BILINGUALISM AT LA DÉCOUVERTE

A child who learns a new language at a young age better understands and absorbs how to use the language. At La Découverte, the learning takes place in a bilingual environment. The pupils study all subjects, alternately in French and in English.The teaching is bilingual, however the objectives at the end of Primary School are certified by the Geneva Cantonal Exams. The first language, therefore, is French.

From the age of 4, the children begin learning English in a climate of immersion. In order that the child gets used to hearing, speaking and reading in both languages, all class activities are planned collaboratively by both class teachers. The teachers, who are native speakers, create distinct linguistic and cultural learning environments for the different days of the week.
At the end of Primary, our children have learnt, in addition to the knowledge of the language, much broader skills, as they have been studying all the objectives in both languages. Furthermore, the knowledge the children have acquired in learning English facilitates their learning of German, which is taught through the program ‘HarmoS’.