Blog German & Maths 19 August 2026 6 min read

Why good students abroad suddenly start getting worse grades

From year 5 onwards, many children at German schools abroad see their grades slip without knowing any less. The reason almost always lies in academic language, not in subject knowledge.

Pencil sketch: two curves drifting apart, opening a gap between them

In short

Because everyday German and school German are two different things. Children master the everyday language in about two years; academic language — the language of exam questions, essays and subject texts — takes five to seven. From year 5 onwards, school demands grow faster than that language level does. The grade then stops measuring knowledge and starts measuring the ability to show it.

What happens to grades from year 5 onwards?

Primary school usually goes well. Then year 5 arrives and, within two or three terms, grades in German and maths drop. The child is not studying less. They do not seem less motivated. And still the results get worse.

The reason is a shift you cannot see from the outside: from secondary level onwards, lessons move from listening and copying to independent reading, understanding and formulating. Questions get longer. Texts get more abstract. Knowing the answer is no longer enough — it has to be explained.

For children growing up abroad, that shift lands in a particular situation: their everyday German is strong, because German is spoken at home. Their school German, by contrast, gets far less practice than that of their peers in Germany.

What is the difference between everyday and academic language?

Everyday language is the language of the kitchen table: concrete, tied to the situation, supported by gestures, glances and shared knowledge. «Pass me that thing» works because both people can see what is meant.

Academic language is the language of school: abstract, precise, without context. It has to be understandable from the text alone. It includes technical terms, but above all structures — subordinate clauses, passive constructions, nominalisations, ordered arguments.

Language research has long distinguished these two levels, and the difference in timescale is the decisive point for families abroad: everyday skills are in place after roughly two years, academic ones take five to seven.

How to spot academic language in the exercise book

Put academically, an answer sounds like this: «The temperature rises because solar radiation increases.» In everyday language, the same insight sounds like this: «It gets warmer because the sun shines more.»

Both sentences show the same understanding. But only the first gets full marks in the exam.

Why does this affect maths as well?

Many parents associate language with the subject German. In practice, the gap often shows up first in maths — in word problems.

A word problem requires three steps: understand the text, translate it into a calculation, translate the result back into an answer sentence. Two of those three steps are linguistic. If a child can calculate but gets stuck on word problems, maths is rarely the problem.

On top of that comes technical language: «rises by 20 per cent» is not the same as «rises to 20 per cent». «At least» includes the value, «more than» does not. Such distinctions decide between right and wrong, and they are pure language.

Why does «practise more» usually not help?

Many families' first reaction is understandable: more exercises, more time at the desk, perhaps some tutoring for the next topic. That helps in the short term for the next test — and afterwards the same situation is back.

The reason: what gets practised is the material, not the level beneath it. A child who works through ten more word problems without clarifying the language of the question trains exactly what already works.

There is a second effect parents often describe: the child withdraws. When effort does not lead to better grades, the obvious explanation is «I'm just not good at this» — and motivation disappears, even though ability was never the problem.

Symptom: a worse grade in the test.
Obvious reading: they did not study enough.
Actual cause: the linguistic means to show what was learnt are missing.

How can parents tell that language is the cause?

There are a few signs that together give a fairly clear picture. On their own they mean little; taken together they are a strong indication.

Your child explains the material to you correctly out loud but loses marks in written work.
Corrections contain comments such as «unclear», «give reasons» or «off topic».
In maths word problems the approach is missing, although the operation itself is secure.
Essays are well thought through in content but come out short, jumpy or repetitive.
When reading questions, your child frequently asks what is meant.
The mark for oral participation is clearly better than the written one.

What helps instead?

What works is the opposite route: first find out where the language holds and where it does not, then work on that level deliberately — using real school material, not extra worksheets on the side.

In practice that means mastering the text types required at each year level, building the technical language of both subjects, and practising formulation until it is available on demand. This is not a one-week project, but it is not a mystery either: the path is known and can be described.

For families abroad there is one more condition: this work has to be anchored in the German curriculum. Otherwise you end up with language support that has nothing to do with the child's actual school.

Key points

Falling grades from year 5 are rarely a knowledge or effort problem.
Everyday language takes about two years, academic language five to seven.
It shows most clearly wherever writing is required — including in maths.
Telling a child to practise more treats the symptom, not the cause.
Academic language can be built deliberately, but not picked up in passing.

Frequently asked questions

At what year does the problem typically appear?

Most often between years 5 and 7, when the share of independent reading and writing rises sharply. A second critical point comes in years 9 and 10, when argumentative essays and text analysis are added.

My child speaks fluent German. Can they still be affected?

Yes, and this is the most common case. Fluent speech is everyday language. It says little about whether a child can structure an argument or write a text analysis. That very difference is why the problem stays hidden for so long.

Is this the same as dyslexia?

No. A reading and spelling disorder is a difficulty of a different kind that requires professional assessment. The effect described here affects children without such a disorder and is connected to their language environment. If dyslexia is suspected, a specialist assessment is the right step.

How long does it take to see a change?

First effects usually show within a few months, because text types and exam language can be trained quickly. Building a solid academic language foundation is work across several school years — ongoing support, not a course of treatment.

What can I do as a parent at home?

What helps most is reading in German beyond everyday vocabulary, and talking about what has been read. It is also worth having your child explain things — fully, in complete sentences. Neither replaces focused work on text types, but both create the foundation.

Maike Rulfs-Zoua

Founder of Assadé, teacher and telc examiner

More than 30 years of experience as a teacher and examiner, with posts at the Goethe-Institut, the German School Barcelona and the American International School of Riyadh. Mother of five.