Caritas President Nora Tödtling-Musenbichler calls for reform of German language classes and sustainable financing of extracurricular educational opportunities
Vienna (OTS) – “Diversity in Austria is increasing. And that’s a good thing,” says Nora Tödtling-Musenbichler, President of Caritas Austria, on the occasion of the International Day for Multilingualism. Tödtling-Musenbichler refers to the increasing number of students who are multilingual due to family migration experience. Every third student has family experience of migration – this is what the recently updated study “Migration and Multilingualism in Austria’s Schools” says (Study on migration and multilingualism), which was presented by a consortium consisting of the Vienna Chamber of Labor, the Austrian Trade Union Confederation, the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Industrialists, the Red Cross, Caritas Austria and Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna as well as the Samaritan Association.
“As a society, we benefit from diversity on many levels. However, in view of the massive shortage of skilled workers, we have to admit that in many cases we still have to create the conditions to promote integration and labor migration.”
According to Tödling-Musenbichler, acquiring German as an educational language is central to successful integration. However: “While the promotion of German as a teaching and official language is important, it is no less important that people who come to us can also further develop their first language.” Students who are systematically schooled in two languages develop Higher language skills, the Caritas president continued: “Only those who are well anchored in their first language can learn German well.” 29 percent of all students already have a first language other than German – this is also a result of the study.
Reform of the German language classes is urgently needed
On the one hand, what is needed above all is an expansion of opportunities to learn German, for adults living in Austria, but also for children and young people, especially through a reform of the German language classes, says Tödtling-Musenbichler: “The result of such a reform must be integrative German language support be in the regular class with a second teacher. In addition, German language support is needed in small groups.” This must be accompanied by targeted, multilingual information for the parents concerned. In addition, German as a second or foreign language must be quality-assured and, accordingly, a mandatory element in the training for educators themselves. A prerequisite for all of this is adequate funding, says Tödtling-Musenbichler: “For the German language support classes that should meet their goal , in addition to excellently trained teachers, we also need adequate learning materials and appropriate rooms. The resulting costs must be taken into account as part of the reform.”
Sustainable financing of extracurricular educational opportunities
In addition to the German support classes, a free and more diverse range of extracurricular educational measures is essential, Tödtling-Musenbichler continues: “Currently, the offer is still dependent on funding and volunteers. That’s not enough.” In the now 68 Caritas learning cafés across Austria, in addition to support at school, excursions are also offered, there is a healthy snack and people reflect together on further development in learning. “We see that even these supposedly secondary measures within our learning cafés are enormously valuable for the students’ progress. Most of our learning café participants graduate from school and thus lay the foundation for their own adult lives. These extracurricular educational offerings urgently need to be expanded and financed.”
Finally, Tödtling-Musenbichler emphasizes the need to promote the image of multilingualism: “While bilingual childcare facilities and primary schools enjoy a very positive image, this does not apply to multilingualism in general. Some languages are clearly viewed as more valuable than others.” The Caritas President wants to encourage people to increase the value of multilingualism, regardless of the language in question: “Language is a key function for successful integration. It is therefore important to do everything possible to promote the acquisition of German by people with a migration background. This also includes the promotion and appreciation of the respective mother tongue.”
Questions & Contact:
Caritas Austria
Mag.a Claudia Vitt
The press officer
+43 664 82 66 920
claudia.white@caritas-austria.at
www.caritas.at