Helping international students to excel
IN BRITISH SCHOOLS
As the appeal of a British education expands worldwide, Chris Lewis, director of studies at Bishopstrow College, an independent International Study Centre, explains how the college prepares overseas students aged from seven to 17 for entry into top UK boarding schools.
he benefits of a British education and the opportunities it brings are well known throughout the world, but it’s not just the traditional public schools such as Harrow and Eton whose reputations and successes are being promoted internationally. The market for a British education is expanding, and has been for some time, with students applying to UK schools from an array of countries, backgrounds and cultures. Of course, just like domestic applicants, not all of these
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international students are successful. In many instances, this isn’t because they lack the required knowledge, talent or drive, but because British schools are looking for skillsets that international students do not always show, on paper or at interview.
International Study Centres like Bishopstrow College recognise this, having identified the skills and knowledge needed for an international student to be successful, and deliver courses that enable these students to adapt and excel in British schools.
The most noticeable issue, and certainly the most important, is English. The necessity of competence in the language becomes much more of an issue as students enter Year 9 and Year 10, when they begin to study GCSE-level courses and prepare for exams. The demands are even greater for those wishing to enter
further education, with sixth forms requiring a much higher level of proficiency in the language. At most entry points, these skills will need to be tested and sometimes backed up by a certificate from one of the many Cambridge English exams. This is why, at Bishopstrow, approximately 50 per cent of a student’s timetable is dedicated to the study of English.
However, only a few hours are given to what is called ‘general English’. This is the English language presented in everyday contexts, with topics and vocabulary of use to students as part of life, including common greetings, ordering in a restaurant, narrative structures, and so on. The rest of our English-language timetable provides the language and skills needed for survival in school. An important area is ‘academic English’, the study of reading and writing academic texts, listening to lengthy discussions on topical or specialist subjects, delivering presentations, or taking part in debates. Essentially, this is the delivery of an English programme, but within the context of education.
A student at Bishopstrow learns not only the language but also the techniques required to plan and structure an argument, identify facts and opinions in reading texts, and follow a speaker’s line of argument. Students cover the skills necessary to learn independently, such as how to record vocabulary effectively, ‘guess’ unknown words in a challenging text, and proofread their own work to correct errors and learn from them. It is often the case, however, that the study of English is seen as distinct from the study of other subjects. Students may be able to develop a strong argument on paper in their English lessons, but do not apply these techniques when it comes to their history assessments, and produce incoherent or poorly presented answers.
The curriculum at Bishopstrow solves this problem by dedicating a section of its English-teaching remit to subject support, a form of content-and-language-integrated learning. In these lessons, teachers will recycle the skills covered in
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