the after school program. Without them we wouldn’t have a program. They have made strong connections with the children; designed interesting and engaging lessons; and showed great commitment, especially so in the case of those who travelled long distances to get here each week.

• Ms Jingji Zhang for Chinese;
• Mr Catrine Caroee for Danish;
• Ms Jolanda Hofman and Ms Nicole Spanjer for Dutch;
• Ms Michaela Thimm (Lena) for German;
• Ms Kazuyo Oshiro and Ms Akiko Nagamine for Japanese;
• Ms Jung Young-Ae for Korean: and
• Ms Anshu Gupta for Hindi.

Dr Paul Dufficy

ISB Mother Tongue Coordinator