Bilingual kindergarten at EFIB (ages 3 to 5)
At the École Française Internationale de Berne, we welcome children in kindergarten who have reached the age of 3 by December 31. Kindergarten is divided into three levels: petite section (PS), moyenne section (MS) and grande section (GS).
Since 2021, the entire kindergarten has offered bilingual teaching on an hourly parity basis, enabling children to complete their entire kindergarten in French and German, while also benefiting from English instruction.
What is bilingual kindergarten (cycle 1)?
Kindergarten constitutes a unique cycle (the first learning cycle), fundamental to the success of all students, and is defined in three main areas:
- A school that adapts to young children;
- A school where children learn and live together;
- A school that organizes specific learning methods through a variety of situations: problem-solving, practice, memorization. Play has a special place here, as it fosters a wealth of experience and feeds into all areas of learning.
What happens during this first learning cycle?
The class projects are many and varied:
- Visit
- Cultural outings
- Shows organized by the teaching team in line with educational projects
- Voyages scolaires (« classes vertes »,…)
School curricula are set by the French Ministry of Education. In addition, at the International French School of Berne, French and German are taught on the same timetable (12 hours - 12 hours). English is taught from kindergarten onwards (see Bilingual Kindergarten brochure).
Enrolment in nursery school implies a commitment on the part of the family to regular attendance, which is desirable for the development of the child's personalityThis will prepare them for the training they will receive in elementary school.
The essential role of kindergarten
Kindergarten is an essential step in a child's journey to academic success.
What is the main mission of this school cycle?
Its main mission is to inspire children to go to school to learn, affirm and develop their personalities.
Students learn to develop their motor, emotional, intellectual and social skills. Numerous manual and artistic activities help children satisfy their desire to learn.
Children develop their oral language and begin to discover the written word, numbers and other areas of learning.
They learn by playing, thinking and solving problems, practicing, reinvesting and memorizing.
Learning at a bilingual nursery school
The courses are organized into five learning areas:
- Mobilize language in all its dimensions
- Acting, expressing oneself, understanding through physical activity
- Acting, expressing oneself, understanding through artistic activities
- Building the first tools for structuring thought
- Explore the world
Each of these five areas is essential to a child's development and has its place in the organization of daily time.
You can find the kindergarten programs on the official EDUSCOL website.
A bilingual kindergarten
A bilingual language project for learning French and German:
By 2021, the entire kindergarten will offer bilingual teaching on an equal time basis, enabling children to attend kindergarten entirely in French and German, while also benefiting from English instruction.
These classes have multiple objectives:
- Through bilingualism, we aim to promote greater immersion in the official language of communication of the City of Bern, and better integration of French-speaking children in the activities of the Bern conurbation,
- Immerse children from German-speaking families in the canton's second language,
- Make it easier for students to continue their education in German-speaking Bernese schools,
- Support Bern's political will to promote French-German bilingualism by offering bilingual education from age 3,
- Offer an innovative and attractive alternative to crèches.
- Pupils in PS and MS classes benefit from two 30-minute English lessons a week.
- Pupils in the GS class have twice-weekly 45-minute English lessons.
- Familiarizing yourself with the language
- Phonetics of the language
- Early learning (greeting, answering simple questions, understanding instructions, singing songs)
- Foreign-language rituals and games
- Understanding a short story
- Oral expression through singing, using excerpts from children's books and films, and games.