Languages in High School

Language Programme in Grades 9 and 10

The GESS language programme is the result of continuous research and investment. As an international school in Singapore, we ensure that our students have a strong fluency in English as well as connections to their mother tongue and roots.

The newly redesigned language programme gives our students more flexibility and options. All students will study English and one other language. Students can also choose to study their mother tongue language and a foreign language.

English Programme

Foreign Language Programme

Mother Tongue Programme

English Programme

English is the language of instruction as well as a subject. Students are grouped by proficiency level.

Language and Literature
An English programme for our students whose English level is at a native or near-native level of English.
Language acquisition
A specially designed programme to support and develop our students with an intermediate plus level of English.

Foreign Language Programme

FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PROGRAMME

The GESS Language Acquisition programme starts in grade 6. Our students are given the choice of studying Mandarin, French or Spanish as a foreign language. Please note that there are minimum proficiency requirements for joining the language programme in grades 9 and 10.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PROGRAMME

The Language Acquisition Programme (Mandarin or Spanish) starts in grade 6 at beginner level. Students joining grade 9 need at least 3 years of previous study and for grade 10, at least 4 years of previous study. French is now offered at beginner level in grades 9 and 10. For German, new students joining grades 9 and 10 require a minimum of one year of previous study.

We recommend booking an online meeting or school tour to better understand the language options available for your child.

Mother Tongue Programme

GESS offers a comprehensive integrated mother tongue programme. We currently offer the following mother tongue languages:

Danish
Dutch
German
Mandarin*
Korean*
Indonesian*
Japanese*
Hindi*
French*
Spanish*
Swedish*

Other mother tongue languages may be possible. Please check with the Admissions Team.

*Additional fees may apply.

English Programme

Foreign Language Programme

Mother Tongue Programme

English Programme

English is the language of instruction as well as a subject. Students are grouped by proficiency level.

Language and Literature
An English programme for our students whose English level is at a native or near-native level of English.
Language acquisition
A specially designed programme to support and develop our students with an intermediate plus level of English.

Foreign Language Programme

FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PROGRAMME

The GESS Language Acquisition programme starts in grade 6. Our students are given the choice of studying Mandarin, French or Spanish as a foreign language. Please note that there are minimum proficiency requirements for joining the language programme in grades 9 and 10.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PROGRAMME

The Language Acquisition Programme (Mandarin or Spanish) starts in grade 6 at beginner level. Students joining grade 9 need at least 3 years of previous study and for grade 10, at least 4 years of previous study. French is now offered at beginner level in grades 9 and 10. For German, new students joining grades 9 and 10 require a minimum of one year of previous study.

We recommend booking an online meeting or school tour to better understand the language options available for your child.

Mother Tongue Programme

GESS offers a comprehensive integrated mother tongue programme. We currently offer the following mother tongue languages:

Danish
Dutch
German
Mandarin*
Korean*
Indonesian*
Japanese*
Hindi*
French*
Spanish*
Swedish*

Other mother tongue languages may be possible. Please check with the Admissions Team.

*Additional fees may apply.

IB DIPLOMA LANGUAGE PROGRAMME (Grade 11 and 12)

The GESS IB Diploma Programme offers one of the largest range of language options in international schools in Singapore. Our students can choose from over 10 language options and many more mother tongue languages are supported through our custom tutoring programme. Students that take two languages at Language and Literature level will be awarded a bilingual IB Diploma.

Language and Literature (A)

Language Acquisition (B)

Language and Literature (A)

It is a requirement of the IB Diploma Programme, that all students must study one language at a native proficiency level. At GESS, we offer a full range of languages at the Language and Literature (language A) level.

English A
German A
Dutch A
Danish A
French A*
Mandarin A*
Spanish A*
Japanese A*
Korean A*
Hindi A*
Swedish A*

*Mother tongue custom tutoring programme

As part of our international school's commitment to supporting our students' mother tongue language, we offer a mother tongue tutoring programme for languages not currently taught as part of the regular Language and Literature programme. The programme is coordinated by our World Language Coordinator and taught by carefully selected language specialists. Additional fees may be applicable for this programme. Please contact the Admissions Team for further information.

Language Acquisition (B)

All students taking the full IB Diploma Programme must study two languages. GESS students can choose from 6 language options (Language B) taught on-campus. For students that have not previously studied French, Spanish, Mandarin or German, we offer a beginner level French Ab initio course.

English B
French B
Spanish B
Mandarin B
German B

Beginner (Ab initio)

French

Language and Literature (A)

Language Acquisition (B)

Language and Literature (A)

It is a requirement of the IB Diploma Programme, that all students must study one language at a native proficiency level. At GESS, we offer a full range of languages at the Language and Literature (language A) level.

English A
German A
Dutch A
Danish A
French A*
Mandarin A*
Spanish A*
Japanese A*
Korean A*
Hindi A*
Swedish A*

*Mother tongue custom tutoring programme

As part of our international school's commitment to supporting our students' mother tongue language, we offer a mother tongue tutoring programme for languages not currently taught as part of the regular Language and Literature programme. The programme is coordinated by our World Language Coordinator and taught by carefully selected language specialists. Additional fees may be applicable for this programme. Please contact the Admissions Team for further information.

Language Acquisition (B)

All students taking the full IB Diploma Programme must study two languages. GESS students can choose from 6 language options (Language B) taught on-campus. For students that have not previously studied French, Spanish, Mandarin or German, we offer a beginner level French Ab initio course.

English B
French B
Spanish B
Mandarin B
German B

Beginner (Ab initio)

French