Misconception 3: Competence in the home language is not important when learning a second language.
Non native students in international schools learn English more quickly and effectively if they maintain and develop their proficiency in the mother tongue. Research has shown that many skills acquired in the first language can be transferred to the second language. Children who have developed good reading skills in their home language, are more likely to be able to apply these skills when reading a foreign language. Similarly, the skills of being able to plan out a piece of writing or develop an argument in a persuasive essay can be applied in the second language once they have been learnt in the first.