Teaching Methodology: Duolingual Education

Duolingual Education is a methodology developed by the late Dr. Trevor McKee, Ph.D., professor of Human Development and Psycholinguistics at Brigham Young University. Using the Duolingual Education methodology, teachers implement developmentally appropriate activities entirely in English with the children.

In each Kindergarten program, enrollment is limited to six groups of six children. Each group is taught separately by each of 3-6 native-speaking English teachers. Each child participates in activities in English for 3 hours a day. During this time they rotate to each of six different content areas taught by different teachers. Teachers do not teach translation or grammar rules. The learning environment is similar to that of a birthday party: children will play games, sing songs, hear and act out stories, or participate in creative expression in each of the teaching areas, using activities designed by ILP for teaching language. The teaching areas focus on what the children are familiar with from home. A child may make a cake in the kitchen, assemble a doll house in shop, do tumbling in the gym, act out “The Three Little Pigs” in drama and make a clay elephant in art all while speaking English. The social environment created by exciting activities, loving teachers, and a peer group is ideal for learning language.

Chinese, Thai, Ukrainian, Spanish, or Russian skills not required

In ILP classes, children learn English similarly to how they learned their native language: through experience and activity while interacting with a loving adult. Since teachers speak only in English while teaching, other language skills are not required.