Switzerland Lesson Plan

Anticipatory Set
- Today we will be learning about Switzerland and its education system.
- Objective: Inform the students on the education system in Switzerland and have them
compare and contrast it with the education system they were taught in.
- *Pass out Switzerland Flag worksheet and red marker, play national anthem in the
national language and in English while students color in flag*
- Introduce and play video on Interesting facts about Switzerland.

(play the Switzerland anthem)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfDpRzN2SBI
(in English)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QwG9SwvkaI

Interesting facts video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXt_PUlwKL0

Where is Switzerland located?

- Switzerland is located in Europe right above Italy.

Language:
- Tell them Switzerland has four national languages
- Ask them to guess which four languages are based on the picture of four men in
one Switzerland sweater.
- German is spoken by the majority of the country, taking up around 63% of the
population.
- French follows by around 23% of the population.
- 8% of the population speaks Italian
- And less than 1% of the population speaks Romansh

- One interesting fact about German-speaking Switzerland is that they use dialect for
spoken communication and standard German for written communication.
- A dialect is a regional variant of a regional language. The dialect used in
German-speaking Switzerland is called Swiss German and it is derived from
Alemannic dialects.
- This makes language learning in this part of the country very difficult for foreigners.
Culture of Switzerland https://growingupwithoutborders.com/europe/switzerland/20-
surprising-differences-between-living-in-switzerland-and-usa/
“Now we will talk about the differences between the culture of Switzerland and the culture
here in the US”
“The norms of Switzerland are very different than what we are used to”

*explain each topic and what it is like in Switzerland, then ask the class how it differs from
what it is like in America. Then press the slide so the other pictures transition in (pictures
relate to US culture)*

Shopping time
- during the week every shop closes by 6:30 pm, and nothing is open on Sundays
- Allows families to spend more quality time together and reserves one day a week strictly
for relaxation
- BONUS: By law, teachers can not assign homework to students on weekends
Shopping bags
- Won't get a shopping bag in any store
- Bring their own bags
- Care for environment
- The cashier won’t bag your items for you

Taking your time to enjoy your meal

- Everything takes much longer to prepare, so if you are at a restaurant, you will wait quite
some time for your food.
- No one will come to you repeatedly at a restaurant to ask how you are doing or if
everything is okay
- There is no rushing to eat, the waiter does not drop off the bill, you must call for them
- Rarely take food and drink to go, actually frowned upon to drink or eat in a car
NO free refills
- No free refills and the sizes are much smaller
- Keep from consuming large amounts of sugary drinks
- Rarely get ice in your drinks, if you ask they look at you crazy

Streets
- Very narrow, a lot of roundabouts
- No waiting at stoplights when going through a city or village
- Drive very close to other cars
- The passing lane is strictly for passing
- Speeding is strictly enforced with radars, going over slightly over will result in a ticket

Cash
- Cash over card everywhere
- They use big bills and carry cash at all times
Use at your own risk
- In America, wherever you go you will see excessive warnings. On the other hand, in
Switzerland, everything is used at your own risk. They rely on people’s common sense
and responsibility. The logic is following - if you are dumb enough to touch something
that is hot, that’s your own fault.
- No warnings on hot items or barriers on cliffs

Alcohol
- Part of everyday life
- The legal drinking age is 16 for beer and wine, and 18 for spirits.
- Drink openly on the street
- Drink casually to socialize, not to get drunk

Safety
- Switzerland is one of the safest countries in the world. They have low crime rates, and
they are community-oriented
- Kids walking by themselves
- People trust each other much more. The schools here have no gates, and anyone can walk
onto school property or in the school building, without any problem.

Greetings
- Expected to say Hi before asking a question or speaking to someone
- When you go up to the cash register or somebody in the store you must say “Hello” first
and then ask them for help instead of opening conversation with “Excuse me, can you tell
me….” If you skip greeting them, you will be considered extremely rude.

Paying for bathroom

- wherever you go - gas, bus or train stations, etc., you can expect to pay for using the
bathroom. This can cost up to one franc, so don’t forget to keep some pocket change on
yourself, because when you gotta go, you got to go.

Be quiet
- Very quiet people
- When you use any public transportation, you will notice - nobody’s talking, and they will
warn you to be silent too. Both kids and grownups are supposed to behave in this manner.
 - Also, for the same reason, you can not do your recycling on Sundays. It makes noise and,
as you know, Sunday is a restful day, which means noise is unwelcome.

Dieting
- Nonexistent
- No diets and no need for them
- eating rich foods, baguettes, and bread, but their everyday lifestyle gives them an
opportunity to burn all of those calories. Swiss walk everywhere and that is one way they
stay physically active.
- Hardly any fast food
- No fat processed junk food

Education System:
- Switzerland's education system is one of the most advanced in the world. Switzerland is
the go-to choice for many students looking to study internationally. The system is well
established and functional with delegated accountability and administration
- The majority of students in Switzerland complete 11 years of compulsory education at a
state school in the municipality in which they live. Roughly 5% attend a private school.
Switzerland also has some of the best, and most expensive, private schools in the world,
ranging from kindergarten up to university age.
- Education is required for all children and young people from 9 to 11 years. Children start
compulsory education when they are about four to six years old until about when they
turn 15 years old.
- Secondary schools in Switzerland are split into the career paths that the students are
heading towards based on their educational capacities.
- Typically schools operate from around 8:30 am to 4 pm, with a long lunch break. In some
schools, children are expected to return home to eat lunch, although many offer care over
the long lunchtime.
- Public schools are free of charge, and kids are not required to wear uniforms.

- There are only 14 universities in Switzerland and it is not required of students to attend
after secondary school.
- Students are graded with numbers from 6 (being the highest) to 1 (the lowest). They also
take tests at the end of the school year, where they get to test their gathered knowledge.
At the end of the year, depending on performance, students either continue to the next
year or repeat the previous one.

Assessment: Make a Venn Diagram comparing the Switzerland Education system with the one
that you grew up in within your country or state.
Transition for a student from Switzerland to an English speaking class in the US
- A student coming from Switzerland to an English speaking class would face several
difficulties
- *ask the class if they could think of a few examples and let the answers transition in as
they answer*
- Language barrier: as they speak German, French, Italian or Romansh in Switzerland they
would need to learn English now too
- Culturally things are many different: kids walk by themselves, would walk less, be
exposed to unhealthy fast foods, people are noisy all days of the week
- Education system: used to splitting secondary school into focus on career paths but now
in the US they will be exposed to 4 more years of schooling then encouraged to go to
college
How to keep the affective filter low?
*remind them again what affective filter is and say it is expected that a student coming from a
foreign country will experience a high affective filter but there are ways to lower the filter*
- Affective filter: describes a learner’s attitude that affects the relative success of second
language acquisition. A student would feel anxious or discouraged low self-confidence
- How to lower affective filter:
- Create partnerships between students: when a student is struggling to have
someone designated in the class to help them out will be comforting
- Motivation: allow students to have a choice for their work to allow them to pick
something they feel they would do better in boosts their confidence
- Reduce anxiety: reinforce that the student shouldn’t be scared of learning and that
the challenges the student is facing can be tackled together.

Kahoot:

https://create.kahoot.it/preview/b1b6647f-a624-4cc0-b607-b7b66f886d07