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speaks English confidently with friends may still need support to interpret a scientific text or explain a mathematical concept in English. Developing academic language is therefore an important part of the learning process. This approach continues through to the school’s three secondary qualifications: the French Baccalaureate, Swiss Maturité and International Baccalaureate (IB). Language development is adapted to the particular academic demands of each pathway. German, introduced in primary school, adds another dimension to students’ multilingual education, with its role developing according to their chosen academic route. Languages do not develop in isolation. A reading strategy learned in French, for example, may help a student approach a text in English, while understanding a concept in one language can support learning it in another. Florimont’s teachers encourage these connections through shared approaches to reading, writing, academic vocabulary and subject knowledge. This ability to draw on a child’s full linguistic repertoire, sometimes referred to as translanguaging, allows students to build on what they already know in one language to support learning in another. Bilingual resources can provide further bridges, helping students access challenging concepts while gradually developing greater independence in the language of instruction. This allows students to continue engaging with demanding academic content as their MAKING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN LANGUAGES language proficiency develops. The school also recognises the importance of languages spoken at home. In an international community where children may arrive with two or three languages already forming part of their lives, these languages are valuable foundations for further learning and an important part of their identity. One family whose child arrived in preschool speaking Arabic, but neither French nor English, describes how language support helped their child build confidence: “The school also encouraged us to continue speaking and enriching Arabic at home. We came to understand that our
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