This informal CPD article, ‘Teaching in a Trilingual School in the Middle East: Insights from Student-Led Peer Teaching’, was provided by International Language Experts, who organise language training for companies and individuals.
Teaching in a trilingual school presents unique opportunities and challenges, particularly in the early years of primary education. Observing young students as they teach one another provides valuable insights into their cognitive and linguistic development. This article explores what educators can learn from student-led instruction: whether it reflects how students perceive teaching methodologies or reveals their preferences for how they would like to be taught. Drawing on educational theories and research, the discussion highlights how these observations can inform pedagogical practices in a multilingual learning environment.
Introduction
Multilingual education is increasingly common in globalized societies, and the Middle-East’s trilingual schools—often incorporating Arabic, English, and a third language such as French or German—offer a distinctive setting for linguistic and cognitive development. Teaching Grade 1 and 2 in such an environment requires a nuanced understanding of how children acquire and use multiple languages in instructional settings (Cummins, 2000). One particularly insightful method of assessing student comprehension and learning preferences is through observation of peer teaching. When students explain concepts to their classmates, they not only reinforce their own understanding but also reveal underlying perceptions of effective teaching (Vygotsky, 1978).
The Role of Peer Teaching in Early Education
Peer teaching is a well-documented strategy in early education that promotes collaborative learning, metacognition, and language development (Topping, 2005). In trilingual settings, it becomes even more significant, as students must navigate multiple linguistic frameworks while constructing knowledge. Key benefits of peer teaching include:
- Reinforcement of Learning: explaining a concept to others requires deeper processing and helps solidify understanding (Chi et al., 1994).
- Social and Emotional Growth: teaching peers fosters confidence, empathy, and communication skills (Fuchs et al., 1997).
- Language Development: students refine their language skills as they switch between languages, often using translanguaging strategies to facilitate comprehension (García & Wei, 2014).
What Do Students Reveal When They Teach Each Other?
Observing students during peer teaching interactions can provide insights into two key aspects of their learning experience:
1. Reflection of Teacher Practices
Students often mimic their teachers when instructing peers, using similar phrasing, gestures, and explanations. This mirroring suggests that students internalize their teachers' instructional styles and view them as effective. Research in cognitive apprenticeship (Collins, Brown, & Holum, 1991) supports the idea that learners adopt modelled behaviours from experts—whether teachers or more advanced peers. When students replicate instructional approaches, it indicates that they perceive these methods as authoritative and useful.
2. Expression of Preferred Learning Styles
On the other hand, students may modify teaching approaches to suit their peers’ needs, thereby revealing preferences for alternative instructional methods. For example, they may incorporate storytelling, movement-based explanations, or multimodal cues that they find more engaging than traditional teacher-led methods (Gardner, 1983). This suggests that students not only learn from their teachers but also reshape pedagogical strategies based on what they find most effective.
Implications for Teaching in a Trilingual Classroom
Understanding how students engage in peer teaching provides teachers with opportunities to refine their instructional methods. Key takeaways include:
- Differentiation of Instruction: by noting which strategies students use most effectively, teachers can incorporate diverse methodologies to address different learning styles (Tomlinson, 2014).
- Leveraging Student Language Strengths: in a trilingual environment, students often use translanguaging to support understanding (García & Lin, 2017). Teachers can adopt similar strategies to create more inclusive linguistic experiences.
- Encouraging Active Learning: recognizing that students prefer interactive and student-cantered approaches can guide the design of more engaging classroom activities (Bonwell & Eison, 1991).
Conclusion
Teaching in a trilingual school in the Middle East presents a dynamic and enriching challenge for educators. Observing how students teach one another reveals both their perception of teaching methods and their preferences for how they wish to learn. By integrating these observations into pedagogical practices, educators can create more effective and student-cantered learning environments. Future research should further explore how peer-led instruction influences long-term language acquisition and cognitive development in multilingual classrooms.
We hope this article was helpful. For more information from International Language Experts, please visit their CPD Member Directory page. Alternatively, you can go to the CPD Industry Hubs for more articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements.
References
- Bonwell, C. C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. ERIC.
- Chi, M. T., De Leeuw, N., Chiu, M., & LaVancher, C. (1994). "Eliciting self-explanations improves understanding." Cognitive Science, 18(3), 439-477.
- Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Holum, A. (1991). "Cognitive apprenticeship: Making thinking visible." American Educator, 15(3), 6-11.
- Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters.
- Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L. S., Mathes, P. G., & Simmons, D. C. (1997). "Peer-assisted learning strategies: Making classrooms more responsive to diversity." American Educational Research Journal, 34(1), 174-206.
- Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. Basic Books.
- García, O., & Lin, A. M. Y. (2017). "Translanguaging in bilingual education." In O. García, A. Lin, & S. May (Eds.), Bilingual and Multilingual Education (pp. 117-130). Springer.
- García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Tomlinson, C. A. (2014). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. ASCD.
- Topping, K. J. (2005). "Trends in peer learning." Educational Psychology, 25(6), 631-645.
- Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
