Proud to be tvmbo - Kortlopend Onderwijsonderzoek

in projects or as a mixture. The students and teachers at the school which implemented
the policy of 50% Dutch and 50% English in the classroom are less positive, however,
since little English was actually used in the classroom either by teachers or students.
This is, therefore, not a recommended policy for schools considering tvmbo in the future.
Motivation and EIO
In general, we can say that tvmbo is motivating for both tvmbo students and their
teachers. This coincides with the literature study which indicates that students learning
a language in natural and meaningful situations are also more motivated (Coyle et al,
2010, Vollmer, 2006). The EIO element in tvmbo is also motivating in that it improves
cross-cultural understanding and communication (Vollmer, 2006). According to our
study, the majority of participating schools, teachers and students are, so far, positive
about the implementation of tvmbo.
Suitability
Next, we can tentatively conclude from the literature that bilingual education is suitable
for vmbo students (Genesee, 2007, Lyster, 2007, Lorenzo et al, 2010). We can
predict that their academic performance in English will probably be better than their
peers in regular vmbo classes. Moreover, their academic performance in Dutch will
probably not be negatively affected. However, some important conclusions are that
schools need to pay close attention to both students’ Dutch and English language development,
in particular their reading skills and strategies, and to the development of
their teachers as language teachers (Genesee 2007, Merisuo-Storm 2006, Seikkula-
Leino, 2007).
Classroom strategies for tvmbo
There are many classroom strategies which are relevant for tvmbo students. The results
of the interviews and online surveys are interesting, since they show that teachers
and students share similar ideas about what works in tvmbo. These activities are too
many to list here but are described in detail in Chapters 5 and 6. They include, for example,
using lots of variety, doing hands-on activities, encouraging creativity, linking
lessons to EIO and real life, helping students to be aware of the language elements in
their lessons and incorporating a lot of collaboration between subject and English
teachers.
These classroom strategies are too numerous to mention here but are summarized
clearly in sections 2.6 Suggestions for schools, 5.7 The interviews: conclusions, 6.3
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