Languages
- Spanish
- French
- Arabic
- Mandarin
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
Modern Languages
UNIS endorses a model of enriched language education in which all students acquire proficiency in two languages in addition to English and their home language(s). UNIS aims to provide authentic language learning experiences that have age appropriate global significance and that give students the opportunity to explore the similarities shared by people of the diverse cultures of the United Nations International School community.
UNIS offers language instruction in nine modern languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. Students take French or Spanish from Pre-K to Grade 10 as their second language. From Grade 7 to 10, students add an additional language, different to the one they are taking as their second language, to be chosen among Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian or Spanish. Each language is offered in different levels of proficiency according to the nomenclature of the Common European Framework and ranging from Pre-A1.1 to B2.2.
At the IB level, in Grades 11 and 12, UNIS offers Language A, Language B and Ab Initio courses for the eight languages plus a number of others as self-study.
"UNIS is a multicultural, multilingual, diverse community where languages and a better understanding of others’ cultures help us shape a better world."
Paco Barba Morán Director of Modern Languages
Welcome to the MLD podcast!
Our Modern Languages Department has created a new podcast to showcase our unique language program, our students' incredible work and authentic multi-language conversation.
MLD Podcast Episodes
![Ep. 4]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1679424022/unis/xrqpauetjtkmjecmgrlb/ScreenShot2023-03-21at22107PM.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1679424022/unis/xrqpauetjtkmjecmgrlb/ScreenShot2023-03-21at22107PM.png","width":497}])
Interested in joining the UNIS community?
Spanish
Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations.
We offer Spanish as both a Language A (Home Language) and a Language B (Foreign Language Acquisition) from Prek-12. Our Language A program is accredited by the Government of Spain, which supports it by appointing three Government Sponsored teachers to teach Language & Literature and Humanities in Spanish from Kindergarten to Grade 10.
UNIS has twenty teachers from various Spanish-speaking countries, providing our students with an opportunity to be exposed to a rich variety of cultures and regional variations of the language.
French
French is one of the official languages of the United Nations.
French was the first modern language taught at UNIS. We offer French as both a Language A (Home Language) and a Language B (Foreign Language Acquisition) from Prek-12. Our Language A program includes Language & Literature and Humanities in French from Kindergarten to Grade 10.
UNIS has 20 teachers that represent various francophone nations and expose our students to the various cultures and regional variations of the language.
Arabic
Arabic is one of the official languages of the United Nations.
We offer Arabic as both a Language A (Home Language) and a Language B (Foreign Language Acquisition) from Grade 7 to Grade 12. Over the years, several Arabic-speaking nations in the United Nations have contributed to our program.
UNIS has 2 teachers who teach across all levels and bring the language and culture alive for students.
Mandarin
Chinese is one of the official languages of the United Nations.
We offer Mandarin as both a Language A (Home Language) and a Language B (Foreign Language Acquisition) from Grade 7 to Grade 12. Our program is accredited by the Government of China, which supports it by appointing one Government Sponsored teacher.
UNIS has 4 teachers who teach across all levels and bring the language and culture alive for students.
German
We offer German as both a Language A (Home Language) and a Language B (Foreign Language Acquisition) from Grade 7 to Grade 12. Our program is accredited by the Government of Germany, which supports it by appointing one Government Sponsored teacher.
UNIS has 3 teachers who teach across all levels and bring the language and culture alive for students.
Italian
We offer Italian as both a Language A (Home Language) and a Language B (Foreign Language Acquisition) from Grade 7 to Grade 12. Our program is accredited by the Government of Italy, which supports it by appointing one Government Sponsored teacher.
UNIS has 3 teachers who teach across all levels and bring the language and culture alive for students.
Japanese
We offer Japanese as both a Language A (Home Language) and a Language B (Foreign Language Acquisition) from Grade 7 to Grade 12.
UNIS has 4 teachers who teach across all levels and bring the Japanese language and culture alive for students.
Russian
