German Courses for Children Aged 4-5 in Frankfurt: What Parents Should Know
The earlier children come into contact with German, the easier it is for them to handle the language later on. This is especially true for children who mainly speak another language at home but increasingly hear and use German in everyday life.
Many parents therefore want to support their child linguistically already at the age of four or five and specifically look for German courses for children aged 4–5 in Frankfurt. A German course for children at this age can help German become a natural everyday language for your child early on in kindergarten, while playing with friends or later at school.
What matters is that the lessons are designed in an age appropriate way and that children can experience the language actively.
Why Children at This Age Learn Languages Especially Quickly
“Golden Age”
Linguists often speak about the so called “Golden Age” of language learning. This refers to the phase in which children absorb new languages particularly easily. At the age of four or five, learning still happens very intuitively. Children hear new words, try them out and adopt structures quite naturally.
During this time children also develop a strong feeling for pronunciation and the melody of a language very quickly. While older learners often think about grammar rules, children mainly learn by listening, repeating and through situations from their everyday life.
This is exactly why this age is ideal for getting to know German in a playful way. Children do not experience the language as a school subject but as something natural that they use while playing, in conversations and in small activities.
What Makes a Good German Course for 4-5 Year Olds
Good German courses for children aged 4–5 in Frankfurt do not feel like lessons to the child. The child enjoys coming to the course and after some time many parents observe something interesting. Their child says at home “When do I go back to school to play again?”
The child seemingly just comes to play but along the way it begins to use more and more German words and starts to use German more naturally. It becomes more fluent and more confident in the language.
💡 Important: For the child playing is the main focus and exactly during this time the learning takes place.
This principle is essential. Children learn the language without having the feeling that they have to learn. They move, play, listen to stories, talk with the teacher and may even start writing letters and words. In this way they gradually develop joy in the German language.
How a German Language Course for Children (4–5 Years) in Frankfurt Works
The first few minutes serve to orient the child in the situation. For the child this means that it initially finds a learning situation that it already knows. If the child loves a certain game and can connect vocabulary and sentence structures with it this can be a good starting routine. For the teacher this initial phase is important in order to get an impression of the child’s mood that day.
If exactly this game has already been played frequently and leads to little or no new learning, the teacher introduces further activities that include what has already been learned while also adding something new. Depending on the child and its daily mood the teacher decides what is most suitable at that moment.
During the lesson the child indicates through body language and verbal expressions which activity should follow. The teacher responds to this very individually so that the fun factor remains high and the child can express itself freely but also with guidance.
There are many didactic changes during the lesson. What is important is that the teacher carefully observes when it is time for a different activity.
Playful Learning with Movement, Pictures and Everyday Language
In this video you see Kelsie (5 years old) in our German course for children aged 4 to 5 in Frankfurt. She already knows the letters. Here she is “playing” with the teacher to build words. They exchange the letters they are missing for their words.
Why One to One Lessons Make Sense
In our experience one to one lessons are the most effective way to build a language. Since children in everyday life kindergarten school after school care friends and acquaintances are often in group situations where they have to adapt linguistically to the environment they may hold back because they do not know many words and feel shy. One to one lessons are therefore the ideal way for a child to say everything it wants without disappearing in a group.
The child has more space to express itself in longer sentences receives the full attention of the teacher and does exactly the games and activities that help it become more confident when speaking German.
Which Children Benefit from a German Course at the Age of 4 or 5
Children come to us with different language levels. Therefore German courses for children aged 4–5 in Frankfurt are always individually adapted to the child.
Children Without Any German Knowledge
Some children cannot speak any German yet and have only been in Germany for a few weeks. Since they usually speak only their mother tongue at home the threshold can be high because they understand little or nothing and therefore withdraw and find it difficult to interact with other German speaking children.
To encourage and facilitate the first contact with the language before or while they increasingly encounter German in everyday life it makes sense to learn German in a one to one setting where they learn the basic language in a playful way.
Children Who Will Soon Attend a German School
Some children will attend a German school at the age of six. In this case we also offer the necessary language support so that the transition into school is secure and the linguistic confidence your child needs in primary school continues to develop.
Please note: In the final kindergarten year there are so called preparatory classes that are mandatory in the state of Hessen. There children learn the language if they do not yet speak sufficient German. This is good and important. However it should not be overlooked that once children enter school vocabulary and interaction in German increase rapidly and children are confronted with everyday German including the German used in subjects such as “Sachkunde”, German lessons and other school subjects.
The difference between German in preparatory classes and the German used in regular school lessons can lead to the language not increasing to the level required by the different subjects and by keeping up in primary school. This should be mentioned especially in the context that insufficient language skills among primary school children have increased during the past ten years.
Children Who Should Speak More German in Everyday Life
Many children are in the situation that they mainly speak their mother tongue at home. They understand German to 70 to 90 percent but hardly speak it. Often a large part of the language is already there but it is hidden. What is missing is the actual use of the language and therefore the success experiences that allow them to see their progress.
In everyday situations with other children they often feel overwhelmed are shy and are afraid to communicate in German. They cannot understand everything and cannot say everything which makes them feel excluded and they withdraw.
In this case it is important that they reduce their hesitation to say something through normal natural communication with the teacher and gain self confidence. Conversations supported by games usually bring them quickly to the point where they react more spontaneously and confidently in German.
German Language Course for Children Aged 4-5 in Frankfurt: How Your Child Can Start
What Parents Should Know Before Registration
Even in a German course your child needs time. It will not suddenly start speaking only German overnight. Just like with adults the German neurons first need to develop. At the same time your child is also developing other abilities because it is still growing and language development also progresses together with the natural developmental phases your child goes through.
So your child needs time to learn German. The more input the better.
You should also know that with children aged four to five we do not do grammar exercises. Targeted grammar instruction usually starts only at around the age of nine and even then only to a limited extent. Before this age the brain cannot yet fully grasp grammar. Children up to about nine years old do not learn a language by structurally studying grammar the way teenagers from around twelve years old or adults do. They learn what they regularly hear and then repeat and gradually build internally.
Consultation and First Meeting in Our Language Institute in Frankfurt
So that we can advise you in the best possible way about a German course for your 4 to 5 year old child we first arrange a consultation and introductory meeting directly at our Language Institute in Frankfurt. It is important that your child attends this meeting so that we can already talk with them. This allows us to see how your child communicates in German what it understands and how it relates to the language.
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