Bilingual schools

It is clear that it is much easier for children between the ages of three and eight to learn a second language than it is for adults. Children learn without the pressure of learning, without stress and without expectations or inhibitions. They pick up foreign language expressions with astonishing ease and are not afraid to communicate in a foreign language. Children learn playfully and simply on the side. This incidental way of learning is also called immersion and bilingual schools rely on precisely this approach. Children who are confronted with a foreign language at an early age expand their language skills in their mother tongue as well as in the foreign language. Language barriers are broken down very early on in bilingual schools and the naturalness with which the children communicate in two languages after a very short time is an important advantage for them and an important opportunity for the future.

Bilingual schools and even kindergartens are enjoying increasing demand. Not only Swiss families, but also an increasing number of new foreign-language parents want bilingual education for their children - in their mother tongue and in German. In bilingual schools, children have to learn to "switch" from one language to the other within a very short space of time, which is very beneficial for their flexibility and creativity. Swiss schools with bilingual teaching currently only exist on a private basis and only employ native-speaking teachers. The costs for bilingual schools are therefore mainly borne by the parents and are usually calculated according to the parents' annual income.