language courses

• Germany

A study from the Institute for Employment Research in Germany has found that female refugees face more obstacles to joining the job market than their male counterparts.

• Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel and state and civic leaders have finalized a plan to improve the integration of immigrants into society, the education system and the job market. It outlines a road map for the coming decade.

• Germany

Germany's chancellor has said that migrants are being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, as jobs are cut and language classes cancelled. Her comments echo the findings of an OECD report that was released on Monday.

• Germany

In Germany, almost half of first-time participants don’t successfully complete their German language courses. A parliamentary inquiry also showed that the share of those who failed tests has steadily been increasing since 2017.

• Germany

Around 17% of participants of integration courses in Germany are illiterate; the vast majority of them are refugees, said the head of Germany’s immigration office BAMF in an interview with German media. Their integration into the labor market is considered problematic.

• Italy

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has bestowed the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic to Maria Coletti for her dedication to helping immigrant children learn Italian.

• Austria

Foreigners living in Austria will no longer receive fewer benefits if they do not learn German, the country's Constitutional Court has ruled. The decision overturned a law from the previous right-wing government.

• Germany

A German nonprofit is tutoring children in underserved communities through an innovative live-in mentoring program. The Duisburg-based organization is the winner of this year's prize for civic engagement in Germany.

• Germany
• Syria

Europe places a high value on multilingualism and language diversity, but the emphasis remains more on European languages than on the languages spoken by many newly-arrived migrants. The use of other languages is often seen as a barrier to integration. Clear evidence however shows that supporting and preserving migrants’ mother tongues has benefits for the whole of society.

• Germany

Most people with immigrant backgrounds in Germany primarily speak German at home, according to microcensus data. The results come on the heels of a debate about holding kids back from school over their German skills.

• Germany

A lawmaker from Angela Merkel's conservative party is under fire for saying migrant children who lack sufficient German language skills shouldn't enter primary school. Critics say he is pandering to right-wing populists.

• Nigeria
• Portugal

A year ago, 19 of 630 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean by the charity ship Aquarius were taken in by Portugal. They all ended up in the small town of Fundão, located some 250 kilometers (150 miles) northeast of Lisbon.