Digitale Medien in Integrationskursen mit Alphabetisierung

Abstract

The article describes the use of tools for digital sound recording and interactive whiteboards in low level Integration Courses (German as a Second Language) for migrants taught at Heinrich-Thöne- Volkshochschule in Mülheim/Germany. Five areas of implementing digital sound recording are identified: acquisition of writing skills and of phonological awareness; dictation; sample solutions; preparing for the standardized final exam (Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer/German Exam for Migrants); dialogue exercises. The interactive whiteboard is discussed in regard to the three areas of visualization, incorporation of media data and acquisition of skills necessary for working with a PC and documentation.

Many teachers perceive digital tools as an additional burden and shy away from using them. Yet out of the special needs of illiterate learners and the specific nature of German Integration Courses enormous didactic challenges arise for teachers in these course settings. Neither interactive whiteboards nor recording tools provide a miracle cure to ease the teachers’ burden. They can, however, provide ways and means to ease the tensions between the government’s curricula and the reality encountered in class. Therefore, teachers should demand from their institutions that these technical tools become accessible both to them and to their learners.