German

As a Bilingual School, approximately 50% of each student’s week is spent learning through the German language. Throughout the week, our students focus on listening, speaking, reading, and writing German.

German Language classes at Bayswater South seek to immerse the children in the language from day one. The German-speaking teachers only use German with the children (this includes camps, yard duty and excursions) and seek to develop lessons that are relevant and meaningful to the learners.

Our students achieve a high standard in their German language skills. Our younger students quickly become comfortable learning with German as the medium of instruction and over time develop a rich and varied vocabulary that allows them to explore deeper and more complex topics as they progress through the primary years.

Children who are native German speakers with little or no English can feel a strong connection to the school and their peers, that might otherwise take some time. They feel valued for their input in German classes and feel well supported by the large number of German-speaking staff members as they adjust to schooling in Australia. Students with a non-English speaking background acquire English primarily through immersion as well as through focused learning in class and individualized support.

Units of work are implemented in the German language, thus providing stimulating tasks and topics, while at the same time assisting the children with their language development. Some time each week is also devoted to specific features of the language itself (spelling and grammar), to further develop the children’s literacy skills at an age-appropriate level.

To deliver an effective CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), content-based, immersion program, the teachers require the whole school’s acceptance of the program. At Bayswater South Primary School, the program has gained the support of the whole school community, which has allowed it to flourish and expand, to be innovative and exemplary. It serves as a model to new and existing programs state- and nationwide, and the staff continue to strive for excellence in second language teaching. More recently, our expert language teachers have been innovating within and beyond the boundaries of CLIL, as the Primary Years Programme has encouraged English and German speaking staff to instruct together more than ever.

A natural part of the German curriculum involves learning about important cultural features, such as aspects of the geography and history of Germany and the German speaking countries. Students also learn about important festivals and celebrations, such as Fasching, Nikolaustag and Weihnachten or the importance of a student’s first day at school.