German

The language taught at Cheltenham Primary School is German for all children from Foundation to Year 6.  Classes are timetabled weekly with a specialist teacher who is a native German speaker.

Our focus in the language program is acquisition of immediately useful oral language alongside being exposed to a broader curriculum. This includes cultural understanding, grammar as well as reading and writing in the German language in the higher grades.  The method of instruction is a combination of ‘immersion teaching’ (communicating exclusively in German) for part of each lesson as well as teaching more complex concepts in English and then practicing together in German.

In the junior years in particular, songs and games are actively incorporated into the lessons, and throughout the school, topics from across the curriculum are integrated into the German program to give more meaning and a real life focus to the language study.

Our focus is on enabling children to learn language they would be able to use in a German-speaking country or with German-speaking friends. We also strive to excite students about learning a language, as well as finding out more about a different culture in the hope that they will continue being interested in other cultures and languages throughout their future school years and beyond.