The School is committed to providing a wide range of language provision at all levels – both within the curriculum and outside it to reflect the diversity of cultures within the BSN.
Dutch
As the language of our host country we believe it is important to encourage all our children - regardless of how long they will be with us - to develop an understanding of and respect for the Dutch language. Dutch lessons form part of the weekly timetable from Foundation 2 through to Year 9. Children are streamed for fluency as they progress through the Junior School, allowing those students permanently resident in the Netherlands to develop a strong grounding in the local language.
French, German & Spanish
Additional languages are introduced in Year 6 - the final year of Junior School. Senior School language teachers come across to each Junior School every week and provide expert language tuition in French, German or Spanish. A different language is studied each term of this school year, preparing the children for their move to Senior School in September. Students already fluent in any of these languages will be provided with individual extension work during this lesson time.
Mother Tongue Language Club Programme
With students from over 80 countries, speaking over 55 mother tongue languages, the BSN places great importance on providing opportunity for continuous language development. We achieve this through our Mother Tongue Language Club programme, delivered after school, by specialist teachers. At present there are 24 different Language Clubs held each week with over 140 children taking part in them.
The clubs are offered from Year 1 onwards and are designed to encourage language development in a fun and enjoyable way. Language Clubs are available for children from Year 1 onwards and continue throughout junior school.
The range of languages offered is flexible and responds to the demands of families within the school – if there are a reasonable number of children interested in a particular language, and high quality tutors can be recruited, a new club will be created.
Classes are organised according to the level of a child’s language proficiency and their age. During the first lesson, they are assessed to ensure they are in the appropriate group for their level. At present, the school offers Language Clubs in Dutch, French, German, Russian Spanish and Arabic, as well as Latin which is run at Senior School.
Learning a NEW Language
In addition to the mother tongue classes, the BSN also organises a number of language clubs for children wanting to learn a new language. These language clubs are offered at Basic, Intermediate and Advanced levels - the languages offered varies according to demand.
(For information on learning English please see the 'English as an Additional Language' section)