Language 2 (L2)

Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!

Do you want to be in a school where you hear different languages spoken around you all the time? Where you can practice and develop your second language every day, perhaps chatting with friends in the student café, or working in class on real-life issues? 

In line with the school’s mission to enable a multilingual learning environment, at European School Copenhagen we offer French, German or English as your second language (L2). This will be your first foreign language. By the end of S5, you should have attained Level B2 in the Common European Framework for Languages.  It is therefore expected that you already have an intermediate level equivalent to B1 when you start Upper Secondary (gymnasium). 

You will further develop your linguistic skills in your second language through immersion, as some of your subjects – History and Geography – will also be taught in this language.   

Languages are at the heart of learning in the European School which is proud of its multicultural and multilingual environment. The language syllabuses make a significant contribution not only to the development of communicative competences, but also to social and civic competences and to the students’ cultural awareness and expression. All students take second language L2 in S5, S6 and S7.  

Teaching 

Second languages are taught through the study of literary and non-literary texts, providing relevant context for the development of the core skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. 

In S5, we cover the following topics: 

• Literature analysis of novels and playscripts 

• Non-literary text analysis and comprehension 

• Understanding speeches and arguments of relative complexity 

• Expressing personal opinions in conversations 

• Written texts using a variety of genres, including literature reviews 

• Cultural heritage of the target language 

• Individual learning strategies 

• Research using on and offline resources. 

In S6 and S7, we delve further into the topics from S5: 

• Literature analysis of novels of greater length and complexity  

• Non-literary text analysis and comprehension  

• Implicit and explicit comprehension of longer speeches and complex arguments  

• Developing and justifying personal opinions in conversations and discussions 

• Written texts using a variety of genres 

• Writing to express a critical point of view, including literature reviews  

• Cultural heritage of the target language  

• Individual learning strategies  

• Research using on- and offline resources

Exam 

You will sit two B-tests each year in S5 and S6. Each year, the B-test in the autumn semester will be of a format chosen by the teacher, and the B-test in the summer will be a written test. 

In S7 you must sit L2 as a written exam. The exam has a duration of 3 hours. You can also choose to sit L2 as an oral exam. The oral exam is 20 minutes preparation followed by 20 minutes examination.