DaZ/DaF
German as a second/ foreign Language
With iDSB, you are making an important decision for your child’s educational path: With us, your child gets the wonderful opportunity to learn the German language and culture intuitively and with a lot of joy in speaking.
The iDSB is not only a place of learning for students with a German-speaking background. We see ourselves as an international school. Therefore, we also accept students with no or little previous knowledge of German.
How the pupils learn German at iDSB
Learning German at our school is based on three pillars:
- the German-language lessons
- contact with our German-speaking pupils
- our excellent language support concept for German as a second language (DaZ) or German as a foreign language (DaF)
Do I already have some knowledge of German to be admitted to the iDSB?
In principle, no. However, the older the pupils become, the more difficult it will be for them to reach the level they need for German-language subject lessons in the foreseeable future. Entry without German language skills from grade 9 onwards is therefore only possible in exceptional cases.
Basically, we distinguish between two groups of pupils:
- children with German as a second language (DaZ).
These pupils have at least one German-speaking parent. However, the children often only understand and speak German colloquially. They have not previously been educated in German and often have difficulties with written and literary language.
- children with German as a foreign language (DaF)
Pupils of different German levels who usually do not speak German at home. They learn German as a foreign language with us.
How do DaF/DaZ lessons work?
The DaF/DaZ students are taught in 2 phases:
Phase 1 (up to Level B1)
The students receive intensive language instruction in German (grammar, spelling, vocabulary, phonetics, expression, listening comprehension and reading comprehension) in homogeneous small groups until they have reached at least level B1 of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference). These language lessons are part of the regular teaching time.
The other part of the teaching time is spent by the pupils in their classes, where they come into contact with their fellow pupils. They take part in foreign language lessons and the less language-heavy subjects. This combination enables our children to settle into regular subject lessons as quickly as possible.
Phase 2 (from level B1):
During the second phase, language teaching is reduced. Parallel to these lessons, we support the children in text comprehension and production. This is essential for German lessons, but also for all other subjects. We address the needs of the individual pupils in an individual and targeted way: The need for support depends on the students’ skills and knowledge!
In addition, our DaF/DaZ pupils, together with all other pupils, receive support through DfU (Deutsch für den Unterricht) for the science and social science subjects. The aim of DfU is to simplify difficult texts (e.g. by vocabulary aids or drawings) so that all students can follow the subject lessons.
In addition, our advanced DaF/DaZ students from grade 7-10 can attend a literature support course, which guides and supports them in text comprehension of the upper German language and in text production.
More Informations
As a school abroad, we can only influence the surrounding language to a limited extent and try to make the German input for your child as intensive as possible. Therefore, regular participation in DaF/DaZ lessons is essential, as the support content continuously builds on each other.
At the moment, this support concept is jointly financed by the iDSB and the parents of our DaZ/Daf pupils.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our DaZ/DaF team:
Dr. Patrizia Maury
DaF/DaZ-Subject management OS
Patrizia.Maury@idsb.eu
