Bilinguale Schulbildung an der DSM

Bilingual education provides children and teenagers with the cognitive tools to develop multifaceted thinking by exposing them to multiple languages and, consequently, multiple ways of understanding and interpreting the world. Engaging in bilingual learning requires students to navigate and switch between language structures, vocabulary, and cultural contexts, which strengthens their cognitive flexibility, problem-solving skills, and adaptability. Our dual-language framework encourages a multi-perspective approach to learning, fostering skills such as empathy, creativity, and critical thinking. Ultimately, bilingual education shapes students into versatile thinkers who can view situations from various angles and communicate effectively across cultural boundaries.

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. 

Vorteile eines bilingualen Gehirns - Deutsche Schule Melbourne

„Eine zweisprachige Erziehung bietet eine ausgezeichnete Lernbasis für Kinder. Sie eröffnet große Vorteile für die literarische und mathematische Entwicklung in der englischen und gleichermaßen in der deutschen Sprache, sowie für das Grundverständnis und die Erfahrungswerte der Kinder innerhalb ihrer Umwelt. Das Lernmodell der Deutsche Schule Melbourne (DSM) ist klar definiert, gut entwickelt und erprobt und zählt als erfolgreiches Lehrmodell in Australien. Die Vorteile der Zweisprachigkeit gegenüber dem Individuum und der Gesellschaft dürfen nicht unterschätzt werden. Eine zweisprachige Erziehung wie sie an dieser Schule angeboten wird, sollte allen Kindern in unserem Land zur Verfügung gestellt werden."

Professor John Hajek, University of Melbourne, School of Languages and Linguistics

"In an increasingly globalised world it is not just about mastering another language; it's about truly understanding and valuing the richness of our global community. Learning through our bilingual education at DSM enables our students to appreciate different cultures and improves their ability to connect with people from around the world."

Jörg Dopfer, DSM Schulleiter, 2024