German-English Bilingual Education at DSM

How does our German-English bilingual education work?

At the heart of the bilingual education is the ‘one teacher-one language’ approach in which classes are conducted in the teacher’s native language - which is either German or English. In the Foundation Year, we start with a share of 80% lessons in German and 20% lessons in English to really immerse these young learners into the German language. The share of German then slowly decreases until we reach a 50%/50% split from Year 3 onwards. During the early primary school years, we work a lot with routines, repetitions, gestures and singing/dancing to teach children the German language in a playful, immersive way. New families are often surprised by how quickly their children pick up the German language even without any prior German knowledge or connection to Germany. We use German learning materials in the German-speaking classes and our library offers a huge collection of German books for children and teenagers. Our students learn to fluently read German books.

Bilingual Teaching Approaches

At Deutsche Schule Melbourne, children are learning in two languages – English and German. To help them become truly bilingual, we three main teaching approaches. All three approaches work together at DSM to help your child become confident and capable in English and German — not just in conversation but also in academic learning.

1. Immersion – learning through being surrounded by the language

In the immersion model, students learns a subject (like maths or science) completely in the second language – for example, in German. The idea is that children pick up the language naturally by hearing it every day in meaningful situations. It’s similar to how young children learn their first language at home: they hear it, they use it, and over time, they understand and speak it without needing to study grammar first.

🟢 Main goal: Understand the subject while naturally picking up the language
🟢 How it feels for the child: “I’m learning about numbers – and I happen to be doing it in German.”

In the German language, the term ‘immersion’ is used as well.

2. CLIL – learning the subject and the language at the same time

CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning. It also means learning a subject in another language, but here the teacher deliberately focuses on both the subject (like history or science) and the language your child needs to talk and write about it. In a CLIL lesson, the teacher will help with specific words or sentence structures, explain how to describe things, or give your child tools to express their thinking in German. It’s a more structured way of learning the language alongside the topic.

🟢 Main goal: Learn both the subject and how to speak/write about it in the second language
🟢 How it feels for the child: “I’m learning about volcanoes – and I’m being helped with the German I need to talk about them.”

In the German language, this concept is called Sprachsensibler Fachunterricht (DFU).

In short:

• Immersion = "Learn the subject through the language" (like being surrounded by it)
• CLIL = "Learn the subject and the language at the same time" (with more support for using the language)

3. Explicit foreign language teaching

This approach complements immersion and CLIL by explicitly focusing on grammar, vocabulary, and communication skills for students in the late entry-program with no or limited prior German knowledge. This structured language instruction helps students refine their linguistic accuracy and build confidence in speaking, reading, and writing.

In the German language, this is called Deutsch als Fremdsprache/Zweitsprache (DaF, DaZ).

How do children benefit from our German-English bilingual education?

Cognitive Benefits:

• Enhanced Cognitive Development: Learning two languages from an early age enhances cognitive abilities, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and multitasking skills.
• Improved Memory: Bilingual students often have better memory retention and recall abilities.
• Greater Creativity: Exposure to multiple languages can boost creativity and innovative thinking.
  

Academic Benefits:

• Improved Literacy Skills: Bilingual students often show superior reading and writing skills in both languages compared to monolingual peers.
• Higher Academic Achievement: Studies have shown that bilingual students tend to perform better academically across various subjects.
• Language Proficiency: Proficiency in German and English can provide a competitive edge in future educational and career opportunities.

Cultural Benefits:

• Cultural Awareness: Learning German exposes students to the rich culture, history, and traditions of German-speaking countries, fostering a broader cultural understanding.
• Global Citizenship: Bilingual students often develop a greater appreciation for diversity and become more open-minded, global citizens.

Personal Benefits:

• Enhanced Communication Skills: Being bilingual improves overall communication skills, including listening, speaking, and understanding.
• Increased Confidence: Mastering two languages can boost self-esteem and confidence, particularly in social and academic settings.
• Greater Adaptability: Bilingual individuals are often more adaptable and resilient in new or changing environments.

Long-term Benefits:

• Career Opportunities: Fluency in German and English can open up diverse career opportunities in international business, diplomacy, tourism, translation, and more.
• Higher Earning Potential: Bilingual individuals often have higher earning potential due to their language skills and cultural competence.
• Lifelong Learning: Bilingual education fosters a love for learning and can make it easier to acquire additional languages and skills in the future.

Community and Social Benefits:

• Community Engagement: Bilingual education can strengthen community ties and promote social cohesion within multicultural communities.
• Collaborative Skills: Working in a bilingual environment enhances teamwork and collaboration skills, as students learn to navigate and appreciate different perspectives.
  

Research Sources:

1. Enhanced Cognitive Development: Bialystok, E. (2011). Reshaping the mind: The benefits of bilingualism. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 65(4), 229-235.
2. Improved Memory: Morales, J., Calvo, A., & Bialystok, E. (2013). Working memory development in monolingual and bilingual children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 114(2), 187-202.
3. Greater Creativity: Kharkhurin, A. V. (2010). Bilingual verbal and nonverbal creative behavior. International Journal of Bilingualism, 14(2), 211-226.
4. Improved Literacy Skills: Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power, and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters.
5. Higher Academic Achievement: Genesee, F., Lindholm-Leary, K., Saunders, W. M., & Christian, D. (2006). Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence. Cambridge University Press.
6. Language Proficiency: Thomas, W. P., & Collier, V. P. (2002). A national study of school effectiveness for language minority students' long-term academic achievement. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence.
7. Cultural Awareness: Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Multilingual Matters.
8. Global Citizenship: Garcia, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Palgrave Macmillan.
9. Enhanced Communication Skills: Kroll, J. F., & Bialystok, E. (2013). Understanding the consequences of bilingualism for language processing and cognition. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25(5), 497-514.
10. Increased Confidence: Cummins, J. (1998). Immersion education for the millennium: What we have learned from 30 years of research on second language immersion. In M. R. Childs & R. M. Bostwick (Eds.), Learning through two languages: Research and practice. Second Katoh Gakuen International Symposium on Immersion and Bilingual Education.
11. Greater Adaptability: Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Luk, G. (2012). Bilingualism: Consequences for mind and brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(4), 240-250.
12. Career Opportunities: Gándara, P., & Hopkins, M. (2010). Forbidden language: English learners and restrictive language policies. Teachers College Press.
13. Higher Earning Potential: Saiz, A., & Zoido, E. (2005). Listening to what the world says: Bilingualism and earnings in the United States. Review of Economics and Statistics, 87(3), 523-538.
14. Lifelong Learning: Cenoz, J., & Genesee, F. (1998). Psycholinguistic perspectives on multilingualism and multilingual education. In J. Cenoz & F. Genesee (Eds.), Beyond bilingualism: Multilingualism and multilingual education. Multilingual Matters.
15. Community Engagement: Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Multilingual Matters.
16. Collaborative Skills: Garcia, O. (2009). Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. Wiley-Blackwell.