Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2010 in the subject Communications - Intercultural Communication, grade: Distinction, Anglia Ruskin University, course: Language, Identity and Policy, language: English, abstract: Assessment of the Language Education Policy in Austria and its Fitness for Purpose within the European Union The EU language policy, which is directly linked to the EU language education policy, has been constantly developing since the establishment of the EEC more than fifty years ago (Treaty of Rome, 1957). The Council Resolution of 31 March 1995 on improving and diversifying language learning and teaching within the education systems of the European Union made it clear that in language learning and teaching, as in education in general, the principle of subsidiarity applies. In this respect, this work examines the existing Austrian language education policy regulations and the country’s educational practices, in the light of the EU language education policy, focusing on the groups of Austrian nationals with German as their first language, non-indigenous minorities and Austria’s officially recognised autochthonous ethnic groups. The question of whether Austria adequately prepares pupils for the purposes of a multilingual social and economic interaction within the EU is equally considered. An up-to-date insight into the minority language education practice of a Burgenland-Croatian ethnic sample group is delivered, based on data obtained by self reporting questionnaires. The analysis shows that the language education practice for all three groups can be largely regarded as a successful implementation of the current EU language education policy and, therefore, as an adequate preparation of pupils for live within the EU. The major deficiency of the most numerous groups of pupils is the fact that the learning of a second foreign language is usually introduced only at the upper secondary stage. With regard to the ethnic groups, the largest deficiency lies in the unavailable legal protection of the Minority School Acts to all groups. As the case study shows, this legal protection provides for a guaranteed, soundly balanced, mother tongue and German instruction at the kindergarten, primary and lower secondary school.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2020 in the subject Pedagogy - School System, Educational and School Politics, grade: 2, ÖBV Pädagogische Hochschule Wien, language: English, abstract: In dieser Arbeit soll herausgefunden werden, ob die Einführung einer bilingualen Volksschule für alle Kinder sinnvoll wäre. Englisch ist heutzutage eine der wichtigsten Sprachen der Welt. Da es Kindern besonders leicht fällt neue Sprachen zu lernen, ist es sinnvoll so früh wie möglich damit zu beginnen. Außerdem legt die EU besonders großen Wert darauf, dass jedes EU-Mitglied mindestens zwei weitere Sprachen, die in der EU gesprochen werden, beherrscht. In österreichischen Volksschulen wird Englisch als "Verbindliche Übung" unterrichtet. In der ersten und zweiten Schulstufe sollen insgesamt 32 Jahresstunden Englisch unterrichtet werden. Ab der dritten Schulstufe gibt es eine festgelegte Wochenstunde Englisch. Obwohl es viele Gründe gibt, warum es sinnvoll ist, die Kinder beim Englischerwerb zu unterstützen, wird dies in österreichischen Schulen immer noch nicht angemessen verwirklicht. When you take a closer look you realize that five out of the eight Austrian neighboring countries have another official language than German. Knowing that there are 24 official languages in Europe it is obvious that the EU wants its citizens to learn as many languages as possible. English is a universal language which is used to communicate with people who do not speak each other’s first languages. Being able to speak English is a skill which is not only helpful to have a successful school career but to have success in life. Elementary schools are primarily responsible to introduce and teach English to all children. Most bilingual elementary schools are run completely or partly private which makes it impossible for families with lower incomes to enroll their children in these private bilingual schools. Wouldn't it be great if every child in Austria could get an education in both English and German in their public elementary school?

This book is a reflective account of the work of the European Centre for Modern Languages, Graz, during its first medium-term programme, which lasted from 2000 to 2003.It presents some of the major current issues in language education that were dealt with during this programme and provides insight into the way the projects run by the ECML tried to address these issues and to develop practical, usable approaches to dealing with them.

There is a growing interest in teaching languages to young children. This publication brings together papers from 18 countries. It gives a cross section of major achievements and problem areas as well as an insight into research issues.