What does bilingual education look like @ CPS

We are one of the few bilingual schools fully implementing DET’s preferred model for bilingual education in which 100% of children participate and in which 50% of teaching is done in the target language (Japanese) and 50% is done in English.
Our children experience 12 hours per week of teaching in both English and Japanese. This comprises:
- 12 hours of Literacy (8 hours in English and 4 in Japanese)
- 5 hours of Numeracy (in Japanese)
- 3 hours of Inquiry, including History, Science, Geography, etc (in English)
- 1 hour of Physical Education (in English)
- 1 hour of Visual Arts (in Japanese)
- 1 hour pf Performing Arts (in Japanese)
- 1 hour of Library (in Japanese)
It is important to note that while half our curriculum is delivered in Japanese, it is all based on the Victorian Curriculum as it is in all government schools.
Our teachers use a “mirrored” approach to the teaching of Literacy. English and Japanese speaking teachers plan together to ensure that the curriculum is fully covered, whilst deciding which aspects will be delivered in English and which in Japanese.
We use a “co-teaching” model in which all our children are taught by 2 “home room” teachers – one English speaking and one Japanese speaking. Both teachers are responsible for the overall wellbeing and learning of their students.
Generally, each co-teacher has his or her own classroom, with the children moving between the 2 classrooms and 2 teachers.
Where an Area of the school has an odd number of grades, the third or fifth class is shared by 2 part-time teachers, one English speaking and one Japanese speaking, in which case the children stay in the one classroom with one or other of the teachers being present at any one time.
In addition to our teaching staff, we also employ several Japanese Assistants who support the children and the teachers.
We are also fortunate, at any one time, to have a number of Japanese volunteers supporting our bilingual education.

What does bilingual education look like @ CPS

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