At Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educational Complex, inclusive education is implemented in the broadest sense of the word, creating an educational environment where everyone can feel accepted, important and protected.
One of the components of inclusiveness is the integration of learners with non-Armenian mother tongue in the Armenian educational environment. Currently, 30 of them study at the educational complex. Most of them do not speak Armenian or speak it very poorly, but by the choice of their parents or legal representatives, they attend an educational complex where the language of instruction is Armenian. This is both a challenge and a great opportunity for both students and teachers.
At the heart of inclusiveness lies solidarity—among the class, the students, the teachers, and the family. Group work provides an excellent opportunity for multilingual students to develop communication and language skills. By taking part in small group projects, students learn to collaborate, listen, and understand, and sometimes even to express themselves in Armenian.
I can share an example here: I have often heard, and can confirm from my own experience, that most people, even if they know a foreign language to some extent, find it difficult to speak in that environment because they fear making mistakes or being misunderstood.
For this reason, when I first met the Russian-speaking students in my class, we agreed that they would teach me Russian and I would teach them Armenian. Russian is not my mother tongue, and although I understand it, I sometimes feel uncomfortable speaking it because I use it passively. But in this situation, I had no choice—I often made mistakes so that they could correct me, and so they themselves would not be afraid of making mistakes.
Individual work is also important. Some students need a personalized approach in order to grasp the material and express themselves. During the first year of teaching, and at the beginning of the second year, I often translated what I said during lessons, and sometimes I let classmates do the translating. After some time, when I felt that they understood well enough, we agreed that I would speak to them only in Armenian. This approach has borne fruit—they now understand much better.
Language barriers were especially noticeable during oral mathematics and reading activities. Oral mathematics helps students develop their thinking skills and use of spoken language. Now both students listen to questions in Armenian and respond in Armenian. When solving problems, we sometimes use games or demonstrations to make the problem easier to understand.
The students now read well, although they do not understand everything.
Communication is one of the greatest challenges for multilingual students. Key components of language support include help from classmates, encouragement for the student, and creating a safe environment where making mistakes is “not judged.” Oral tasks are often carried out in pairs or groups.
Physical education lessons, games, and physical activity are excellent opportunities for nonverbal communication. Here, students have the chance to express themselves without language barriers.
In the early stages of working with multilingual students, it also helped me to write reflections about interesting incidents and exchanges of ideas that arose during learning activities.
Family projects also contribute to language and cultural interaction. When a parent participates in a learning project, the child feels more secure in the environment, and the family gradually becomes involved in the educational process.
Media tools serve as an environment for mastering the language, expanding vocabulary, and promoting independent learning.
The “On Stage, It’s the Parent…” project at the educational complex provides an opportunity to involve families and make the learning process more effective.
Round-table discussions are also organized in this direction at the complex. In the 2024–2025 academic year, I was a participant and coordinator of one such round table. The topic of the day was: “Russian-Speaking Students at the Southern School.”
Parents, teachers, and students participated in the round-table discussions. These meetings contributed to mutual understanding and the generation of new ideas related to personalization, support, and cultural inclusion.
In daily work, the main difficulties are generally related to communication. However, over time, as students gain confidence, these issues begin to resolve. The successes are visible—they try to speak Armenian more often and participate more actively in learning activities.
Including multilingual students requires patience and a creative approach. The educational process then becomes a fun and collaborative experience.
Translated into English by Arpi Shahnazaryan, Grade 12.