General Information
Does your child speak English as a first language?
Are you concerned about your child’s level of English growing up in a Swiss environment?
Three Australians, two Americans, one New Zealander, one South African, one Swiss, one Canadian, a Scottish girl and an English boy walk into a classroom...It’s no joke, they are part of a relatively recent addition to the Basel Education Department’s HSK program (Kurse in Heimatlicher Sprache und Kultur). The program‘s aim is to familiarize the many foreign residents of Basel with their roots, languages and culture. There are over 35 languages represented by the HSK program with a class in every language one could consider. English was made the 36th language in 2006 when two American moms got the go-ahead from the Department of Education to host the first English class for Native Speaker Children in Kaltbrunnen School.
The pilot middle school class of 10 kids has now blossomed into 7 classes in English for primary and middle school. The classes meet once a week in Kaltbrunnen, Seevogel and Oberwil schoolhouses and more are planned for Allschwil and Liestal.
Most pupils have one parent at home who is a native English speaker and the other parent Swiss, some have two native speakers at home or were born in an English speaking country and have done most of their schooling there.
Alexander, 13, American and Italian, who speaks English and German at home, has this to say about the class, “I like that so many cultures and different countries come together. They all have different words for things so you don’t just learn one sort of English.” Alexander is one of the 6 pupils who will be ‘graduating’ from the class after having completed 3 years at the OS level of English in HSK.
Nivashan, 13: “I like learning English because it’s easy for me. It’s a colorful language and lots of people speak it. I like everything in the class.”
The Department of Education supplies the classroom and teacher training courses. But a great bulk of the HSK program is organized by volunteer parent coordinators. The HSK program in English is always looking for new students, parent coordinators and teachers.