take me back to the German version 
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
(Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, 1922)
anglophone and anglophile – Learning English at the Marienschule
Contents at a click:
- English – the world language
- Language skills
- The bilingual stream
- CertiLingua
- Cambridge Certificates
- School exchanges with GB and USA
- Core syllabus, central examinations – Lernstand 8, Zentralabitur
- Internal school curriculum
English – the world language
English is spoken by the most people in the world;
- by ca. 375 million as the native language (only exceeded by Mandarin in China),
- by twice as many as a second language or official language,
- otherwise the most widespread language in the world;
- as the lingua franca English is an important means of communication for trade, academia and technology
Language skills
The fact that language and thinking are connected and the learning of a foreign language broadens horizons in every aspect has been recognised at least since Humboldt and Wittgenstein and was demonstrated spectacularly in George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Overcoming the boundaries of our own world and understanding others is the aim of teaching foreign languages. Understanding each other is important in a world that is growing together, a world which we would like to travel, study and work in and in which we want to have personal and amicable contact.
The earlier we learn a foreign language, the easier and better we learn it. Since learning English is started as early as in the Grundschule (primary school equivalent) and English at the Marienschule is carried on with as a first foreign language, the students can obtain a higher level of language competency. Monolingual lessons and projects outside of lessons with native speakers (exchanges, email projects, theatre workshops, preparation and completion of Cambridge Certificate examinations etc.) contribute to the students’ growing independence and confidence in using the English language.
Cambridge Certificates
Since 2007 the Marienschule has been registered as a school offering examinations in
UNIVERSITY of CAMBRIDGE
ESOL Examinations