kellett, French International , SIs, CDNIS, etc.

[HappyV]

HC - it's not just an 'on paper' distinction. The breadth and depth of knowledge and skills that the students must be able to utilise (not just remember) for IB assessment far exceeds that of the Uk A levels, or the average North American curriculum.

As for the comment about ESF students, again, I will say that in my direct experience of teaching, there are certainly students who go in speaking no Mandarin and come out fluent. I am sure that they have extra tutoring to accomplish this, but as you have said yourself, children often receive this extra language tutoring, even in an immersion school.

Clearly, you have decided for yourself that the only schools that do a good job on language are the ones that your children attend, and certainly they are good schools, but other schools do it differently, and I would argue, just as well.

For many reasons, immersion is not for everyone, as you yourself acknowledge. That does not mean that a student who does not attend an immersion school cannot come out at matriculation with fluency.

As for Kellett, I don't know which units they use, but I would argue that the skills of being able to measure, compare distance/time etc are just as (if not more) important than the unit being used.

 

[howardcoombs]

As for the comment about ESF students, again, I will say that in my direct experience of teaching, there are certainly students who go in speaking no Mandarin and come out fluent. I am sure that they have extra tutoring to accomplish this, but as you have said yourself, children often receive this extra language tutoring, even in an immersion school.

Yes, I would admit that there may be few, very few that come out fluent but the vast majority of the students wont.
Parents who are sending their kids to such schools should know that upfront and not have high expectations.

Clearly, you have decided for yourself that the only schools that do a good job on language are the ones that your children attend, and certainly they are good schools, but other schools do it differently, and I would argue, just as well.

I argue that they dont do as well Lets agree to disagree...

For many reasons, immersion is not for everyone, as you yourself acknowledge. That does not mean that a student who does not attend an immersion school cannot come out at matriculation with fluency.

A student who goes into an immersion school is pretty much guaranteed to come out fluent. The likelihood of a non-immersion student coming out fluent is small.

As for Kellett, I don't know which units they use, but I would argue that the skills of being able to measure, compare distance/time etc are just as (if not more) important than the unit being used.

Of course you are correct; it does not matter what units are being used. The only point I was trying to make with the units is that they use the same books that are in use in UK and naturally these books use UK based units (pounds/pence, miles/yards/feet, stones etc).

 

[HappyV]

It also depends on whether Mandarin is a subject that the student is required to take right through until matriculation. Many curricula ( UK, Australian, US, Canada etc) do not require a second language as a 'final subject'. Even IB schols offer the option to take a language 'ab initio' for the diploma program.