Program Philosophy

Two languages are a gift. In a bilingual environment the children learn the second language as easily as their own mother tongue. This system is well-known from years of experience with children who have grown up in a bilingual family environment. Early contact with a new language forms the basis for better cognitive development. Children in a bilingual environment become more aware of their own language and learn to think and act in more flexible ways. They develop a better ability to understand other people's way of thinking and have a better understanding for people who speak a different language. In addition, they have access to multi-media resources in the new language (books, movies and Internet).

The earlier, the better!!!

The pre-school age is the best age for children to acquire a second language. Research studies show that children learn a second language more easily before the age of eight years.

The immersion method has been well known for many years - especially in Canada, Australia, Singapore, and Great Britain and, more recently, also in Spain, Finland or France. In Germany, several international schools and kindergartens have achieved excellent results with immersion, e.g. the Verbund in Altenholz and many kindergartens in Saarland, which is close to the French border and has many German-French kindergartens.

Immersion is certified to be the best known way of teaching a new language to children of a young age. Immersion motivates the child to learn without any pressure.

Fears that the child's own mother tongue could suffer are unfounded. The opposite is the case: Immersion children perform even better in reading tests for example in the 'Hamburger Lesetest, HAMLET' which is conducted to compare the reading ability of eight-year old German children.

At home

Parents don't have to use or know the new language and they do not have to sit down and practice with their child. Parents should merely be open towards immersion.

Always an asset

There are still too few opportunities to continue this immersion at primary school level. But in any case, once you have laid this foundation of an early second language in pre-school, it will never be lost. The child will always benefit from learning this second language or an additional foreign language more easily - even if it takes years till the lessons are picked up in a normal school. Experts rate the greater social and cognitive competence of immersion children as an extremely valuable asset.

A second language is a gift. Especially when it is learned effortlessly and through daily play activities in an immersion environment.