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Languages

The languages we speak at NIS are as diverse as our international community.

English is the common language of instruction underpinning our inclusive learning community. The learning of home and additional languages reinforces international mindedness, supports personal excellence, and develops creative thinking in each student across our school.

NIS offers IB curriculum-integrated courses for a number of languages during the regular school day. For other languages not offered as part of our curriculum, classes are provided by the parent community to native speakers outside of regular school hours.

Curricular Language Programmes

German Mother Tongue Language Programme

We offer German for mother tongue speakers at Nanjing International School in both Primary and Secondary. Our language curriculum is closely based on the national German curriculum, with instruction from qualified, experienced native German-speaking teachers, employing school books, materials, and tests that are used in Germany nationally.

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IB Languages and Bilingual Diplomas

All IB programmes value language as the central component to the development of critical thinking, essential for cultivating intercultural understanding and responsible membership in local, national and global communities.

NIS offers IB English A, German A, Mandarin A, and Korean A beginning in our Middle Years Programme (MYP) in Grade 6. For our older students, bilingual IB diplomas are available in these language as part of our Diploma Programme (DP). Through studies in language and literature, we strive to develop a student's lifelong interest in these subjects, and a love for the richness of human expression.

How does it work?

  • The study of 2 curricular A languages (ex. English A and Mandarin A).
  • Studying mother tongue in Language A + English B + a Group 3 subject.
Self-Taught IB Language A Language and Literature Option

For those of our students whose mother tongue is not taught at NIS as a curricular language, we offer the Self-Taught option in Grade 10 MYP and the DP. These students work synchronously and asynchronously with qualified external Language A educators.

German Mother Tongue Language Programme

We offer German for mother tongue speakers at Nanjing International School in both Primary and Secondary. Our language curriculum is closely based on the national German curriculum, with instruction from qualified, experienced native German-speaking teachers.

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IB Curriculum

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a world leader in future-focused education and has a hard-earned reputation for the highest standards of teaching, instructional leadership, and student achievement.  NIS is proud to be China's most established IB World School and Continuum School.

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English Language Support

The English Language Learning team is comprised of specialists who work throughout our school to providing targeted support for English language learners. In Primary, ELL teachers are integrated into classrooms, supporting English acquisition within the context of the regular learning environment.

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