Instructor qualification for German as a Foreign Language
Alongside our four-week International House Certificate (IHC) for German as a Foreign Language, we have been offering an additional qualification for teachers of German as a Second Language since May 2007.
Since the new Migration Act came into force in 2005, every new immigrant to Germany has the right to attend 600 or 900 hours of German tuition in a so-called ‘Integration Course’. Foreigners living in Germany prior to the new law can also apply for free places on the Integration Courses. It is envisaged that every participant should have reached the CEF level B1 by the end of the course and that they will therefore be equipped with the language skills necessary to engage in spoken and written communication concerning their everyday life and personal information.
In addition to completing a final exam, participants also complete a 45-hour ‘Orientation Course’, which covers the most important social, cultural and historical aspects of the Federal Republic of Germany. Teachers of Integration Courses are subject to specific demands. Participants often come from a wide range of educational levels, with many lacking basic literacy skills or accustomed to other educational systems. Teachers also have to contend with motivational issues, particularly in relation to participants who have been forced to attend by the Immigration Office.
International House Berlin PROLOG has been offering the additional qualification •“German as a Second Language” on behalf of the •Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) since May 2007. In just over two years, 126 teachers have successfully gained the qualification.
As well as the normal qualification, teachers who have already gained accreditation from the BAMF have the chance to participate in two supplemental courses: “Literacy” and “Orientation Course”. These courses focus on training the necessary skills for teachers delivering literacy and orientation courses. The BAMF subsidises teachers’ participation. Due to huge demand, we have added an extra shortened version of the course to our 2009/2010 schedule, to run first in November/December.
The next courses take place:
Shortened: 17.10.-14.11.2009 fully booked
20.11.-19.12.2009
30.04.-29.05.2010
Extended: 22.08.-10.10.2009 fully booked
15.01.-06.03.2010
You can find more details and an overview of the seminar topics at •www.teachertraining.de/de/daz-zusatzqualifizierung.htm
General information about the integration courses: •http://www.bamf.de/
Info about International House Teacher Training Deutsch als Fremdsprache: •www.teachertraining.de
Contact for all question about teaching qualifications:
Felix Breitkreuz
Director of Studies for German as a Foreign Language / German as a Second Language
•felix@prolog-berlin.com