|
Tweetalig Onderwijs (TTO) at Lyceum Oudehoven |
|
|
Tweetalig Onderwijs (TTO) at Lyceum Oudehoven Our world is rapidly changing. Borders are
disappearing within Europe. Within the organisations of the European
Union and in international business the English language is increasingly
used as a medium of communication, a modern lingua franca. In many
fields developments are taking place, showing that the Netherlands are
becoming an internationally orientated society
What is TTO? The European Platform for Dutch Education that is
concerned with the execution of internationalisation policy, which
includes bilingual education, has made an inventory of existing and
desired activities with respect to the internationalisation of education
programmes. This has resulted in the paper “Pushing Back Borders”
(1991), in which the possibility of bilingual education (TTO) was
drafted, whereby a substantial portion of the regular curriculum is
taught in a different EU-language. Given the arguments listed above, Lyceum Oudehoven has considered ways in which it can distinguish its pre-university education course (VWO) from other courses in the surroundings and initiated a bilingual VWO English-Dutch course programme starting from the school year 2005 – 2006.
Lyceum Oudehoven Certified TTO Junior School and
In April 2009 Lyceum Oudehoven qualified as a junior TTO school after a thorough assessment by the European Platform. In August 2009 we were accepted to participate in the teaching and examining of English A2 of the International Baccalaureate programme with first examination in May 2011. As a result of this authorization Lyceum Oudehoven may now be referred to as a European Platform IB World School. (http://ibo.org)
Are you our prospective tto student? Bilingual education makes extra demands on students. Studying a number of your subjects in English takes some getting used to in the beginning. A perseverant character and a strong motivation are very important. Linguistic competence is a prerequisite as the bilingual character of the course makes it more demanding than the ordinary curriculum. And so, this foreign language must not pose too much of a problem. A bilingual student should take pleasure in studying and personal development and should be eager to become fluent in English in the end.
Bilingual education in the VWO-stream Students in the bilingual VWO-stream are taught more than 50 % of the subjects in English for the first three years. In these lessons English is the medium of instruction and the text books used are also in English. The students are immersed in the English language, so to say, and learn the language while learning e.g. mathematics, history or geography. The subjects In the junior forms, i.e. in years 1, 2, and 3,
the following subjects are taught in English: geography, history,
mathematics, science, physics, drama, physical education, religious
instruction, and English of course.
Internationalization and extra activities Bilingual VWO is much more than using English in
class. Internationalization means opening your eyes to the world. We
organise contacts with other countries and give attention to the
histories and cultures of European and other Anglophone countries.
Pupils participate in an exchange programme or study visit with a
bilingual school in a foreign European country. An educational trip to
an English speaking country is part of the curriculum, and even a
practical training period is an option in the top forms. There are
visits to Anglophone performances and museums, e-mail projects, contacts
with foreign companies in the Netherlands, lessons given by guest
speakers, etc. For our bilingual and internationalization programme we
are committed to the standards of the European Platform. The Ministry of
Education has commissioned the European Platform to support and monitor
the quality of bilingual education in our country. The school is a member of the national bilingual network. For further information please consult http://www.ttonetwerk.europeesplatform.nl
The teachers The teachers working in the bilingual programme are trained by the Radboud University, Nijmegen. They are being trained in teaching their subjects in English. A major part of their training is given by Nijmegen University. All of the teachers have passed their Cambridge Certificates. In addition, there are native speaker teachers supporting the bilingual programme.
The parents Parents play an important role in bilingual education. Without their commitment, time and efforts quite a few student activities could never have been realized. All parents of bilingual students are asked to contribute to the realization of the bilingual programme. In the school year 2005 – 2006 a response group was instituted consisting of the parents of bilingual students. The costs The bilingual education programme offers numerous
extras and, inevitably, is more expensive than the regular VWO
curriculum. These costs derive from extra English materials, excursions,
visits to museums and theatres, exchange programmes, participation in
sports clinics, speaking contests, etc. Maintaining international
contacts bring on extra costs, too. Parents of bilingual students in the
junior forms are asked to contribute an extra fee per year.
The entry requirements A student wishing to enrol must be motivated and
must take pleasure in studying and personal development. Of course,
adequate abilities are a prerequisite. And so, our admission policy
comprises the following guidelines:
Open information evening Shortly after the Open Day on 20 January 2010 a
special tto-information evening will be held for interested primary
students and their parents on 1 February 2010. There will be ample
opportunity to ask questions and get a taste of what bilingual education
has to offer. Applications for new enrolments are welcome until 1 April
2010.
Important dates TTO enrolments 2009-2010 Primary pupils’ information afternoon: 18 November
2009, from 14.00 hours
Who should you contact in case of inquiries? Should you have any questions, please contact Mrs
J.T.J.M. Stiphout, Teamleader TTO
|
|
