Speech & Language

Our Goal

At the GISAD kindergarten, we are very committed to a holistic approach to education and to supporting our children in their natural stage of development as well as their individual learning needs.

Our aim is to support the children in their personal, social, physical as well as linguistic competencies and to prepare them for entry into primary school.

In order to enable the children to pursue a school career in the German school system, the teaching of the German language is a central goal of our pedagogical tasks in the GISAD kindergarten.

Experiencing language

Regular participation in the daily kindergarten routine enables children to hear and experience language. These linguistic impressions are picked up and shaped by the kindergarten teacher in everyday life.

The children’s language is promoted in the morning circle, in play, at mealtimes, and in all our educational areas.

In addition to the daily support in the group, the children in the GISAD kindergarten take part in DaF activities that are tailored to their language level and age.

Our DaF team

Two certified DaF specialists (Ms Kübra Numanoglu and Ms Mitra Babadi) are responsible for the language development of the children in the kindergarten.

Pedagogue B.A. and DaF coordinator kuebra.numanoglu@gisad.ae

Teacher and DaF specialist mitra.babadi@gisad.ae

Our role and attitude

The DaF teachers deal with the children in an error-friendly and strength-oriented way and pick up each child where he or she is.

The teacher speaks slowly and clearly and models the children’s expressions instead of correcting them. In addition, she always appreciatively asks the children to repeat what they have said and visualizes what they have said with picture cards, objects, facial expressions, and gestures.

The aim is to get the children into the speaking role as quickly as possible and to create a trusting and stimulating learning environment in which they can enjoy speaking German.

Our DaF offers

The DaF offers are carefully prepared and adapted to the different learning needs of the age and language level groups.

The DaF lessons take place in a stimulating learning environment and in a separate room which is exclusively for DaF lessons and offers a lot of freedom of movement.

The children are taken out of their kindergarten group in small groups (2-6 children) and learn language individually, playfully, and holistically with all their senses.

We work with the programmes “KIKUS” and “Deutsch für den Schulstart“.

Our “friends” (hand puppets) accompany us in the German lessons and provide a lot of fun and motivation.

Mimi the cat and Draco the dragon (DfdSS) Mimi and Momo (KIKUS)

Language diagnostics

In each kindergarten group, there are three language learning groups DaF1, DaF 2, and DaF 3, which differ in the level of difficulty of the content.

The language level of the children is assessed by the kindergarten teacher and the DaF specialist, taking into account the kindergarten years and age.

In addition, tests are taken every year to evaluate the children’s language use in order to find out the children’s need for support and to be able to support them individually.

These tests take place twice a year according to the basic procedure of “German for the start of school” in a child-friendly manner in a sheltered setting and in an individual session.

The child is presented with different pictures one after the other and is asked to describe what is happening in the pictures. We look at aspects such as vocabulary, sentence structure, article usage, and verb conjugation.

The following screenings/testings are planned for the year 2022/23:

2 screenings per school year: for DaF 2 and DaF 3 (End of November 2022, May 2023).
1 screening for DaF 1 (May 2023)

Cooperation with parents through MS Teams / Homework

It is very important to us to work hand in hand with the parents on the development of the children. Therefore, every week homework and learning materials are posted online on MS Teams and parents are asked to repeat and deepen the contents learned at home with their children.
The main aim is to get the parents on board and to cooperate with them in order to give the children the opportunity to repeat the contents of the DaF lessons at home with their parents.
Parents can view the DaF topics and content in the MS Teams channel and download the work materials.

The homework serves as an occasion to talk about the topics of the DaF lessons in German (if possible) or in the family language and to consolidate the vocabulary learned.

Our DaF team

Ms Kübra Numanoglu
Ms Kübra Numanoglu

Ms Mitra<br>Babadi
Ms Mitra
Babadi

ZFA
WDA
Schulen
Exzellente Deutsche Auslandsschule
DAS