Germany

The four case studies from Germany reflect the diversity in which bilingual teaching takes place in this country. They clearly demonstrate that content-based subjects are taught bilingually in all the branches of the tripartite school system, which consists of:

At the Hauptschule bilingual teaching is as yet only done on an experimental basis (cf. case study no. 3).

The grammar-school type, the Gymnasium, has the longest history of bilingual teaching experience, i.e. almost a quarter of a century for bilingual teaching in French, leading to a dual qualification for entrance to French and German universities (cf. case study no. 4). The other Gymnasium case study convincingly illustrates that even in a school with strong academic demands on the pupils bilingual teaching cannot start "out of the blue" but requires additional extensive preparation in the target language (cf. case study no. 2).

Finally, a case study from a secondary modern type of school, the Realschule, shows that, next to Geography and History, Social Sciences can successfully be included in the bilingual teaching programme (cf. case study no. 1).

The Karolina-Burger-Realschule in Ludwigshafen was the first intermediate secondary school in the Rhineland-Palatinate to offer bilingual tuition as an elective subject. Both Geography and Social Studies are now taught in English.

Geography was chosen due to its content and vocabulary being appropriate and concrete enough for the learners; Social Studies because its vocabulary and content can draw upon other areas of experience and communication.

Preparatory foreign language teaching takes place in years 5 and 6 (ages 10 and 11) and comprises one additional lesson per week, introducing pupils to relevant vocabulary and topics. Year 5 pupils receive 5 "normal" English lessons plus one additional preparatory lesson. In year 6 the number of "normal" English lessons is reduced to 4. From Year 7 (age 12) bilingual teaching is organised as an elective with 2 weekly lessons of Geography per week without any further Geography lessons in their native language.

In the first half of the following year, i.e. Year 8, the schedule remains the same, until Geography is substituted by bilingual Social Studies, which is also taught for two lessons per week. In Year 9, all pupils can only choose one second elective subject for four lessons per week. Bilingual Teaching remains a subject with two lessons being given in Geography as well as in Social Studies. In the very last year of the pupils' secondary education, a general reduction of one lesson per week in the elective subject takes place. Bilingual teaching in Year 10 is organised as follows: In the first half of the year, it is one lesson in Geography and two lessons in Social Studies, and vice versa in the final half.

Pupils are selected for bilingual classes if they have generally participated well in English and in the preparatory language lessons. They must also show a satisfactory ability level and their grade in English and the relevant content subject must be no lower than a "3" (i.e. satisfactory).

The case study also deals with staffing issues and resourcing bilingual geography lessons.

There is also a detailed report on a bilingual geography lesson on "Nomads" observed by students of the University of Koblenz-Landau.

Approximately 1160 pupils attend this grammar school (10 – 18 years). Bilingual classes and preparatory foreign language courses are arranged in the following way:

Year	Age	Subjects
5	10	additional lessons in English
6	11	additional lessons in English

7	12	History
8	13	History
9	14	History
10	15	History	Social Studies

11	16	History		Geography
12	17	History	Social Studies
13	18	History	Social Studies	Geography

Eighty-four teachers and four student teachers work at the school, nine of them taking part in the bilingual education programme. At the beginning of every school year about 100 new children start school. Only three fifths of them are allowed to take part in the preparatory languages courses in Years 5 and 6. The shortage of money and of teachers makes it necessary to reduce the number of participants during later school years.

The actual bilingual education course starts at the beginning of Year 7, when History is taught in English. In Year 10 History and Social Studies are taught in English, whereas in Year 13 all three subjects are offered in English. In the school year 1995/96 the first final school-leaving exams in the Social Sciences were taken in English.

About sixty percent of the pupils in Years 5 and 6 attend the special preparatory course. In addition to their five normal English lessons they have two lessons in English, concentrating on the communicative aspect of the language.

From Years 7 to 13, the boys and girls have, for example, two History lessons in English and one additional History lesson in German. This lesson is absolutely necessary to make sure that the pupils know the specific subject terminology in their mother tongue, too.

Year	History	Social Studies	Geography
5	2 additional lessons in English
6	2 additional lessons in English
	2 + 1
7	2 + 1
8	2 + 1
9	2 + 1
10	2 + 1	2 + 1

11	3		3
12	3	3
13	3	3	3

The case study also deals with issues such as staffing, finding teaching materials and the selection of pupils. It includes a description of a sample Social Studies lesson entitled "Keeping an animal" together with a lesson plan.

German Case Study 3 Waldschule in Montabaur (Hauptschule): Bilingual Teaching as a Taster Course

This case study constitutes a report by a student teacher who taught nine bilingual Geography lessons in English as a taster course project. The topic was "California". The study includes detailed information about the following:

This case study differs from most TEL2L questions and topics insofar as it deals with pupils who are over 16 years of age and who go to school after the end of compulsory education it is concerned with the type of school in the German tripartite system which is only attended by a minority, some 40% of each year’s student crop. The percentage of French lycéens is slightly over fifty.

It deals with a dual French-German certificate that enables and entitles these French and German school-leavers to take up university studies in almost any subject in both countries.

So within the MBE framework we are dealing with a selection from the academically most demanding type of school. This report is based on three visits to two different schools in the Rhineland-Palatinate from January to May 1999. It is not representative of other Länder in Germany nor of France.

Since ABIBAC is in all cases a continuation of at least four years of MBE, setting up a programme leading up to it is not much of a problem. It is the bi-national, dual part that accounts for much of the extra work and the need for co-ordination and for extra money. The legal basis is a document both in French and in German which translates as an "Agreement (...) concerning the concurrent acquisition of the German Abitur and the French Baccalauréat" which, among many other different things, stipulates reinforced teaching in the French and German languages. The distribution into MBE or regular language classes is left, however to the contractual parties.

France: In lycées, the subjects shall be taught in ... weekly hours as follows:

History-Geography, most of the time considered one subject in the French system, has to be taken for additional two to three hours per week.

Federal Republic of Germany: In the Oberstufe of Gymnasiums, the subject matter shall be taught in ... weekly hours as follows:

History, but not necessarily Geography, is to be taken for an additional two hours per week in the mother tongue. This measure, as in all MBE teaching, is to ensure that pupils acquire the subject-specific terminology not only in the target language but also in their mother tongue.

This case study also deals with such issues as staffing, resourcing, materials and selection of pupils. There is a detailed section on classroom issues which focuses on: