At Rilke Schule we have a special way to encourage the children to improve their German speaking skills. For first-fifth grade students, the children are encouraged to speak only German during the German half of their school day. If they succeed in speaking a minimum amount of German (Nur 'Ja' oder 'Nein' ist nicht o.k.!) and NO English, they will earn a Sprachmeister point. After a student has spoken ONLY German for 25 days in German class, the student will receive the first Sprachmeister award, a painted wooden German flag to keep and wear around his or her neck. Subsequent flags from German speaking countries are awarded as follows:
25 points German Flag
50 points Austrian Flag
75 points Swiss Flag
100 points Luxembourg Flag
125 points Liechtenstein Flag
150 points European Union Flag
The kindergarten teachers start the Sprachmeister program with their children during the third quarter, and the students earn a flag for every 10 days of only German spoken in class.