One of the biggest concerns of parents is about the choice of the best teaching-learning model; one that can meet the expectations and needs of children’s education.
Traditional education in Brazil is very saturated, and even with the education reform brought about little by little by the government, it is clear that this does not meet the minimum quality requirements and standards, which makes parents opt for models such as the school bilingual or international school.
This causes a real nightmare for parents who do not faithfully believe in the guidelines of formal regular education in Brazil.
The most zealous and careful parents understand about the ability that a good education and a school can make in their children’s lives.
Therefore, this unique and intense phase in the child’s life must be a stage of unparalleled achievements and opportunities.
Through the best teaching, children and adolescents can simply develop techniques and skills desired by parents that will make all the difference in their lives.
Choosing a good school can directly influence the construction of the personality and sense of citizenship of the student from kindergarten to pre-university. A standard of education that goes beyond traditional teaching will make your child go further.
Based on this thought, bilingual schools and international schools have become a highly recommended option for parents who prefer to enroll their children in innovative and high-quality education systems.
With that in mind, we have prepared for you the specifications of bilingual education and international education to help you understand the advantages of each model and choose the one that best meets your child’s school requirements.
What is a bilingual school?
In this education system, classes are taught with the support of two languages together.
One of these languages is the mother tongue, in this case, Portuguese, alternating with another language of global importance and relevance.
Thus, the most common language of schools with a bilingual model is English, but there may be bilingual schools with other languages, such as French, Spanish, or Mandarin.
In this education system, the mother tongue is used for 50% of the learning development time, while the global foreign language is learned for the remainder of the teaching time.
Main aspects of the bilingual education system
This education system has the function of contributing to the greater learning and knowledge of languages important to humanity, as well as showing students a cultural exchange.
The English language, for example, is part of the curriculum of conventional schools in Brazil, but it is not worked and executed in the best possible way.
Thus, bilingual education aims to overcome this deficiency of the conventional model through communication and direct expression of the language.
The result can be verified over the years through fluency in the foreign language, and also by the ease of being successful in important exams such as vestibular and ENEM.
For this, students develop the practice and speaking of the language in day-to-day activities.
This skill is acquired in the Bilingual school at all times. In all subjects and activities, students discover and improve with the practice of the new language.
3 Main advantages of bilingual education
1. Knowledge of other cultures
2. Development of diverse language skills
3. Better opportunities in adult life
1. Knowledge of other cultures
With the bilingual system, students can immerse themselves in the most diverse cultures on the planet through the use of the language.
This results in greater tolerance and respect for the world’s cultural differences, as well as contributing to your curriculum in a very positive and necessary way.
The bilingual school adopts two languages, mainly because it believes that interaction and knowledge of other cultures are also necessary for the formation of the individual as a citizen.
2. Development of diverse language skills
It happens that learning a new language, the student may even have the necessary references and skills for the most varied types of fields of knowledge.
Thus, from scientific language to corporate language, the student will understand precisely the expressions and meanings of all technical and common language referring to another language.
In this way, with an increasingly connected world and with English dominating all areas of the world, it is essential to say that learning this language is very necessary.
Through this language, students are one step closer to achieving the dreams that demand fluency in a foreign language.
3. Better opportunities in adult life
Knowing a new language, as well as being able to speak it fluently, becomes an instant positive outcome measure.
Current research indicates that bilingual and multilingual people get better jobs in the most diverse areas of the economy.
In addition to getting higher salaries due to the skill learned with the standard language of the country in which they reside.
What is an international school?
The international school, unlike the bilingual school, offers a deeper and more dynamic framework of teaching skills and methods.
In this sense, the school, which is also known as the unified school, has a unique teaching methodology with current and contemporary learning techniques and pedagogical methods.
Thus, the international school can be attended by Brazilian students and by foreign students residing in the country, offering cultural gain for both parties.
The international school is based on the idea of making students globalized citizens and aware of their role in the world. In addition to the development of personalities and vocations of each student.
Main aspects of the international school
It aims to promote cultural and dynamic exchange on an international scale in the routine of students who attend it.
For this, after completion of education, international schools provide the international certificate of completion of basic education, the IBO (International Baccalaureate Organization).
This internationally renowned and important certificate is recognized and approved by over 140 countries worldwide.
Several prestigious international universities and colleges of great global importance see in the IB certificate the recognition that their students are already inserted in the global environment, increasingly necessary in the world of scientific knowledge.
International schools with an IB certificate also award completion diplomas accepted in over 140 countries!
This contributes to faster and less bureaucratic acceptance for those students who wish to study abroad. This acceptance is acquired following the IB program.
3 main advantages of an international school
With the international certificate, students will have the ability to expand the universe of personal and professional activities, and use the skills developed to apply in solving issues that persist in the regions and communities in which they live.
- Experience with other cultures
- Development of socio-emotional skills
- Curricular breadth
1. Experience with other cultures
Multicultural issues are extremely important in the international schools’ scenario, as they receive students from different countries, as well as national students.
Thus, the student will not only learn a new language in addition to the mother tongue but will develop the experience with people of different nationalities, acquiring sociocultural experience and personal aggrandizement.
2. Development of socio-emotional skills
The experience at the international school places students in global realities based on the interrelationship with people of the same training standard, however, with different social relationships, expanding the world view.
3. Curricular breadth
As already mentioned, one of the great advantages of the international school is obtaining the IB certificate, where students are registered in the international teaching program, enriching the curriculum in a globalized way.
The IB curriculum provides students with independence, as they can organize their time, and choose training components according to their area of affinity.
What is the best choice?
With several advantages between the two methods, it is common for parents and guardians to have doubts about which education system to choose for their children: bilingual school or international school?
And this choice will largely depend on the profile of each family and the potential that each parent wants to find in their child’s school.
If the family’s proposal is more humanitarian, aiming at the acquisition of values such as teamwork, respect for differences, greater integration with the cultures of the world, and the acquisition of an internationally accepted curriculum, the international school is the best option.
However, if the professional and personal success of the child is the factor that most pleases the parents, then the bilingual school can fulfill these expectations.
Do you still have doubts? Make a decision now!
If you think it’s better or if you still have doubts about which teaching model has the most to do with your personality and your needs, you can test your child to find out which is the best option, the bilingual school or the international school.
Knowing and living in practice what the routine of each type of school is like can make you reach a more accurate conclusion about the type of method that you like best.
The experience that students have through both methods is unquestionable and will bring positive aspects to their entire post-primary education life.
Choose the model that you like the most and that offers you the certainty and security of a successful trajectory and unique achievements for your child’s personal and professional life!
With that in mind, I present the St. Nicholas School, which aims to develop responsible and independent citizens in their careers and personal lives.
Bring your child to build a humanitarian and globalized curriculum, prioritizing the study of another language in line with international teaching standards.
At St. Nicholas School you will find the best private school in São Paulo, an international teaching proposal, focused on your child’s individual development.
The study of a new language and principles for life.
Click here and enroll your child right now!
