Starting this September, we offer Arabic, English, French, Hebrew, Spanish, and Turkish courses for children and introduce a fresh approach to our classes. Our new course structure is designed to make language learning accessible and enjoyable for children from 1 to 14 years old and provide continuity for their learning path. Read on for an overview of how our courses for children are now organized.

What’s New?

New Languages
Arabic is back and we’re adding Spanish to our offerings, providing even more opportunities for children to learn and grow!

Updated Course Structure
Our courses are divided into three main age groups to ensure that the content and teaching methods are appropriate for each developmental stage.

1. First Steps (ages 1-6): In the  ‘first steps’ you’ll find courses for two groups: Toddlers (ages 1-4) and Preschoolers (ages 4-6).

– Toddlers: In our toddler group (1-4-year-olds), toddlers and their parents/caretakers will be singing songs, dancing, playing, reading books and doing crafts together, all in the language they are learning. This way, children will absorb a lot of the language. This is an important first step when learning a new language. By enjoying this class together, the songs and words that are used during the lessons will easily find their way into your homes.
– Preschoolers: Our preschooler courses (4-6 year olds) are for children who started primary school but have not yet learned how to read and write. Similar to our toddler groups, this course for preschoolers focuses on immersing children in a new language and using the language they are learning by singing, dancing, playing, reading, and crafting.

2. Young Learners (ages 6-9): Our ‘young learners’ courses are for any 6-9-year-olds, ranging from beginners to intermediate speakers. The courses we offer for young learners are:
– Alphabet: The alphabet courses are meant to teach children the alphabet of languages that don’t use Latin letters (i.e. Arabic and Hebrew). In these courses, children will play their way through the letters and sounds in the alphabet of the language they are learning.
– Reading & writing: Our reading & writing courses advance the sounds and letters that children learned in the alphabet course into reading and writing full sentences. Like the alphabet courses, these courses are available for Arabic and Hebrew.
– Pre-A1 starters: This level introduces the very beginnings of the target language and will give your child the tools to start communicating freely in the new language.
– A1 movers: The ‘A1 movers’ is the level for children who already know some of the basics of the language. Children will start to express themselves more by learning to give brief descriptions of people and objects, agreeing and disagreeing, responding to basic questions, and telling simple stories about topics that are relevant and important to them.
– A2 flyers: Our next and final level for young learners is the ‘A2 flyers’. In this group, children will obtain the strategies necessary to become more confident and creative in using the language.

3. Teens (ages 9-14): In these courses, teenagers will obtain more advanced communicative language skills and also work on grammar and writing.

Course Categories
To better meet the needs of our students, we’ve divided our language courses into two main categories:

– Regular Courses: Our regular courses welcome children who grow up in a home where the target language is not spoken but are curious to learn a new language or whose families plan to move abroad. We offer regular courses for toddlers (ages 1-4), preschoolers (ages 4-6), young learners (ages 6-9), and teens (ages 9-14).
– Heritage Courses*: The heritage courses are geared to children who have at least one parent/caretaker whose native language is the language of the course. These courses follow the same level structure as the regular courses but they take into account that children are also exposed to their target language at home.

* The heritage courses for French follow the French education system. In other words, books and methods align with the ones used by French primary schools, and the levels are named accordingly.

The age of each group is an indication. Do you think that your child might thrive better in a different age group? Are you unsure which is the best group/level for your child? Please let us know! Not all languages offer all categories, levels, and age groups (yet). If you couldn’t find the level that you are looking for in our program, we also offer private lessons for children! Contact info@taalhuisamsterdam.nl and our teacher will get in touch to find the best option together.

Trial lessons for children during the open day on 1 September 2024
Would you like to see our children’s courses and our new system in practice? We have an open day on 1 September and there will be Arabic, English, French, Hebrew, and Turkish trial lessons for children. While your child is enjoying their lesson, you can see our school, meet our teachers, join the information session “All About Taalhuis” and get answers to your questions! If you’re interested, please fill out this form and we will contact you soon.