Intercultural competence and multilingualism clearly give you a competitive edge in today’s globalised world. At GESS, children have the opportunity to attend a bilingual class from the age of two and thus start their school journey preparing them with the best prerequisites.
We spoke with Daniela Albani, Deputy Director and Language Coordinator of Preschool, about the concept of bilingual groups.
What does bilingual Preschool means?
We offer bilingual classes for children from the age of two. This means that the children are guided by a teacher and a teacher’s assistant where one speaks German and the other English. The aim of the bilingual classes is for the children to be able to express themselves confidently in German and English after completing four years in Preschool. In addition, we offer German and English monolingual classes for children from the age of three.
Daniela Albani 
Are there any special admission requirements for the bilingual groups?
In the first years, there are no special admission requirements for the bilingual groups. However, it is important for language development that both languages play a role outside school. For example, we recommend that parents whose home language is not German to give their children the opportunity to use German outside school, such as through German babysitters, playing with German friends from Preschool, or listening to German songs and stories.
How do children learn both languages at the same time?
It is important for children at this age to develop close relationships and trust with their teachers. The principle of ‘one person, one language’, where one person consistently speaks the same language to the child, let’s children feel safe and supports structure. Our educators are committed and consistent language role models. The holistic, inquiry based daily routines, which children are actively involved in shaping, promotes curiosity, and motivates language learning. Children first learn to understand a language before they speak it. Through varied language-authentic social experiences in a well-structured daily routine, they can quickly understand the first language fragments through regular repetition, such as “get your water bottle”, “sit on the carpet”, “put your shoes on”. In addition, their vocabulary expands quickly with the help of songs, stories, rhymes, games, and visual materials, as well as facial expressions and gestures of the teachers. We are always amazed at how quickly children begin to speak with us in a language that is foreign to them.
What do you see as an advantage of the programme for children, and what are the challenges?
Research indicates that multilingual children have special cognitive abilities. We currently have about 30 different spoken languages in our Preschool, which we value and celebrate in addition to our core languages of German and English. On 21 February every year, we celebrate International Language Day and parents have the opportunity to introduce their home languages to the children.
Children at GESS learn not only languages but are exposed to different cultures, customs, and traditions. We are always happy to have parents involved and celebrate their national festivals and traditions with us. For example, parents read books in their native languages, bake or cook, and craft with the children. Of course, we also celebrate German traditions in the Preschool, such as St. Martin’s Day or St. Nicholas’ Day, as well as the festivals of our host country Singapore, such as Deepavali, Chinese New Year, and Hari Raya.
Learning a language is a process that takes time. Every child has his or her own rhythm, just like learning to walk. Some children learn a new language at an incredible speed, others just take a little longer. It is important to give them the time they need and not to create pressure. A positive influence on language learning is definitely the frequency of exposure to the language. From our experience, all children who spent their entire kindergarten years in bilingual groups at GESS are ultimately able to express themselves in both languages.
