Language Learning in Zurich Public Schools

For families moving to Switzerland, you may notice a lot of differences in the schools here, but the most obvious is language. If your child doesn’t already speak the local language, they first have to learn a new language just to go to school here. They will also learn one or two “foreign” languages in primary school, adding complexity and confusion. In many places, kids will also need to learn a local dialect so they can make friends. This can be difficult for many children and for the parents that support them.

We live in Zürich, in German-speaking Switzerland, so I can tell you a bit about our experience with the public schools here. Of course, these are generalizations since school systems can vary widely between between cantons in Switzerland, just as it does between states and districts in the U.S. and other countries.

Thank you Berlitz Zürich for sponsoring this post. 

Swiss German: Language of friends and fun

As you may know, people in the German-speaking side of Switzerland speak Swiss German, a dialect which varies widely from canton to canton and is not a formal written language. However, in school, all reading and writing is done in High German, which has more formal grammar rules and different vocabulary than Swiss German. Since kids speak Swiss German at home and with their friends, it is even difficult for some Swiss kids to master high German, a language they mostly only use at school.

Speak Swiss German with friends. To thrive in Switzerland, your child needs to learn Swiss German, the language of the playground and friendships. The two years of kindergarten is in Swiss German. Then starting in first grade, school is supposed to focus on High German, but many teachers still instruct in Swiss German, even in the higher grades. Also, all social clubs and sports are done in Swiss German. Without Swiss German, your child will be missing out, both on culture and learning.

The most important thing your child needs is a friend that speaks Swiss German. Of course, your children will gravitate to other English-speaking kids. So you may need to get more involved in arranging these friendships. Doing “lunch swaps” is a fun way to accomplish this. Since kids come home for lunch every day, many parents trade hosting lunch for a few kids one day a week. Make a point of meeting parents at school meetings and events and on the playground and offer to do a lunch swap. Swiss parents will love this because they want their kids to practice English.

What can you do:

• put young children in Swiss childcare, playgroups and kindergarten
• do “lunch swaps” with Swiss German speaking children
• watch children’s movies and TV in “dialekt”, which means Swiss German

High German: Language of Reading, Writing and Arthimetic

To be successful in school, your child must also master High German. Starting in first grade, school is officially taught in High German, though some teachers still speak a lot of Swiss German. All textbooks are written in High German and children are expected to read and write High German. Of course, math is also taught in German, so even if your kids are good at math, they have to understand the instructions and word problems that are written in German.

Extra German at school. Most schools offer “Deutsch als Zweitesprache” programs, aka DaZ, for children learning German. They are pulled out of regular class, typically in small groups of 1-3 children, for extra German instruction particularly vocabulary. Some school districts offer 4 months of intensive German school before integrating your children into the local school.

What can you do:

• when choosing where to live, make sure your school offers excellent DaZ support, at least 2 hours per week for your child for a minimum of 4 years.
• make sure your child’s Daz lesson are not during important classes like math or even regular German with the other kids or your child will get behind fast!

Practice High German at home. It’s also important to reinforce High German learning outside of school. Since they speak Swiss German with their friends and English or another language at home, children may have trouble building a large and sophisticated vocabulary in High German, which is necessary for reading comprehension and academic writing skills.

What you can do: 

• find friends for your child that speaks High German.
• watch children’s TV shows from Germany, instead of Switzerland. I can highly recommend Sendung mit der Maus, a fun and educational weekly TV program produced in Köln.
• read children’s books written in High German. Since Swiss German is mostly a spoken language, reading in High German is common for Swiss kids.
• listen to audio books in High German, widely available at public libraries and online music services like Google Play and Spotify.
• get a tutor or send your child to after-school German lessons

French: Kids learn foreign languages early

Switzerland has four official languages. So school children are required to learn one of the other official languages. In Zürich, children start learning French in the 5th grade and continue through at least the 9th grade.

