MoLi 1rst Transnational Meeting Hamburg, September 2006

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MoLi 1rst Transnational Meeting Hamburg,
September 2006

• Language courses for migrant mothers in the
  school of their children

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1. Project Rationale

• Good knowledge of the German language is the
  essential precondition for participation in
  society
• For different reasons many migrant mothers/women
  are not yet able to attend a regular German as a
  second language course on the A1 level according
  to the CEF.
• The municipality of Hamburg compiled a catalogue
  of intergration measures developed at the request
  of the parliament of Hamburg in September 1999
  to further strengthen the participation of
  immigrant children in pre-school day-care
  institutions and to encourage their parents to
  improve their German when the children start
  pre-school or school education.

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• The Department of Education and Sports asked the
  Hamburger Volkshochschule to design and develop
  the Project Language courses for migrant mothers
  in the school of their children

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2. Project idea

• Migrant mothers learn German in their childrens
  school, while their school-children are at school
  or the younger children are being cared for.
• They learn German in the direct neighbourhood.
• Courses are in the mornings, parallel to the
  childrens lessons.
• They learn about their childrens school and
  education at their childrens school and about
  the school system

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• The migrant women share similar interests and
  problems, so there is no lack of interesting
  themes to discuss.
• Speaking different native languages they need to
  communicate in German at a very early stage,
  which turns out to be a good motor for speaking
  and listening.
• Coming from different backgrounds, being more or
  less experienced in studying at all, they need
  and get very individual support in the learning
  process.

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3. Objectives, aims

• 3.1 Teaching aims according to the CEF language
  levels A1 and A2

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• Reading / Reading comprehension
• Synthesis of consonants and vowels, syllables,
  short words, rhymes
• short sentences
• short texts about daily life
• colloquial texts with well-known words
• short messages
• Instructions
• texts with new words
• understanding more difficult instructions and/or
  texts

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• Pronounciation / Intonation
• pronounciation of vowels and consonants
• syllables, prefixes, short words, rhyming words
• training the pronunciation of sentences, rhythm
  and melody of the language
• expressing emotions
• reading an unfamiliar text with good
  pronunciation and articulation
• adjusting expression and intonation to the context

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• Listening comprehension
• encouraging the migrant mothers to listen
• understanding statements, instructions, questions
• understanding simple texts
• understanding and following more complex
  instructions
• global and selective understanding of colloqiual
  language

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• Speaking / Oral expression
• encouraging the migrant mothers to speak, even if
  phonetics, vocabulary and grammar are not correct
  yet
• encouraging them to ask, to inquire, to demand
  explanations
• expressing simple wishes
• using simple sentence patterns
• communicating in everyday situations like
  shopping, talking to the neighbour
• using more complex sentences
• enlarging the vocabulary
• being able to tell what happened in the past
  using the correct tense

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• Writing / Written expression
• writing 2-or 3-word sentences
• not being discouraged because of poor spelling
• simple messages
• writing comprehensible sentences/texts not
  necessarily in good spelling
• short texts, letters
• using a broader variety of expressions
• filling in forms
• improving spelling

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3.2 Objectives and aims for the migrant mothers

• The aim of the project is learning German in
  order
• to be able to find ones way around the new
  country
• to be able to act responsibly
• to make integration easier
• to get to know the childrens school as a place
  of learning
• to understand the childrens schooldays
• to understand and accept the role as parents
  inside the school

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• learning German in order
• to be able to help children with their homework
• to get to know the school system
• to be able to communicate with other
  women/mothers
• to reduce fears
• to do something for oneself
• to improve self-confidence

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• learning German in order
• to last but not least enable the women to
  attend regular German-as-a-second-language
  courses (VHS-courses and Courses of the Federal
  Office for Migration and Refugees / Bundesamt für
  Migration und Flüchtlinge)

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3.2 Objectives and aims for the schools

• The mothers become valuable active members of the
  school community

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3.3 Objectives and aims for the families and
society

• Give a mother the opportunity to learn German in
  her childs kindergarden or school and you will
  integrate the whole family. (Ellen Abraham)

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4. Criteria for success

• This project supports the migrant mothers
  willingness to learn in the first place and opens
  a way to lead them step by step towards new forms
  of learning.
• Based on the CEF guidelines this project allows
  the migrant mothers to learn in their own pace,
  free of the pressure to reach a certain goal in a
  certain amount of lessons.
• The mothers lessons are linked to the childrens
  schoolday in place and time.

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• Women, who are slower learners and/or illiterates
  get extra time to learn and fill in their gaps.
  They do not have to worry about being unable to
  keep pace.
• The learning atmosphere is positive and caring.
• There is room for the womens interests.
• Acute questions or problems always have room in
  the courses as well.

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5. Prospect of success

• Prospects of success are very high and experience
  so far shows, that expectations are and will be
  fulfilled,
• if the mothers are carefully introduced to
  organized learning
• If the groups are very small, that is 6 to 12
  learners per group
• if councelling is an integrated part of the
  learning process
• if the mothers are not under time pressure

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• if the CEF criteria are being adjusted to the
  needs of the learners, especially allowing for
  smaller learning steps, just a minimum of
  grammar, and lots of time to practice
• if the learning materials allow easy access for
  the women and correspond to their interests, such
  as family, children, childrens school,
  housekeeping, shopping, cooking, handling money,
  meeting the neighbours, health, going to the
  doctor
• if the place of learning is in the neighbourhood
  and husbands as well as mothers-in-law approve,
  because they know and trust the institution,
  their children/grandchildren attend

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6. Obstacles, risks

• unreliable participation because of sick
  children, caring for relatives in the home
  country etc.
• pressure by husbands and mothers-in-law
• not being accustomed to organized learning at all
• not being used to learning forms like learning in
  a team, learning with a partner or the scenario
  approach

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7. Time planning / Schedule

• parallel to the school year
• 2 to 3 meetings a week
• 2 to 3 lessons a day (90 to 135 minutes)

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8. Evaluation, as done in Hamburg

• by target group
• Self-assessment as a form of learners
  evaluation
• by others
• Language tests at the beginning and end of the
  course
• Midterm survey
• Interviews of tutors about the learners
  progress, organization, necessary changes, needs,
  new ideas
• Project manager visiting the courses
• Tutor trainings to keep up the educational
  standards
• Interviews of headmasters and headmistresses
  about integration of the migrant mothers, design
  of the courses, proposals for the concept update
• The external evaluation of the MoLi-Project will
  be done by
• Professor Joachim Schroeder, Johann-Wolfgang-von-
  Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main

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9. European Dimension

• Lessons about the European Union and the Euro are
  held.
• Current events like European elections, new EU
  members etc. are discussed.
• The exceptional CEF standards offer a welcome
  opportunity to talk about the basic ideas of a
  united Europe.
• The great diversity of languages and cultures is
  frequently discussed when different holidays,
  customs and standards are presented to the group
  and celebrated together.