GOOD SCHOOLS & TEACHERS HAVE A STRONG GRASP OF THE KNOWLEDGE-BASE, RESEARCH AND BEST PRACTISES THAT SUPPORT THEIR BMLS
WE ARE A UK-BASED, SOCIAL ENTERPRISE WITH A MISSION TO SPREAD KNOWLEDGE AND BEST PRACTISES ABOUT BMLS TO EDUCATORS AROUND THE WORLD. WE FOCUS ON SHARING RESEARCH, NEW APPROACHES & STRATEGIES THAT MAKE REAL IMPACT WITH LEARNERS OF ALL AGES.
%
TEACHERS IN THE USA WITHOUT ANY BML TRAINING
%
INCREASE IN BMLS IN THE UK SINCE 1997
%
AUSTRALIAN TEACHERS INDICATED A NEED FOR SPECIFIC TRAINING about BMLS
GROWING TEACHER EXPERTISE TO HELP BMLS THRIVE
Co-Founders, Alison Schofield and Francesca McGeary worked internationally as specialist teachers before starting their own educational consultancy in Dubai, UAE. Over the course of 9 years, they worked primarily with bilingual and multilingual learners, many of whom had been misdiagnosed with learning disabilities as a result of their English language proficiency. Realising the harm to students and their families because of a widespread lack of knowledge about BMLs, they wrote Bilingual and Multilingual Learners from the Inside-Out: Elevating Expertise in Classrooms and Beyond. The team also attended seminars in social entrepreneurship by Jacqueline Novogratz and Ashoka and were inspired to create change for bilingual and multilingual learners. They then launched their transformative online courses after trialing them with teachers from different schools, educational systems and positions. After overwhelming positive feedback and success, the Centre for Educators of Bilingual and Multilingual Learners was born. Now based in the UK, the social enterprise trains teachers working in English-medium and bilingual/ multilingual schools around the world.
Our vision
Our vision is to create a world where languages and cultures are thriving; and where all educators are trained to provide bilingual and multilingual children with an equitable and enriching education.
OUR MISSION
Our aim is to spread knowledge and best practises about bilingual and multilingual learners to as many educators as possible, around the world.
We support schools, nurseries and educators to:
- better understand BMLs and their needs
- eliminate inequitable practises and discriminatory policies based on myths
- understand how they can contribute to maintenance of BMLs’ home languages
- maximise BMLs’ strengths within the educational environment
- learn relevant research and strategies that make a major contribution to the achievement and enrichment of BMLs
- learn key approaches that enable BMLs to thrive (academically, culturally, linguistically, socially)
- create culturally-responsive learning environments
- empower parents with the information they need to maintain their home languages and cultures
