The bilingual education programme at X. gimnazija Ivan Supek High School
“In a bilingual education context, a bilingual is a student who is meeting curriculum expectations in those subjects taught either primarily through the first language (L1) or primarily through the second language (L2)”
Peeter Mehisto ‘Excellence in Bilingual Education’, CUP 2014
Bilingual teaching is ‘value-added’ education and quite often a motor for reform. There are several potential benefits of bilingualism and these are directly connected to various fields such as language awareness, culture, social cohesion and international relations.
The aims of bilingual teaching are:
- to provide students with excellent language and communication competencies
- to apply, where possible, a modern and internationally recognised curriculum
- to prepare students for their further education and occupation
- to encourage good teaching practice and establish worldwide recognised standards
- to offer a blend of national curricula and international components
The bilingual programme was founded in 2007 and is partly financed by student tuitions.
Students enrolled in the general education and science and maths bilingual programmes attend a number of classes held in English as well as Croatian. The mandatory bilingual subjects follow the national curriculum as outlined by the Ministry of Science and Education.
Teaching is conducted in modern classrooms that enable a creative, technologically advanced and contemporary teaching approach.
There are currently 11 bilingual classes and around 270 students. The number has slowly risen over the years, starting with only several classes in 2007. Currently there are two bilingual classes in the senior year and three in the first, second and third year. The school is expected to enrol one more general education bilingual class in the following school year (2023/2024), reaching the amazing number of 4 bilingual classes in a generation; two general education classes and two science and mathematics classes.
The number of bilingual subjects has also been steadily increasing over the last couple of years. In September 2022 three new subjects were offered to our students: music, philosophy and physical education.
The Ministry of Science and Education has approved the following subjects to be taught bilingually at X. gimnazija Ivan Supek High School:
| Compulsory subjects: | Elective and optional subjects: |
*isn’t exactly mandatory but an elective subject – students choose between Religious education and Ethics; one has to be chosen. (Religious education isn’t available as a bilingual subject) |
**English (Optional) is a subject that all bilingual students take during the 4 years at school. It is a preparation course for IGCSE exams: English as a Second Language and First Language English. |