Kikus

According to the latest UN reports, Germany ranks third in the world in terms of absolute immigrant numbers – right behind the U.S. and Russia. Nowadays, every third child under the age of five has a migration background. That is why the Siemens Stiftung advocates the principle of equal opportunity for people of all races and backgrounds. Here is where the acquisition of language comes in as an important interface: language is the basis for the best possible opportunities in education and life and at the same time an important prerequisite for living together in a society.

The PISA study has made it very clear: the development and academic performance of children depends largely on their language skills. A lack of proficiency in the German language is massively negatively correlated with academic success. A disproportionate number of adolescents with a migration background leave school without graduating. Children with a lack of proficiency in the German language are at a disadvantage compared to their classmates even as they enter elementary school. There is urgent need for action to rule out this disadvantage right at the outset, especially in the fields of early intervention and preschool support. That is why the Siemens Stiftung has established a cooperation project with the non-profit making organization “Center for Multilingualism for Children” (Zentrum für kindliche Mehrsprachigkeit e.V. - ZKM). The center’s language training program KIKUS is targeted at children three years who speak non-German native languages. With their cooperation, the Siemens Stiftung and ZKM aim at propagating the language acquisition method to give even more children the opportunity to learn German in a playful hands-on setting. As a result of this cooperation, nine language courses for six to eight children each were held in child daycare facilities in several German cities during the last academic year. In addition, up to twenty early childhood educators were trained in the KIKUS method in five basic seminars. These early childhood educators are now able to independently implement the KIKUS language instruction programs at their own facilities.

In this academic year as well, the Siemens Stiftung is promoting the implementation of language courses and training seminars.