bridge

Migration has been a hotly debated topic in Germany since Thilo Sarrazin. But while politicians talk their heads hot, there is a lack of a basis in German lessons for Migrants, on reasonable practice material. Diana Bridde, lecturer in German as a foreign language, is therefore currently writing her first practice reading for migrants who want to learn the German language. And explains in an interview why this is urgently needed.

Diana Bridde studied political science, English literature, history and German as a foreign language and lived in Ireland for a long time. For her lessons, Bridde had looked in vain for texts that really interested learners and found: exciting, modern stories and really good professional material are not to be found. So Bridde said to himself: "Do it yourself!"

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They are writing about a fantasy reading for the education of migrants. Why?

Well, the last Harry Potter is currently bringing in record sums in cinemas. Tolkien's The Hobbit is still in the top 1000 bestseller lists, even though the book was written over 50 years ago. Fantasy is trendy because it People like to dive into a fantasy world. Why should German learners be an exception?

Which book is the template for your practice texts?

The book is called “Der Fianna-Zcycle: The Temair Stone. A Celtic legend from Ireland ”by the author Sophia West. The story takes place in Ireland before Christianization.

Why did you choose this story from Sophia West?

A trip into mythological Ireland, a mysterious dead, a brave hero. I was touched by myself. I like the story simply and it fits also from the length perfectly to my purpose.

What about the rights?

The author was from Idea excited, so it wasn't Problem!

Is there not already enough reading for German lessons?

Yes and No. On the one hand, there is a large number of reading material for learners of German, but the topics of these books are not very varied. Many readings have very classical texts as a starting point. One can learn about Goethe's Faust, read the Shimmer Rider or the Broken Jug at a fairly low level.

I think that Boy People who study German in other countries studieren would like to find that appealing. However, I doubt that our immigrants, who should be the primary concern, can seriously get enthusiastic about Goethe's Faust.

And there are no other texts?

Naturally. Another genre, which is often found in German literary lectures, is the detective romance. There are some quite exciting stories, which I have had quite good experiences with during the lessons. But as I said, I find the thematically somewhat thin: classic texts and detective romans. The repertoire should be extended urgently.

With fantasy reading?

Not only. Also in other areas there is a regular lack of texts. For example, there are also few really useful job-related texts. I have had the experience that for many professions there is simply nothing or that the texts are at a very low level and thus do not meet the requirements of learners of middle and advanced level.