International classrooms are linguistically rich environments, but they also present unique challenges. Let’s explore more about language development in international classrooms.
In many international schools, pupils are learning through English rather than in English. Alongside this, teachers are balancing high academic expectations, diverse cultural backgrounds and a growing recognition of inclusion needs within mainstream classrooms.
Across these settings, one theme consistently emerges. Pupils’ success is closely linked to how well oral language and sentence structure are explicitly supported.
See further details on supporting language development in international classrooms.
Language demands go beyond vocabulary
In international contexts, language difficulty is often misunderstood as a vocabulary gap alone. In reality, many pupils, particularly those learning English as an additional language, struggle not with knowing individual words, but with how those words are organised into meaningful sentences.
This becomes most visible when pupils are expected to:
• Explain reasoning in maths
• Participate in inquiry based discussions
• Write extended responses in humanities or science
• Move from spoken ideas to written language
Without clear sentence structure, pupils may understand concepts but struggle to express them accurately or confidently.
Why oral language must come first
Across IB and British curricula, spoken language underpins academic success. Before pupils can write effectively, they need structured opportunities to rehearse language orally.
In effective international classrooms, teachers prioritise:
• Modelling complete sentences
• Making sentence patterns visible
• Encouraging pupils to verbalise ideas before writing
• Reducing cognitive load by providing linguistic frameworks
This benefits not only EAL learners, but also pupils with speech, language and communication needs, many of whom are unidentified or masked by apparent fluency.
What effective classrooms are doing differently
Schools that are seeing positive impact tend to use consistent, shared language approaches across classrooms rather than relying on individual teacher strategies.
These approaches often include:
• Visual supports that show how sentences are built
• A shared structure for expressing who, what, where and why
• Scaffolded progression from simple to more complex sentences
• Flexibility to adapt language frameworks across subjects and age groups
Crucially, these strategies are embedded within everyday teaching rather than delivered as separate interventions.
A note on structured visual sentence approaches
One evidence based approach that has been widely adapted internationally is Colourful Semantics, originally developed to support children with language difficulties.
In international school contexts, it is often used more broadly, not as a specialist intervention, but as a classroom tool to:
• Support EAL learners
• Strengthen sentence structure
• Bridge spoken and written language
• Promote consistency across classes and year groups
Its strength lies in its flexibility. Schools adapt the framework to suit different curricula, languages and cultural contexts while maintaining a clear focus on meaning and structure.
Why consistency matters in international settings
With high pupil mobility and diverse teaching teams, consistency is critical. When pupils encounter the same language structures across subjects and year groups, they are better able to internalise and generalise their learning.
This consistency:
• Reduces anxiety for pupils learning in a second language
• Supports inclusion without singling pupils out
• Allows teachers to focus on content rather than constantly re explaining language expectations
Final reflection
There is no single solution to the linguistic complexity of international classrooms. However, what is clear is that explicit support for sentence structure and oral language is essential.
When schools invest in shared, evidence informed language approaches, pupils are better equipped to access the curriculum, express their thinking and participate fully in learning, regardless of their linguistic starting point.
I would be really interested to hear how international schools are currently supporting oral language and sentence structure in their classrooms. What approaches are proving most effective in your setting?
