Howdy guys! Today I want to share with you some information about a small European country who has a very interesting trilingual education program. Thee reason why I'm so interested in Luxembourg's education system is because one of my cousins currently goes to school there. So every time I talk to my aunt, I hear great things about how he is doing so I decided to look it up and see how their system is set up. My cousin is quintilingual; he speaks English, Spanish, German, French, and Luxemburgesch. Isn't that cool?! So anyways, below are some facts that I found about Luxembourg's Trilingual Education system. Hope you enjoy learning about education is a different corner of the world! :)
Facts about Luxembourg's Population:
Languages used are Letzeburgesch, German and French
almost 100% of the people are trilingual
about 26% immigrants, most of them with little knowledge of Letzeburgesch
Letzeburgesch: primarily for oral communication in informal settings
Luxembourg's Trilingual Education System
French and German are the written languages (e.g. in courts or correspondence)
the more educated the inhabitants are, the more likely they are to use French in conversations
Language Use in School
Type of School
Medium of Instruction
Nursery school
only Letzeburgesch
Primary school
first years: Letzeburgesch
transition to German by the end of sixth grade
German is taught as a subject in the first year
And French is introduced at the end of grade two
Secondary schools
for the first three years, most classes are taught in German
- general and technical
French replaces German in fourth grade but some classes are still taught in German
- complementary
Students have a less well–developed knowledge of French
proficiency in French depends on the length of time students stay in school
German is given more emphasis in elementary education, French is primary emphasis in secondary education
mother tongue is totally replaced by two languages as the medium of instruction
Source: http://www.unavarra.es/tel2l/eng/luxembourg.htm
