21/02/2025
What is the impact of bilingual programmes in schools across the world? This is one of the key questions being explored by the impact evaluation team at À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ as part of their ongoing research. It was also high on the agenda at a recent meeting between À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ and representatives of the Regional Government of Madrid.
Experts from À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ & Assessment and Madrid’s regional government came together to discuss the latest steps in a major bilingual programme, which has seen more than 60,000 students from Madrid’s bilingual schools benefit from taking a À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ English exam.
Now in its 3rd year, the impact evaluation has recently focused on the implementation of CLIL, a teaching approach where a core school subject is taught through a different language. In the case of Madrid’s bilingual programme, it can be either English, German or French. The ‘CLIL’ approach has been successfully applied in both primary and secondary schools since the inception of the bilingual programme in 2004. Other areas integrated into the bilingual programme include teacher training initiatives, exposure to authentic English communication through language assistants, international initiatives for students, and the benefits of taking internationally recognised À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ English exams.
Dr Brigita Séguis, Head of Impact Evaluation at À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ commented:
‘It was great to meet our counterparts in the Regional Government of Madrid to reflect on the benefits of bilingual schooling. This year we’ve seen some really inspiring examples of how teaching subjects in English is having a positive impact on primary and secondary schools across Madrid. It’s clear that with the right support and resources, this approach can significantly enhance both language proficiency and subject knowledge’.
Dr Séguis added that impact evaluation is ‘essential in educational programmes and interventions of this magnitude’ as it provides essential data to help us see what’s working, what can be improved and inform the next steps.
Next up for the impact team is a series of ongoing evaluations on key components of the Madrid’s bilingual programme, which will include benchmarking and cover themes such as the impact of external assessments, teacher training and professional development and global international initiatives.
The project is also supported by other experts in À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ who specialise in English language and assessment research.
You can read more about À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ’s approach to impact evaluation.