About Us | Tandem IMS

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While learning new languages is achievable at any age, mastering multiple languages is a skill best learned from birth. It is during the earliest years of life that rapidly developing brain connections form a child’s foundation for successful language, thinking and social skills. Children who learn multiple languages during the most critical years of brain development are more likely to later show proficiency in varying areas.

At Tandem IMS we teach English, German and French. Our children actively engage in language play and compare their thoughts in different languages. The acquired bilingual and multilingual linguistic skills not only ensure greater cognitive development but also develop the child’s social and global understanding.

The core of the Tandem International Multilingual Curriculum is the Zurich Lehrplan 21 and the UK National Curriculum upon which elements of the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme have been added. Our goal is to foster pupils holistically and guide them step by step all the way to the Swiss Matura at our own Gymnasium.

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To support our translanguaging pedagogy, we ensure that two teachers (GE and EN native speakers) work with the classes simultaneously several times a week. By using a multilingual classroom ecology, the languages flow naturally and our children gain a deeper insight into the specifics and complexities of the languages. They learn each language more effectively and thoroughly through the other. This in-depth and rich linguistic learning would not be possible if they learned the languages separately in different classrooms or at different times. Translanguaging enables faster language acquisition as well as higher levels of linguistic connectivity.

Our employment of Enquiry-Based Learning is based on the Primary Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate (IB). It allows children’s inquisitive minds to take over and encourages children to ask questions, do research and find answers. The children can become explorers for knowledge whilst also learning how to learn. This is a key aspect of how we wish to prepare our children for the future: we focus on helping children understand how to learn and adapt, rather than simply acquire knowledge to be repeated for the purposes of a test.

We support every child in reaching their highest potential and developing their learning strategies in order to prepare them for their next educational step - be it for a Swiss Gymnasium or another upper-level Swiss or international school. To ensure your child’s progress, we provide a variety of assessments as i.e. Swiss Klassencockpit and UK SATs and offer our 5th and 6th graders a Gymnasium preparation course.

Our daughter Milla started in Kindergarten 1 and finished in grade 6. We are so thankful to all the teachers, management and administration for the great work they do with the children. Tandem IMS offers a friendly environment and the warmth of a family. Milla had a lot of fun but she also learned a lot. She is not only academically strong in English and German and advanced in French but she developed as an individual who loves and respects people, who is independent and confident, who is free to express her opinion, who knows how to organize her daily life and work under pressure. As she said in her graduation speech: «Here in Tandem I had the best time of my life! I am looking forward to the future because I know I am well prepared for the next step of my life.»