Joining a full time international school can be difficult for many students.

From the outset, POWIIS aims to foster an environment that encourages and nurtures students who are new to the English language or require English enrichment. The additional support is an excellent provision lead by a team of qualified, caring and committed EAL teachers and their aim is to develop the language potential of each student through an innovative and meaningful approach to language learning. Language Extension programmes cover all the skills they need to succeed, the EAL classes run daily and the programme ensures a positive approach to learning the English language and run on a short term or extended basis depending on the learner needs. Students are assessed, additionally to the entrance examination, which enables a programme of study to be devised to lay the foundation for the use of the English language, for each individual student. Students soon develop the self-confidence to use English to communicate both verbally and in writing, and they quickly pick up a broad vocabulary and a better knowledge of the grammar and structure of the English language.

A specific emphasis is placed upon:

• Listening skills

• Developing students’ spoken English

• Reading fluency

• Accurate pronunciation

• Extending vocabulary

• Building a strong foundation in grammar

• Encouraging oral and written comprehension

• Communicating through a variety of written forms

Classes are small and one to one lessons are arranged for individual support. Once the students grasp the fundamentals of English, they can transfer to a full complement of subject classes.

English as an Additional Language (EAL) is offered for students at POWIIS Primary who may need additional support to improve their English language proficiency. EAL is not just for students who are new to English, any child who is unable to understand the learning materials in their classes because of a lower English ability would be a child who may benefit from EAL. The aim of our EAL program is to help each student learn the language skills needed to understand the material in all of their lessons, and be able to communicate with all of the members of the school community. Being able to do those two things is very important for any child’s success and happiness in an English speaking school environment. EAL classes take place every day, and consist of a small group of students from each year level. Here, they will practice using English in a variety of ways doing many activities to get them speaking, reading, listening and writing in English. Our goal is to make them feel comfortable enough to experiment with their new language, as this is the best way for them to improve.