St. Kilian's German School is in the unique situation that it has a sizeable number (about 30%) of German speaking students. This makes it possible to teach children in an environment in which foreign language learners and native speakers work and play together and learn each others’ languages.
In an English language environment like Dublin this is not only attractive for native English speakers but also for children whose first language is not English. Their language proficiency approaches fluency after a reasonably short time. Outside of a German speaking country, the language requires the controlled environment of the classroom. At St. Kilian's, the teaching of German follows these principles:
to provide both foreign language learners and native speakers with instruction appropriate to their specific needs
to mix these groups as much as possible to increase mutual acceptance of their languages and to establish both groups as linguistic role models
In an English language environment like Dublin this is not only attractive for native English speakers but also for children whose first language is not English. Their language proficiency approaches fluency after a reasonably short time. Outside of a German speaking country, the language requires the controlled environment of the classroom. At St. Kilian's, the teaching of German follows these principles: