Daily language acquisition classes

In the English programme, every child from pre-kindergarten to grade 6 receives daily Chinese or French lessons as part of our language acquisition programme. Students are grouped according to their linguistic ability and are taught by highly experienced language teachers.

As students move into Secondary School (grades 7-12), language classes may be scheduled in double period blocks (learning will equal five periods per week), which allows for a more focused approach to academic content.

Secondary language acquisition options include:

• Grades 7-10: Chinese, French, Spanish or English
• Grades 11-12: Chinese, French, Spanish or one of over 53 self-taught languages in the Diploma Programme (IB DP)

Bilingual programmes and pathways

CIS' pioneering bilingual Chinese-English and French-English programmes are designed to allow students to be fluent communicators in both languages, providing them with an edge in an extremely competitive and ever-changing world.

Available in pre-kindergarten to grade 6 (Chinese bilingual) and junior kindergarten to grade 6 (French bilingual), our bilingual programmes are fully aligned with the IB PYP and includes two qualified teachers per class: one native English speaker and one native Chinese speaker.

Our Chinese bilingual students have opportunities to extend their Chinese literacy through the following secondary bilingual courses:

• Grades 7-10 Chinese Language & Literature
• Grades 7-9 Math
• Grade 7 Individuals & Societies
• Grades 11-12 Chinese Language & Literature
• Grades 11-12 Theory of Knowledge in Chinese

Our bilingual programmes are perfect for families who want their children to become bilingual, biliterate and bicultural in both English and Chinese / French.

You can view the language requirements for our bilingual programmes on the entry requirements page on our website.

English language learner programme

We also support students whose first language is not English through our English Language Learner (ELL) programme, and to develop skills in their mother tongue wherever possible. ELL support is offered from senior kindergarten to grade 10. Details regarding language requirements in our English programme (senior kindergarten to grade 10) and English, Chinese and French bilingual programmes can be found on the entry requirements page.

After-school languages

CIS offers an after-school paid language programme through extra curricular activities to students in grades 1-12. Weekly lessons are available in a range of languages that meet the demands of our community. Languages may change annually, however, some of the languages we have offered previously have included Chinese, French, Japanese, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.