French is one of only three subjects on the standardized tests kids take for school entrance exams and apprenticeship applications (might be changing in the next couple years). If your kids don’t have an affinity for foreign languages, this can be difficult, since they are already learning High German just to go to regular school.

French is taught in German, meaning kids have to translate back and forth from German to French, not their mother tongue to French, so this can be a problem if they are still learning German.

Get a French tutor. After struggling with French for several years, we finally put my son in French classes at Berlitz, which made a big difference in his competency. In regular school, his French teacher instructed mostly in German and the kids spent a lot of time translating from German to French and vice versa. In a class of 25, my son didn’t have much opportunity to speak in French. He could memorize grammar rules and vocabulary but had little practice conversing in and understanding French, which affected both his listening and reading comprehension.

At Berlitz, the teachers spoke and instructed solely in French, encouraging lots of conversation, a much more effective method for truly learning a foreign language. He went twice a week, with two different teachers, each native speakers of French. They had experience teaching with the same textbooks he used at school and prepping other students for local entrance exams. So while his lessons were focused on improving listening and speaking skills, they were also targeted to what he needed to learn for school. After several weeks of the Berlitz lessons, his confidence, comfort, and proficiency in French has dramatically improved. Hooray!

Berlitz Zürich is offering a 10% discount on their Kids & Teens classes for our readers. Contact Barbara Thoma at zuerich@berlitz.ch and mention Moms Tots Zürich when booking. They have flexible offerings including private instruction, small groups with minimum 3 participants, and special course formats for siblings.

What you can do: 

• get a native French speaker for a tutor
• watch French cartoons, like Caillou or Babar.
• send kids to French camps during school holidays, check Zürich Sportamt for offerings

English: Another “foreign” language

English is also taught in the public schools (around 2nd grade). This can be fun for English-speaking kids who get to be the experts. But even native speakers have to learn spelling and proper grammar in their mother tongue. For non-English speakers, this is yet another foreign language for your child to learn.

Extra English for native speakers.

English class can feel like a waste of time for native speakers in the early years since the lessons focuses on very basic vocabulary taught through games and music. My friends and I have had some success with asking the teacher to allow my child to simply read or write in a journal during the English hours at school. I’ve also arranged for my son to have his DaZ German lessons during the English hour. Of course, he was still required to do the regular homework and take the tests.

Some schools have so many English-speaking kids that they are given different assignments or even taken out of class for a breakout “English for native speakers” class with another teacher. I recommend speaking with the teacher to discuss your options.

You still have to “learn” English. But even native speakers don’t always get a perfect grade in English, which can be frustrating. Every child has to learn proper spelling and grammar in their own language. And since your child is not attending school in English, they are missing out on the informal practice that happens simply by spending hours a day learning and working in that language. So your child will have to work to learn formal English even though they speak it perfectly at home.

English-German translation. Also, many of the English assignments require children to translate from German-English and vice versa. If your child is still learning German, they may know all the English words but not know the German equivalent.

British English. It is important to recognize that schools teach British English, which has differences in spelling, vocabulary and phrasing from American English. So if you are American, be aware that your child may get marked down on homework and tests for using American spelling and words. It’s frustrating but in my experience, the teachers won’t budge on this. Treat it as a another foreign language.

What you can do: 

• ask your child’s teacher about more advanced English assignments
• send child to after-school English lessons, like A to Z English
• borrow English children’s books from American Women’s Club and your local library

Kids learn to read “late” in first grade

In Switzerland, children start attending Kindergarten at 4 but they do not learn their letters or how to read until first grade when they are about age 6. The focus in the early years is developing cognitive and social skills and I think they do a great job at that. This is a source of frustration for many parents coming from places where reading is taught as early as age 3.

Early readers may get frustrated and bored in Kindergarten and first grade. My advice is to think of these early years as free German lessons for your children. If these academic skills at a young age are extremely important to you, you’ll need to spend time after school doing extra self-study English work or in after-school classes.

What you can do

• focus on German learning in early years
• enjoy reading for fun at home
• home school if early reading is important to you

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