Cambridge Certificate in Teaching Bilingual Learners

Bilingual teaching is increasingly present in our schools, and advanced educational institutions are already using its possibilities, whereas school counselors are studying the positive effects of bilingual education as a means for helping students to master the content of different school courses, as well as the fact that they are doing it in a foreign language.

The Teaching Bilingual Learners program is designed to improve the teaching practice and popularize bilingual education. It was created as part of the Cambridge Professional Development Qualifications (Cambridge PDQs) the tradition of which guarantees professional authority and insight into the latest trends of bilingual education.

Why is the introduction of bilingual teaching so important?

Bilingual teaching has opened a new chapter in education, primarily because it allows our students to prepare themselves for the next step in their education, or to find a job abroad, because not only will they master the subject, but various concepts in a foreign language as well.

The role of teachers is to familiarize students with the world of knowledge, and bilingual programs provide both teachers and students with a competitive advantage for the future. The Teaching Bilingual Learners program will open up new perspectives for you, and give you an opportunity to improve the quality of your lectures, and get a job in advanced schools that increasingly practice bilingual instruction.

Students in many regions of our country are bilingual, and attend classes in a language that is not their mother tongue. This program will help you to better understand the way they think and learn, and use that potential to stimulate knowledge and create opportunities for learning and advancement.

Who is the program for?

This program is designed for all teachers who actively teach in primary and secondary schools, or institutions of higher education. You are a school teacher, you love challenges, and you believe your subject can be improved through bilingual teaching? This is the program for you.

What knowledge and skills will you acquire in the Teaching Bilingual Learners program?

This program offers new perspectives for linking sciences and humanities with foreign language teaching, an opportunity for young people to adopt concepts they will need in the future, and to you as a teacher, it offers solutions for monitoring the development and knowledge of bilingual students. Bilingual teaching allows students to improve their specific knowledge of the subject, as well as their language skills.

You will acquire the necessary knowledge and improve your methods of conveying knowledge in two languages, meeting the high standards of Cambridge University, and you will also have the opportunity to clearly articulate and implement your own ideas in practice. In the exam, you will demonstrate your understanding of relevant concepts and principles, and your ability to identify their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, you will learn how to continue your professional development in the future through the evaluation of your teaching practice in cooperation with your colleagues, and on your own.

Course program

The program comprises three modules: The Teaching Bilingual Learners program allows you to obtain a certificate and a diploma. After completing the first module, you become eligible for the certificate, whereas after completing the second and the third module, you become eligible for the diploma.

CERTIFICATE

Module 1: Analysis of digital technology assisted bilingual instruction

The first module comprises three separate units:

Understanding the potential of digital technologies in teaching and learning

Students are expected to examine their own practice and the practice of their colleagues to gain a clear picture of the application of digital technologies in education. In addition, they will make an overview of technological tools which are available to them and their students and then link them to specific learning objectives so as to:

Identify the scope of available digital technologies and ways to use them so as the improve the existing model of teaching activities, or introduce new ones;
Analyze how and why technologies can be used to support certain learning objectives within their practice, and in terms of relevant theories;
Within their practice, recognize appropriate digital technologies and activities carried out with the use of the said technologies which allow students to cooperate, discover things and build knowledge, solve real-life problems and start things, exchange information and communicate effectively with others, analyze, adapt, revise and evaluate ongoing activities;
Evaluate digital technologies so as to improve current activities and provide better conditions for developing new ones.

Holding classes with the use of digital technologies

Students will explore digital technology assisted teaching, from lesson planning to assessment. The will actively study related concepts and principles so they could:

Plan classes in which one or several digital devices are used as learning support;
Be self-confident when holding classes and use appropriate management techniques, as well react appropriately in unexpected situations;
Ensure a positive learning experience for all their students and monitor the effects of digital technology application in learning;
Assess lesson efficiency, and the effects of using digital technologies as a teaching aid.

Evaluation of digital technology application as a support to teaching and learning

Students will additionally explore teaching and learning practices which involve the use of digital technologies so they could:

Develop their assessment ability in the selection and application of digital technologies;
Use feedback from different sources to recognize aspects that work well, as well as those areas that could be improved in their teaching practice;
Analyze problems they’ve encountered in their teaching practice, and implement concepts and principles associated with the use of digital technologies;
Recognize and use adequate options for sharing experiences with their colleagues when it comes to digital technology assisted teaching.

DIPLOMA

Module 2: Developing analytical practice in digital technology assisted teaching

In this module, students will examine their teaching practice more thoroughly, so they could:

Design a specific plan for a series of lessons that involve the use of one or several digital technologies as support to specific learning goals, while also making use of the specific options that digital technologies provide;
Plan digital technology assisted lessons so as to be inclusive and allow all students to participate and learn;
Be self-confident when holding classes, use appropriate management techniques, and react appropriately in unexpected situations, thus providing all students with a positive learning experience;
Demonstrate their knowledge of different evaluation instruments and techniques, as well as sources of feedback;
Analyze their experiences so as to evaluate and improve their teaching practice when it comes to digital technologies, thus making learning as effective as possible;
Use techniques and instruments to evaluate lesson effectiveness and digital technologies used to support learning.

Module 3: Impact of digital technologies on education

In this module students will continue to develop their views on the educational use of digital technologies. They will have the opportunity to:

Demonstrate the ability to critically analyze their own and other people’s experiences;
Examine their own experiences so as to critically assess broader effects of digital technologies on education and the curriculum, role of the teacher and school, as well as student ability to concentrate their learning both at school, and outside of it;
Become aware of different theoretical attitudes toward the use of digital technologies in education, and compare them with their own experiences;
Identify and use appropriate possibilities for exchanging experiences about the use of digital technologies in teaching with colleagues, including colleagues from other educational areas and other schools;
Keep up with the latest innovations in the field of digital technologies and their potential as support to learning;
Assess their experience in this program, and plan further steps in their professional development with regard to the application of digital technologies in education.

What’s next?

You want to continue expanding your knowledge and skills? Upon completion, you can enroll into one of the remaining three Cambridge programs and become a teacher who can choose where and who to teach. On the other hand, you can also choose one of the courses that allow teachers to raise the quality of their teaching to a higher level. Choose the area you are most interested in and get ahead.

You can learn more about professional courses, seminars and workshops here.