'I can...' statements: Resource 4: German

Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) program

The Polyglots: German

Information for primary school educators

ELLA is a fun, digital, play-based language learning program for children in preschool. The aim is for children to recognise the different sounds and concepts of a language other than English through the introduction of words, sentences and songs in age-appropriate experiences and practices. Early experience in language learning is an important platform for encouraging language learning in the later years of education.

Preschools involved in this project have chosen one of the available languages to incorporate into their educational program. The ELLA apps are designed to provide children with early language learning experiences and are aligned to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Australian Curriculum (Foundation to Year 2).

The ELLA apps

The ELLA apps are designed to be engaging and educational.
The design and development of the ELLA apps was guided by experts in languages, early childhood and technology.
Children play together as they explore the apps, sharing ideas and helping each other.
Learning experiences within apps are play-based and draw on the interests and activities of young children; for example, a sandpit, cooking experiences, art activities, building and role-play.
Educators and children learn together – an effective and collaborative learning method.

What are the benefits for children of participating in ELLA?

There are many benefits to learning another language in the ELLA program.

Children expand their knowledge of how language works and apply these skills to other literacy tasks such as listening carefully to sounds in words. These skills will be used when children learn to read and write.
Language learning increases memory, concentration and critical thinking skills.
Children use social skills when they play with the apps. They share the tablets and their knowledge, and they interact and help each other.
The apps provide opportunities for children to increase their digital skills.
The apps create opportunities to celebrate culture and diversity, to share home languages, and to strengthen links between families and the preschool.
The skills and understandings developed through ELLA can be extended in children’s language learning experiences at school, whether this be continuing with the same language or transferring to a new language.

The ELLA program is funded by the Australian Government and managed by Education Services Australia.

Want to find out more? Visit the ELLA website

Key German language included in the ELLA apps

Each of the ELLA apps engages children in play-based activities in different contexts to provide meaningful opportunities to hear and use language. There are also many cultural elements included in the apps.

Below is a brief description of each app and some of the key words and phrases that children are introduced to.

App 1: The Polyglots in the Playroom

When exploring The Polyglots in the Playroom, children become familiar with language relating to greetings, introductions, farewells and expressing likes and dislikes.

Through engaging with App 1, children will begin to develop skills to:

sing the ‘Hello’ song in German
say some simple greetings in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Guten Tag!	Hello!
Bis später!	See you later!

introduce themselves in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Ich heiße (name).	My name is (name).

App 2: The Polyglots at the Beach

The Polyglots at the Beach provides a playful environment and opportunities to explore the language of colours.

While playing above and below the water, children are encouraged to interact with the language of colours, sea creatures and expressions of preference.

Through engaging with App 2, children will begin to develop skills to:

name some colours in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Blau	Blue
Grün	Green
Orange	Orange
Rosa	Pink
Rot	Red
Gelb	Yellow

express some likes and dislikes in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Ich mag Rot!	I like red!
Ich mag kein Gelb!	I don’t like yellow!

App 3: The Polyglots at the Birthday Party

The Polyglots at the Birthday Party is an opportunity to explore the language of numbers through counting candles, singing songs, making cakes and saying how old children are.

Through engaging with App 3, children will begin to develop skills to:

count to ten in German

German phrase	English translation
Eins	One
Zwei	Two
Drei	Three
Vier	Four
Fünf	Five
Sechs	Six
Sieben	Seven
Acht	Eight
Neun	Nine
Zehn	Ten

say how old they are in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Ich bin (age) Jahre alt.	I am (age) years old.

say happy birthday in German

German phrase	English translation
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!	Happy birthday!

App 4: The Polyglots at the Zoo

The Polyglots at the Zoo features animals in an open-range zoo and introduces children to words for foods and drinks, and phrases for being able to say they are hungry and thirsty, for asking politely and saying thank you.

Through engaging with App 4, children will begin to develop skills to:

name some fruits in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
der Apfel	Apple
die Banane	Banana
die Orange	Orange
die Erdbeere	Strawberry

say I’m hungry/thirsty in German

German phrase	English translation
Ich habe Hunger!	I’m hungry!
Ich habe Durst!	I'm thirsty!

say thank you in German

German phrase	English translation
Danke!	Thank you!

make simple requests in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Ich möchte einen Apfelsaft.	I’d like/I want an apple juice.

App 5: The Polyglots at the Circus

The Polyglots at the Circus takes children to the magical space of a circus, providing them with the opportunity to experience language related to parts of the body.

Through engaging with App 5, children will begin to develop skills to:

name some body parts in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
der Kopf	Head
der Arm	Arm
das Bein	Leg
der Fuß	Foot

say some parts of the face in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
das Auge	Eye
das Ohr	Ear
der Mund	Mouth
die Nase	Nose

say something hurts in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Mein Kopf tut weh!	My head hurts!

use some adjectives in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Große	Big
Kleine	Small

App 6: The Polyglots at the Park

The Polyglots at the Park features games and activities that encourage children to actively engage in learning verbs and adverbs relating to actions.

Through engaging with App 6, children will begin to develop skills to:

respond to some simple instructions in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Gehen!	Walk!
Tanzen!	Dance!

use some adverbs in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Schnell	Fast/quickly
Langsam	Slowly

App 7: The Polyglots in the Town

The Polyglots in the Town provides an opportunity for children to use familiar language developed through apps 1–6 in a range of experiences in the town.

Through engaging with App 7, children will begin to develop skills to:

name some shapes in German. For example:

German phrase	English translation
Ein Dreieck	Triangle
Ein Viereck	Square
Ein Kreis	Circle

recognise the meaning of some words written in German
say goodbye in German

German phrase	English translation
Auf Wiedersehen!	Goodbye!

Connections with the Australian Curriculum for German

The ELLA apps provide an engaging and enjoyable resource to support children in the initial stages of learning German.

The statements below are taken from the Achievement Standards of the Australian Curriculum for German. They capture some of the elements that children will have learnt by the end of Year 2 – after three years of learning German at school.

The ELLA apps provide opportunities for children to engage with the following statements from the Australian Curriculum. Children’s abilities and levels of achievement will be influenced by a range of factors.

Foundation to Year 2 Achievement Standard

Children interact with teachers and peers through action-related talk and play.
Children introduce themselves and exchange greetings and farewells, for example, Ich heiße …, Auf Wiedersehen! and express likes and dislikes.
When interacting, children use short, formulaic expressions, for example, Danke!, Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! and make simple statements such as Das ist …, Ich mag …
Children use repetitive language and respond to simple instructions when participating in games and shared activities.
Children reproduce some distinctive sounds and rhythms of spoken German, including ch, u, r and z.
Children identify specific words and information, such as the names of people, places or objects.
Children convey factual information about self, family and possessions at word and simple sentence level.
Children identify some words that are written the same in both German and English but pronounced differently.
Children identify similarities and differences between German and their own language(s) and culture(s), noticing that using a language involves behaviours as well as words.

ELLA is funded by the Australian Go ELLA is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and is managed by Education Services Australia. © 2021 Commonwealth of Australia, unless otherwise indicated. This material, other than Commonwealth trade marks in The Polyglots characters and The Polyglots logo, may be used in accordance with the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 licence, unless otherwise indicated.

Education Services Australia logo

Education Services Australia Limited ABN 18 007 342 421

Level 5 440 Collins Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia

www.esa.edu.au Email: [email protected]

Telephone: +61 3 9207 9600 ELLA helpdesk: 1800 468303