The importance of mother tongue maintenance in international schools

Abstract

The increasing mobility of people implies an increasing number of students who start mastering two or more languages. A number of educational institutions provide schooling for different populations of migrant children. International schools are one type of these providers. In order to assist students coming from various language backgrounds, international schools that provide for migrant students have one language of instruction that is, in most cases, different from the language of the host country and from the mother tongues of many students in the school. In that environment, students begin to acquire a second language as soon as they enter an international school, and sadly, their mother tongue development tends to be neglected. Students who follow an international curriculum learn at least two languages, but the lack of sufficient knowledge of their mother tongue impacts their development of literacy and their academic achievement in general. This paper consists of two parts. The first part gives the theoretical implications for the importance of mother tongue maintenance. The second part presents findings from a small-scale study conducted in one international school where the language of instruction is English. The study was carried out with students who acquire two or more languages simultaneously. It deals with the language development of several students in that school and their perspectives on the importance of the mother tongue and the role of English in their education. The findings indicate that students whose mother tongue is maintained seem to have better success in school.