On 19–20 April 2019 in Moscow, English Nursery & Primary School (ENS) held the International Research-to-Practice Conference “Bilingual and Multicultural Education: Practice and Prospects.”
The conference aimed to summarise experience in developing bilingual and multicultural models of educational institutions in the Russian Federation and abroad. It also helped communicate to academic and professional audiences, as well as to the parent community, the importance of bilingual education.
The conference brought together specialists in bilingual education and served as a platform for advancing a new educational policy concept.
The conference’s honoured guests—E. A. Khamraeva (Doctor of Education, Professor), R. F. Mukhametshina (Doctor of Education, Professor), A. D. Deykina (Doctor of Education, Professor), L. K. Mazunova (Doctor of Education, Associate Professor), Adjunct Professor E. Yu. Protasova (Doctor of Philology), and N. V. Gagarina (Professor)—emphasised the importance of language learning for the development of cognitive abilities and the formation of speech and communication skills, as well as the need for a strong research foundation for the practical experience gained in establishing bilingual educational institutions.
Participants visited English Nursery & Primary School settings where learning is delivered through full immersion and a rich language environment is created—ensuring the best possible outcomes. Guests highly praised the quality of children’s bilingual development and visited groups at the ENS “Mosfilm” and “Dobrynya” campuses.
The key conclusion of the conference was that methodological work in the field of bilingual education remains insufficient. More applied research is needed, and accumulated practical experience should be connected to theoretical developments.
Maria Yuryevna Nikolaeva, Director of English Nursery & Primary School, noted: “The world our children will live in will be different—and our task is to prepare the younger generation for the realities of the future. We cannot teach the old-fashioned way, with a late start and the hope that a ‘serious’ university education will be enough. We need to begin in early childhood, but it is important to understand what to teach and how. At the conference, we spoke a lot about modern early-development approaches: how to create a language environment in the right way, how to raise a child bilingually, and how to develop their cognitive potential.”
The conference aimed to summarise experience in developing bilingual and multicultural models of educational institutions in the Russian Federation and abroad. It also helped communicate to academic and professional audiences, as well as to the parent community, the importance of bilingual education.
The conference brought together specialists in bilingual education and served as a platform for advancing a new educational policy concept.
The conference’s honoured guests—E. A. Khamraeva (Doctor of Education, Professor), R. F. Mukhametshina (Doctor of Education, Professor), A. D. Deykina (Doctor of Education, Professor), L. K. Mazunova (Doctor of Education, Associate Professor), Adjunct Professor E. Yu. Protasova (Doctor of Philology), and N. V. Gagarina (Professor)—emphasised the importance of language learning for the development of cognitive abilities and the formation of speech and communication skills, as well as the need for a strong research foundation for the practical experience gained in establishing bilingual educational institutions.
Participants visited English Nursery & Primary School settings where learning is delivered through full immersion and a rich language environment is created—ensuring the best possible outcomes. Guests highly praised the quality of children’s bilingual development and visited groups at the ENS “Mosfilm” and “Dobrynya” campuses.
The key conclusion of the conference was that methodological work in the field of bilingual education remains insufficient. More applied research is needed, and accumulated practical experience should be connected to theoretical developments.
Maria Yuryevna Nikolaeva, Director of English Nursery & Primary School, noted: “The world our children will live in will be different—and our task is to prepare the younger generation for the realities of the future. We cannot teach the old-fashioned way, with a late start and the hope that a ‘serious’ university education will be enough. We need to begin in early childhood, but it is important to understand what to teach and how. At the conference, we spoke a lot about modern early-development approaches: how to create a language environment in the right way, how to raise a child bilingually, and how to develop their cognitive potential.”