A Word From The Special Subjects: Art, Music, P.E. and ICT

The specialist subjects provide English language learners with an opportunity to improve their English while learning new skills that can sometimes be acquired solely by visual instruction. This is why our courses are important for the development of confidence and inclusion for MEFIS students, no matter their language skills. All of our teachers have studied a second language at some point, and two of our instructors have previously worked as ELL teachers here at MEFIS and so we feel we are a very experienced and empathetic group who are prepared to meet the ELL students’ learning needs!

Ms. Blundon Visual Arts

ELL students thrive in the visual based environment that is the arts classroom. By presenting open-ended activities and projects, students of all learning levels and language proficiencies can show their individual interests without being limited by language challenges that may occur elsewhere. Through learning new skills, experimenting with materials, and forming original ideas, the class is linked through the common language of visual arts.

Dr. Sims, Music

In Vocal Foundations classes, ELL students develop a better understanding of English pronunciation as they strive for musical excellence. For musical skills that are not language specific, classes provide a linguistic neutral opportunity for expression. In advanced solo performance classes, students benefit from one-to-one vocal coaching.

Mr. Dasi, ICT

ELL students are supported in ICT classes by the introduction of key technological terms and sentence starters with access to a translator/dictionary. They are given extra time to complete homework, assignment and projects, and they are provided much-needed one-on-one interaction to check understanding and give students the opportunity to answer questions they may be too afraid to ask in a classroom setting. Students are also taught Educreation software on the Ipad so they can create self-learning videos.

Mr. Simone and Mr. Ibbotson P.E. (previous ELL instructor at MEFIS)

Physical Education lends itself to language learning because instructions are often very visual. However, our teachers go the extra mile by working closely with the ELL department so students understand keywords and concepts which are further reinforced in gym class. Students are also grouped to facilitate language learning, and Mr Ibbotson reports, “We have found that students learn effectively from their peers and are much more likely to ask each other the meaning or pronunciation of words, rather than a teacher.” P.E. also modifies exams with simplified language and explanation of directions, and it visually displays lesson objects so students can re-visit them throughout the lesson.

Ms. Mehrer Visual Arts (previous ELL instructor at MEFIS)

Students at the IB level can still sometimes struggle with vocabulary and understanding at the IB level, especially since the rubrics can be quite technical. Students are given access to language-simplified rubrics and past student examples of work that have been carefully archived on Google Drive. Students can come in to discuss their written work at any time and many students have taken advantage of these one-on-one appointments. Students learn a lot language-wise from our discussions.

On a side note, I began my teaching career at MEFIS as an ELL instructor, and now, in my fourth year of working at this school, I have inherited my previous grade 7 ELL students who are now in grade 10 art. It brings me immense joy to chat with them now effortlessly in English when a few short years ago English was a giant obstacle they felt they could never overcome. MEFIS is a wonderful place for students to learn English. It takes patience, hard work and endurance for students to get there, but the results of grasping this language are life changing. We can all be proud of the support we give students because it is easy to see the results in time.