German deficits, but

Two languages are a piece of cake for every child

In elementary school, one in four children in Upper Austria struggles with inadequate German language skills

(Bild: ©Ideenkoch - stock.adobe.com)

Every fourth child in Upper Austria has problems with German when they start elementary school for the first time. Most of these children have a migrant background, but many of them were also born in Austria. Experts know where the problems lie.

Almost a quarter of first-graders in Upper Austria are not yet able to fully follow lessons this year due to German deficits - as reported by the "Krone" newspaper. And more than a third of these children with language difficulties are Austrians, so they haven't just moved here recently. So what are the reasons for the German problems when they start school?

Different language at home
A possible explanation is provided by impressions from the field. "Children suffer from their parents' difficult life situations, which has an impact on all school subjects," says Julia Pisarek. The 28-year-old was a teacher at a secondary school in Linz for two years as part of "Teach for Austria", before that she worked as a language assistant.

In my class, the children understood that we had to explain some things again.

Julia Pisarek (28), ehemalige Lehrerin

"The majority of my pupils were born and raised in Austria, but spoke a different language at home with their parents," says Pisarek. Although this is not the only reason for language difficulties, it does of course make a difference.

Kindergarten would be the key
And what does linguistics say about German before school? "Basically, using your first language at home in the family is a sensible thing to do. It also teaches social skills that go beyond vocabulary. And every child is perfectly capable of learning two languages solidly and well from an early age. Multilingualism is not a problem, but an extremely important resource," says Marie-Luise Pitzl-Hagin, Head of the Language Center at the Johannes Kepler University Linz.

The expert also argues: "Expanding kindergarten places is certainly an effective way of ensuring that children come into contact with German at an earlier age."