After a week in schools in South Korea I am now doing author presentations, writing workshops and staff workshops in schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I love the heat and soak it all up. What a privilege to see wonderful places and work with great kids. The schools place great emphasize on their libraries. Teachers, by and large, work with books and read to the students.
International schools mostly have well stocked bookshelves. Many students speak more than one language. In fact, it's not called ESL (English as a Second Language) here but rather EAL (English as an Additional Language). The other day I asked students how many of them spoke a second language. Not many raised their hand even though I knew that spoke more than one language. Then I realized I should have asked "how many of you speak at least two language" and they all raised their hands.
I'm sure that brings its own challenges for teachers but books are valued and used throughout the schools and the curriculum.
