Learning Support

Learning Resources

The admission policy of KIS considers students with mild and moderate Learning Difficulties.

• Children who come with documentation of their learning difficulties are interviewed by the Learning Resources personnel and two senior administrative staff to ensure that the student can fit into the environment.
• When there is a significant discrepancy in the placement tests which is given to all students prior to admission, an informal psycho-educational testing would be conducted by the Learning Resources personnel to identify any learning issues.
• Students can also be referred by the teachers or parents.

Mild Difficulty may be defined as learning problems in one area of academics, either language or Math. The problems exhibit themselves in the areas of comprehension, sequencing, auditory and visual processing at a mild level. Moderate Difficulty may be defined as learning problems in two areas of academics both in Language and Math. The intensity of the problems is within a standard score range which is in the lower average range when compared to their peers.

The Learning Resource Department at Kodaikanal International School is dedicated to enhance the quality of education for individuals with learning difficulty by providing appropriate strategies to make them independent learners. Support is also provided to help students with organization, time management and the development of appropriate study skills. Our school seeks to accomplish this through training teachers, advocating the program in the community, committed service, research, and through collaborative work with professionals concerned with the student in need.

The Department will

• Help individuals with learning disorders to attain their fullest educational and personal potential.
• Help students adjust and become integrated into their environment.
• Help students develop positive and a realistic self-concept.
• Encourage students to develop independent skills that will enable them to function normally in their everyday contexts.
• Teach students strategies to cope with their academic and social problems. (Organizational, error-analysis, memory strategies and social skills training).
• Help students develop basic skills in the areas of reading, writing and mathematics.
• Provide individualized instruction through modification of programs and environments, working collaboratively with teachers, providing structured environment with technology use and counseling support to cope with their learning problems.

All the staff in the Learning Resources department have a background in classroom teaching and a degree in Psychology or Special Education.

It is an immense pleasure to observe struggling students moving up to their way of success by increasing their self-awareness, perseverance, goal-setting, the presence and use of effective support systems, and emotional coping strategies.

There are a lot of success stories about students who joined KIS with learning difficulties ultimately blossoming into students who felt good about themselves and contributed a lot to the school and the society. One such student was able to make it to the ‘principal’s list’ and eventually became the Head School boy. Another shining example showed success in academics, and he pioneered a student moment called ‘Youth Rise” that was proactively involved in social work.

We strive to encourage these students to excel in whatever they are passionate about and find their strengths and soar above their difficulties and setbacks.

English as a Second Language (ESL)

At KIS, the ESL program works with students from grades 3 to 10. Generally, an ESL student is one who has studied in a language other than English, before joining KIS. Sometimes, there are students who may have studied in English but continue to need the extra help and support. ESL students take the Intensive English courses rather than Language Arts. These courses are offered in grades 6 to 10. Being smaller groups and focusing on language rather than literature, they help ESL students attain the mainstream English fluency required in grade 11.

The ESL (English as a Second Language) program at KIS works with students who have studied in a language other than English or who may have studied in English but continue to need the extra help and support. The ESL program is designed with fun language projects and activities to keep students in an active learning environment. In just a few months, students gain confidence to speak and write in English, in spite of it being their second language. Depending on the entry level proficiency and personal motivation, students who have successfully built a strong foundation are mainstreamed into the Language Arts class.

The ESL program runs differently for each of the academic programs offered at KIS.

• ESL students in the PYP program (grades 3 to 5) are given support in small groups or individually to develop their language skills.
• ESL students in the MYP program (grades 6 to 10) take the Intensive English (IE) courses rather than Language Arts. The IE classes being smaller groups focus on language and literature texts alongside the mainstream English classes. The department also teaches students individually when required and helps them with content material in Humanities, Science, and other subject areas through the ESL (Language B) classes.
• The English B subject is offered as a Second Language course for students who choose to do other languages as Language A.

We are a department with formal structure and flexibility. Students are encouraged to come in whenever they need help, whether academic or social. We keep in touch with the ESL students and their teachers to make sure that everything possible is being done to make the ESL students feel successful and supported. We are here to help as we know studying in a new language is not easy.