DUAL LANGUAGE EDUCATION

SIEF International School is a dual-lingual school, where children and parents are exposed to both Italian and English. Families and students do not need to be exposed to the Italian language before coming to SIEF, and our goal is to have them become—over time—fully bilingual, biliterate and bicultural.

It is shown that being bilingual supports cognitive and social development, but most importantly, it develops intercultural competencies, which are much needed in our global society.

Our goal is for our children to achieve a bilingual, biliteracy and bicultural proficiency: we would love for them to be equally competent in both languages in interpersonal communication as well as in academic skills.

In their everyday life at school, students are exposed to—and are deeply imbued with—Italian culture. We also explore and celebrate holidays and Italian school norms like Befana and Carnevale. We share meals in the way of an Italian family, understanding that the joy shared in a meal is also critical for development and wellness. SIEF is an inclusive international environment, teaching students to embrace their own cultures and traditions as well. Teachers invite families to share culture and tradition that is important to them as we converse and commune over the many ways of thinking, feeling, celebrating, and being.

How Dual Language Works:

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  • Families and students do NOT need to speak or understand Italian prior to enrollment

  • Students will learn Italian at school in our classrooms

  • Our Italian teachers are all native speakers

  • We follow a dual language model that leads students to daily, meaningful interactions in their less-dominant language. Italian is the predominant language of SIEF.