Children must be able to, if you come to the elementary school, speaks good German? The calls for a CDU politician, and is criticized for it hard. But this claim is really beyond the pale? From Berlin, Sabine Kinkartz
In Germany, the summer to tend to be holiday the end. In Berlin and Brandenburg, has begun on Monday, the school again, the other States will follow until the beginning of September. Nationwide, more than 700,000 are first graders at the Start.
Children so, in General, with six years compulsory education. Reading, writing and arithmetic they learn in elementary school. But also knowledge of the situation, so basic knowledge of geography, history and science, music, art and sports are on the curriculum.
In state schools is taught in English. For children who have visited the school, no Kindergarten, or at home in the family do not speak English, is a challenge. But also for the teachers. Especially, if, in the classes, very many children the language of instruction is not mastered. This is especially in large cities regional are not uncommon. Between 2013 and 2018, the share of foreign pupils in German primary schools has increased from 6.6 to 11.6 percent.
English as a foreign language
The Example Of Duisburg. According to a health report made this year in the North Rhine-Westphalian city of a hundred only eight errors-graders with an immigrant background free English. Of all last year in Duisburg schooled children, about 16 percent were able to absolutely no English.
If letters and words are read and write, the children learn in school
In the view of the CDU in the Bundestag, Carsten Linnemann, these children should not be enrolled in school on a regular basis. “A child who barely speaks English and understands, has to search on a primary school nothing yet,” said the Deputy Chairman of the newspaper Rheinische Post. In such cases, there should be a pre-school compulsory, if necessary, the Training had to be postponed.
An Expression for the Linnemann first of all, criticism is earned, even from within its own ranks. The schleswig-Holstein Minister of education, Karin Prien (CDU) spoke of “populist nonsense” and linnemann starts to called the claim “completely wrong way”. At the compulsory education there is nothing you can do, – said the integration Commissioner of the Federal government, Annette Widmann-Mauz (CDU). Would be needed, but mandatory testing and language support programmes, which start as early as possible.
That is exactly what he had asked for, however, fought back to Linnemann later. To him, the key is that it must have consequences, if children from the language school, the so-called stand-Tests did not exist. If then still would have enrolled, had not, neither the children of German-speaking the from-German-speaking households, some of it, said Linnemann, the German press Agency.
Also German children to leave
In the case of the teacher-education and science trade Union (GEW) you can see the differentiated. It was mainly due to the increasing shortage of skilled workers, that the teachers were unlikely to be able to deal with the language problems at the school. Especially since German children “have increasingly spoke of significant problems”, such as the Ilka Hoffmann, education specialist of the education and science trade Union (GEW) stresses. This is not only a Problem in children with a migration background.
Children learn from each other
Hoffmann demands that teachers get more time for language education. The teaching groups should be small and the learning conditions are improved overall. Children with poor German language skills, if necessary, later school, such as Carsten Linnemann call it, amounts to the exclusion of the affected children. If the encounter with other children was limited, “we are making the Integration a disservice”. Children learned by children, and “even small children learn in the game, not in the classic German course”.
“It’s annoying”
It’s nice to see politicians who have foreign roots in Germany and gone to school with grew up in.
“It annoys me simply, if politicians are up to their responsibility and don’t care what you should take care to develop solutions, rather than problems,” writes the green member of the state Parliament Aminata Touré from Schleswig-Holstin on Twitter.
Four-year-old test
Berlin and Hamburg have already found a solution: In the two States, the language tests in Kindergarten are prescribed for a long time. Four-year-old whose language skills are not sufficient, in order to successfully attend classes, you must attend a pre-school class. In Berlin, for up to 18 months. Five days in the week, with five daily hours of German lessons.
Obligation to learn German
However, only the children can be tested, the visit is actually a daycare. Because this is not an obligation. Nationwide, more than 100,000 children between three and six years of stay-at-home. Usually they come from families with low income, low education and an immigrant background.
So this is exactly the part of the company, the promotion has needed. The consequence of this is, of course, in Hamburg and Berlin for children with insufficient language skills to be enrolled in school. In Berlin’s ruling SPD now wants to make the last kindergarten year is mandatory.
To promote not only to language skills of children. Also, the motor skills of the Little ones always left more to be desired. In the case of school enrollment examinations, most recently in Berlin have been found in about 28 percent of all children’s deficits in body coordination, 31% in fine motor activities are difficult, and 35 percent reported problems in cognitive development.