Students develop German language skills in the areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing. They understand what it means to learn another language; acquiring transferable skills, “learning how to learn” and developing the dispositions of successful language learners.
Students from Preschool to Grade 5 have four to five German lessons a week. In the early years, the focus is on immersion in the language; engaging in songs and games to strengthen language acquisition. Additionally, we follow the Hörschlau and Leseschlau programmes, which are commonly used in Swiss schools to teach correct mouth formation when speaking German. The work done through these approaches serves as the foundation for early reading skills.
Beginning in Kindergarten, students are grouped in two distinctive tracks: the Foreign Language Track and the Fluent Speaker Track. In each grade level, the Foreign Language Track incorporates novice and developing German speakers grouped together according to their homeroom class cohort through differentiated instruction. Proficient speakers, determined by assessment, form their own class made up of students from different homeroom cohorts. With sufficient attainment, motivation and support students in the proficient group may move across to the Fluent Speaker Track. The Fluent Speaker Track includes students who have met the requirements for this programme, also drawn from different homeroom groups. During students’ time in the Lower School, they can be expected to move through stages of German learning (Novice, Developing and Proficient) depending on individual learning needs and how long they have been at the school.
Within the Foreign Language Track, our programme is guided by the Common European Framework for Languages (CEFL) and the Planetino coursebook, which is written for learners of German as an additional language. Our Proficient class uses the Die Deutschprofis A1.2 coursebook for Grade 2-3 and the Die Deutschprofis A.2 coursebook for Grades 4-5. Our Fluent Speaker track uses the Jo-Jo course book as a guide. Depending on when they enter the school, and their existing level of German, by the end of Grade 5 students have the opportunity to reach CEFL levels A1.1–A2.2, or to have progressed to the Fluent Speaker track.
Students are assessed using the end-of-unit assessments which provide feedback and determine next steps. They are shared with students and parents at the end of each unit.