01/26/2026

Nurturing High School Students’ Academic Integrity in an International School

by Vivienne Blake

Image credit: Vivienne Blake

As a high school librarian working in an international boarding school, I have many opportunities to talk spontaneously with students: in class, after school and during evening study halls. EF Academy has developed a research skills course for English language learners at the A1-A2 level, part of our Academic English Accelerator Program (AEAP). The course develops research skills and academic integrity through an etymology project, studying the history of a particular word; a visual literacy project studying maps, charts, graphs and symbols; and researching an endangered species (including the life cycle, environment, community solutions and international cooperation). In each of the projects, students learn to evaluate and  use print and digital resources, as well as targeted use of an artificial intelligence tool or two to search, evaluate, cite, organize and present their findings. The three projects provide time for student reflection, role playing in academic integrity scenarios, writing notecards, learning to use a traditional print dictionary, learning academic vocabulary, creating artwork to convey learning, discussing the implications of using artificial intelligence tools, and then presenting what they have learned with words, captioned images and interpreted symbols. 

Thinking in more than one language

There are cognitive benefits of being a bilingual learner (Bialystok and Viswanathan, 2009; Marian and Shook, 2012). As our AEAP students acclimate, they spend a lot of time thinking, speaking and writing in a new language, as well as the languages they already know. Honesty and academic integrity begin with human communication. Culturally, there can be different levels of understanding of academic integrity expectations. Thinking critically and using academic vocabulary in a second, third or fourth language takes time to nurture. But bilingual students can also reinforce their learning by explaining concepts in a common language to a classmate who is struggling, as well as speaking with vocabulary that adolescents use. Until students have developed a sufficient academic vocabulary in English, they grapple with how much they can use language translators. So, we discuss the use of such tools and how to know when there could be overreliance, and we encourage peers to explain concepts in their common language and then in English. 

Successful transfer to the Academy

I can observe previous AEAP students who are now enrolled in the academy: searching for  specific information, organizing facts and ideas in their writing, speaking and presenting information, both orally and visually. One of my grade 9 AEAP students sufficiently impressed my colleagues during her poster presentation that one of them leaned over, and in a dramatic whisper observed, “She is citing her sources. Can she speak to a few of my students?” The AEAP students work well in peer review and collaboration, switching back and forth between languages as they help classmates learn, as well as reinforcing their own understanding. One of our current academy students who attended our AEAP program in the spring of 2025 summed it up: “I liked that we could ask you a lot of questions.” In a Combined Science class in the fall of 2025, I watched with joy as eight former AEAP students automatically created captions for the images they used in their presentation about an element of The Periodic Table, as well as acknowledging their artificial intelligence tool prompts in their work.

What I observe in the learning process

Working with international students who are 14 and 15 and entering a boarding school environment in another country inspires and humbles me as an educator. The students are taking responsibility for their learning, which helps them in higher education, and in their career paths by practicing the laborious but rewarding skills that support research—and the values of integrity: honesty, trust, fairness, responsibility, respect and courage (ICAI, 2021). Students will struggle while they learn, absorb information, develop smart study habits, learn from their mistakes, write notecards, interpret graphs, make friends, help each other by chatting in their first languages as well as in English, and ultimately strengthen and reinforce their academic integrity. They will have an honest understanding of what they have learned, and they can truly value the insights and contributions of their classmates. 

References

Bialystok, E. & Viswanathan, M. (2009).Components of executive control with advantages for bilingual children in two cultures. Cognition.112(3):494-500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2009.06.014

International Center for Academic Integrity [ICAI]. (2021). The Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity. (3rd ed.).  www.academicintegrity.org/the-fundamental-values-of-academic-integrity

Marian, V. &  Shook, A. (2012). The cognitive benefits of being bilingual. Cerebrum 13.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3583091/

Vivienne Blake is a high school librarian at EF International Academy in Thornwood, New York and a member of the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI), and the Educational Collaborative of International Schools (ECIS).