As official figures say 45% of pre-schoolers can't speak German well enough to follow lessons, Austria’s new government is set to order two years of kindergarten.
CGTN's Johannes Pleschberger reports from Vienna.
CGTN's Johannes Pleschberger reports from Vienna.
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00:00Six-year-old Mohamed is one of many Vienna-born students struggling to understand his teacher.
00:12Two years ago, 36% of Vienna's first graders did not speak enough German to follow lessons.
00:18Now that has risen to 45% according to official figures.
00:23How well did you do?
00:25And?
00:53They have been living here for a while, raising concerns that some migrant communities aren't integrating.
00:59Statistics show 60% of the children who lack German language skills were born in Vienna,
01:05and almost all of them attended preschool child care.
01:10This raises questions.
01:12Why so many reach school age unable to speak the local language?
01:16City officials and the Austrian government are blaming each other for the situation.
01:21According to experts, the lack of students' German proficiency after kindergarten
01:26is because Austria's preschool teachers are not adequately trained for today's challenges.
01:32What we need in preschool education is more highly qualified preschool teachers
01:39who know how to support the language learning process.
01:43Not only better trained teachers, but also more of them.
01:47Marie-Sophie says the government needs to act now.
01:51Teachers are burned out or quitting the job.
01:55It will be collapsing in some years.
01:59The language situation at schools is also becoming a political issue.
02:03According to recent polls, the Migration Critical Freedom Party is expected to increase its support
02:09in Vienna's upcoming municipal elections.
02:12But others say more needs to be done to offer migrant communities the chance to integrate more fully.
02:18Johannes Blechberger, CGTN, Vienna.