Multilingual learning in international schools: Four patterns of strong practice
Our analysis of 299 CIS International Accreditation reports from 2022–2025 shows that multilingual learning is a clear strength in CIS Schools.
Schools were more often commended than advised to develop their multilingual practice: the reports included 306 commendations related to multilingual learning, compared with 168 recommendations for development.
Our review shows that many international schools are building language learning into their school culture, curriculum planning, classroom practice, and family engagement.
The patterns we observed offer useful ideas for schools reviewing their own multilingual policies, classroom strategies, and support for students and families. Multilingual learning works best when it is planned, visible, and shared across the whole school community. It’s not limited to language lessons, special events, or individual teachers. Instead, it’s built into school culture, curriculum planning, classroom practice, and how schools engage with families.
Our analysis highlights four patterns of strong practice:
- Language learning as a whole-school priority
- Clear bilingual and multilingual pathways
- Classroom practice that supports language and subject learning together
- Home-language enrichment that strengthens belonging
1. Make language learning a whole-school priority
In CIS Schools where multilingualism is a strength, it’s supported by clear policies, leadership and planning.
School policies explicitly recognise multilingualism as a core component of the curriculum and intercultural learning. This is reflected in staffing, timetabling, and school-wide expectations.
Senior leaders play an essential role by making language learning visible in strategy, professional development and daily practice.
Language specialists and classroom teachers work together to support student progress. For example, English as an Additional Language (EAL) teams may help subject teachers plan and co-teach lessons, adapt resources, or track students’ language development over time.
For schools, this means multilingual learning needs shared ownership. It works best when it is everyone’s responsibility, not only the responsibility of language specialists.
2. Design clear bilingual and multilingual pathways
Schools are frequently commended for designing “truly bilingual programmes across all phases of the school”, offering “authentic multilingual pathways”, plus bicultural curricula delivered in two or more languages. In these schools, multilingualism is treated as a planned route for learning, not an add‑on aspect of learning.
Students are supported to develop strong skills in two or more languages through deliberately layered programmes. These may include local language, additional languages, and students’ home languages.
This approach helps students use language as a tool for thinking and learning, for developing and expressing who they are, and to retain their cultural identities.
For schools, this means they need clear pathways that show what students are learning, how they are progressing, and how different languages support their wider education.
3. Build language support into everyday teaching
Evidence indicates that strong multilingual practice is embedded in daily classroom teaching. Language support is not separated from academic learning.
Teachers use practical strategies—bilingual co‑teaching models and integrated pedagogical approaches—that help students access challenging subject content while developing their language skills.
These strategies may include sentence starters, visuals, structured discussion, vocabulary support, and opportunities to use more than one language to explore ideas.
One such approach is Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), where subject content is taught through an additional language so that students develop both subject knowledge and language skills at the same time.
Effective classroom practice commonly includes scaffolding and differentiation. Scaffolding means giving students structured support to access learning. Differentiation means adapting teaching to meet students’ needs.
For students, this means they can continue to take part in challenging learning while developing the language they need to succeed.
4. Value home languages as part of belonging
Strong multilingual practice also values students’ home languages—the languages they use with family or in their wider community—and is a strategy for fostering belonging.
In effective practice, home‑language learning is part of the curriculum as well as co‑curricular programmes. It is central to identity, well-being, and cognitive development.
Strong practice also strengthens relationships between home and school to help families feel included.
For schools, this means home languages should be seen as an asset; they support learning, identity, and community connection.
What schools can strengthen next
The accreditation reports also point to areas where schools can continue to strengthen multilingual learning.
Schools can build on current practice by:
- Clarifying their shared philosophy and expectations for multilingual learning
- Aligning leadership priorities, policies, and classroom practice
- Making multilingualism visible across school culture, curriculum, and communications
- Building teachers’ confidence in supporting academic language in all subjects
- Strengthening bilingual and multilingual pathways across year groups
- Using clear language-proficiency benchmarks to monitor progress
- Tracking the impact of language support and using evidence to guide decisions
- Embedding multilingual identity in everyday learning, not only events or celebrations
- Improving multilingual communication so families can engage more fully
These areas are closely connected. For example, strong classroom practice is easier to sustain when it is supported by leadership, professional development, curriculum planning, and clear assessment.
A final reflection
The strongest examples from CIS accreditation reports show that multilingual learning is most effective when it is intentional, practical, and a shared priority across the whole school.
Which of these practices are already visible in your school? Where could you further strengthen multilingual learning for students, families, and the wider school community?
By Olivia Roth, CIS Director of School Evaluation & Development Services
The Multilingual Learning Research Centre published an earlier version of this article in June 2026.