Prof. McElvany proposes “Learning German” as an additional school subject

In an interview with the Rheinische Post, Professor Nele McElvany suggests that instead of the current practice of welcome classes and individual support measures, German language instruction should be permanently established in primary and secondary schools for all children who do not have sufficient German language skills. “Research findings suggest that, despite their good intentions, welcome classes are a difficult concept. A recent study of young people from 2015 shows that those who were in welcome classes still had poorer language skills years later than those who were integrated directly into regular classes.” She therefore proposes that "in schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, German should be taught systematically as a standard school subject from the ground up for a substantial proportion of the students. We need clear guidelines for this: just as the curriculum specifies a fixed number of hours for math, there should be a fixed number of hours of German language instruction for all children who need it. This must be firmly established in primary and secondary schools." This applies not only to children from families with refugee backgrounds, but also to many children with immigrant backgrounds and from difficult social situations, who would also benefit from additional German language instruction.

Read the full article: Interview with the Rheinische Post