Experts demand reform of German funding for multilingual children!

Experts demand reform of German funding for multilingual children!

In the current debate about German funding in Austria, experts in multilingualism demand a fundamental paradigm shift. As the Kurier reports, experts criticize the existing structures that are shaped by German tests and separate conveyor groups. These measures put both children and their parents and educational staff under pressure, which rather hinders the learning process.

Carmen Kovacs from the club Start -Clare speaks to better inform and support parents. A growing interest in support from the starting clear of kindergartens and schools shows that numerous actors believe that there is a need to catch up in the existing state structures. For example, Kovacs calls for multi -professional teams in kindergartens that contain German support forces in order to meet the different needs of the children.

The pressure of the tests and the challenges in schools

Another important topic comes from Saskia Hula, the director of a elementary school in Vienna. It reports on the high number of "extraordinary students" due to German problems and criticizes the increased effort for Mika-D tests, which have not led to more effective German funding. Rather, the lack of teaching staff with specific training to support children with German as a second language (DAZ) is identified as a pressing problem.

Verena Blaschitz from the Language Rights network pleads for integrating German funding. It rejects the existing practice of tests for three -year -olds and sees them as a hindrance to learning German. The critical view of these tests is also supported by the fact that children who grow up multilingual develop a higher meta -language awareness. In the long term, this promotes their ability to learn several languages, as studies show.

new possibilities and approaches for language support

Since January 2024, a new guideline for German funding at Austrian schools has been in effect. The Mika-D test, which serves as an important instrument for competence analysis, is supplemented by a supplementary scale from March 2025, which is intended to help affected students still get access to courses despite short-term deficits in the test. Information on this topic can be found on the IQS Stewardship website, where special hotline numbers are also available for support that offer online advice.

der Bildungserver Steiermark indicates that numerous materials and online learning opportunities can still be called up via the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF). In addition, it has been shown that concepts such as the two-wayimersion are rarely used in practice, although they have proven to be effective in the promotion of multilingualism.

The goal of these reforms and discussions is to use the students' resources: inside and to support them in the best possible way on their educational path. The focus is on the view of multilingualism as a valuable resource for identity formation.

Overall, it should be noted: the efforts must be in the direction of a more holistic and integrative language promotion, which recognizes the creative and social potential of language and helps the children to handle their language skills confidently.

also visit the German school portal become.