Our Secondary Bilingual English program is a vocabulary-driven, thematic unit-based English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program which uses the Common Core standards. For more information about the curriculum, please visit our curriculum page.

The Secondary Bilingual English department is located on the fourth floor of the Secondary building of Clifford School's main campus. We are charged with teaching English through the four language domains of speaking, writing, reading, and listening. There are more than 1,100 students in the Secondary Bilingual - most of whom are Chinese.

The Secondary is divided into middle school, grades 7-9, and high school, grades 10-12. The students receive Chinese instruction in their homerooms on the first three floors following the Chinese Ministry of Education official curriculum. In addition, the students have "Chinese English" teachers who focus on the English tested on the national exams at the end of grade 9 (zhong kao) and grade 12 (gao kao).

While the students are grouped in their Chinese homerooms into classes 7A, 7B, 10A, 10B, and so on, the Secondary Bilingual English Language Program groups the students based on their English levels and continued growth. Students have opportunities to move up (or down if the current level is too challenging) four times per year.

Our teachers are all native English speakers from the USA, Canada, The UK, Ireland, and South Africa. 

You can find links to Clifford School's other departments here:

• Clifford Elementary Bilingual
• Clifford International School (1-12)
• Clifford International Kindergarten
• Clifford School (Chinese/中文)