How Hong Kong schools offering bilingual education are fostering global citizens

From the cognitive to the cultural, the varied benefits of raising multilingual children are well known. For parents who wish to go beyond home immersion and see this incorporated into a child’s school curriculum, the International Schools Guide lists many of the institutions in Hong Kong that have made multilingualism a key part of their proposition.

While in practice all international schools across the city teach other languages in addition to English, the schools listed below make multilingual immersion a significant part of their academic offering, setting them apart as stand-out choices for parents who are keen on having their child grow up with a fluent command of a second or even third language.

Targeted bilingual education

International College Hong Kong – Hong Lok Yuen (ICHK HLY), located in Tai Po, achieved Smart School Status from the Centre for Educators of Bilingual and Multilingual Learners (BML) and has been deemed a BML Smart School for the past two years. The UK-based organisation imparts best practices for teaching bilingual and multilingual children to both educators and parents through their courses and the BML Parent Coaching Program.

At ICHK HLY, all existing teachers and teaching assistants are required to complete the programme, while new staff members must complete their training within the first year of joining the school.

“The demographic of international school students is now largely one where most children are from bilingual or multilingual backgrounds. It is therefore important to us that all of our staff receive specific and focused training to maximise the learning of all of our children,” explains Derek Pinchbeck, head of school at ICHK HLY.