Vienna elementary school students: Almost every second struggles with knowledge of German!

Vienna elementary school students: Almost every second struggles with knowledge of German!

Wien, Österreich - In Vienna there is an alarming picture: Almost half of the tafer graders - specifically 45 percent - do not have sufficient knowledge of German to follow lessons. This was recently announced by Education City Councilor Christoph Return (NEOS). In a recent interview, the experienced elementary school teacher Kerstin Nichtenberger, who has been teaching for over ten years, expressed that she was not surprised by these numbers. It is particularly striking that not only newly moved children, but also those whose parents were born here and fluently speak German, have massive language problems. This raises the question of why responsibility is often delegated to schools instead of the parents actively contribute to the language development of their children, as Nütenberger states.

school challenges and cultural conflicts

In addition to the linguistic deficit, there are other concerns of arousing aspects. According to the Niecenberger, many first graders no longer dominate basic everyday skills. Around 70 percent of the children cannot smear butter bread themselves, since the parents take over these tasks completely. Moral values ​​and cultural differences also represent challenges in everyday school life. The teacher reports of less respect for women and girls, which brings additional difficulties in class. In order to counteract these problems, Niecenberger believes that a mandatory second kindergarten year is necessary to create a common basis and to promote the German language.

In the past few days, the poor knowledge of German from students in Vienna has repeatedly become public discussions. In addition to the corona pandemic, which has affected learning, the increase in refugees from countries such as Syria and Ukraine is also seen as an essential reason, as is 5min.at reported . These factors contribute to the fact that many children have difficulty finding their way around the school. Despite these challenges, NICHENBERG emphasizes their passion for the teaching profession and finds that most children are inquisitive and like to learn new things.