Second Chance: Basic Education for Adults

The Bundesverband Alphabetisierung e. V. estimates that about four million people in Ger-many cannot adequately read and write. For the people concerned, this means marginalization, above all on the labour market, as well as a considerable loss of quality of life. An adequate basic education enables them to actively participate in society's development. The BMBF supports the literacy and basic education work by funding research and develop-ment projects.

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Experts estimate that about four million people in Germany are functional illiterates. This means that they master the basics of reading and writing but - according to one definition - do not meet "society's minimum requirements regarding the command of written language, which is a precondition for participation in written communication in all areas of work and life". Without adequate reading and writing skills, participation in everyday life and working life be-comes very difficult. Furthermore, weak reading and writing skills are also important causes for failure in the education process and for dropping out of school.

The PISA benchmark study has revealed that our education system needs reforms, which also means that we need more decisive and earlier action for literacy. This applies to work in schools as well as to compensatory adult education.
Bundesverband Alphabetisierung e.V. offers a counselling service for those concerned via its ALFA telephone. Information on reading and writing classes is available under +49 0251-53 33 44.

 

Decade of Alphabetization

The BMBF supports the national implementation of the UN Decade of Alphabetization, which the United Nations announced on 13 February 2003 for the period up until 2012. The objec-tive of the decade is to "... globally halve" the number of people who cannot adequately read and write and to provide everyone with a basic education. For industrialized countries like Germany, this means inter alia that existing disadvantages in education must be recognized and reduced and that the prevention and fight against illiteracy must be improved.
In order to successfully implement the UN Decade of Alphabetization at national level, the most important players of alphabetization work try to pool their forces. In addition to the BMBF, the alliance for action includes the German UNESCO Commission, the UNESCO In-stitute for Lifelong Learning in Hamburg, the Association of Adult Education Centres, the Bundesverband Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung e. V., the Ernst Klett Sprachen publishing house, the GEW, Stiftung Lesen and many other organizations. The members of this alliance for action adopted the "Bernburg Theses" at a BMBF-funded Conference in Bernburg in 2003 which define the most important tasks of alphabetization work for the years to come.

 

The BMBF is currently funding:

• Research and development projects for alphabetization and adult basic education
  Within the framework of the "Alphabetization/Basic Education" funding priority, which was established by Federal Minister Schavan for a period of five years, research in this field of education is to be improved, new ways and means of how to better reach target groups are to be studied and new ways of increasing participation in compensatory basic education are to be developed, among others. The experience of other countries is to be assessed and used for recommendations for practice. The terms and conditions for fund-ing were published in November 2006.
• Funding is also provided for conferences (Bundesverband Alphabetisierung und Grund-bildung e.V.) as milestones in the national implementation of the UN Decade for Alpha-betization: 2003 - Bernburg; 2004 - Berlin; 2005 - Frankfurt, 2006 - Bonn; and 2007 - presumably Hamburg. 
• The "Second Chance online" project (Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband) opens the Internet and multimedia for alphabetization and basic education work. Adults with inade-quate basic skills often must overcome great inner barriers if they are to learn or even participate in classroom work in a group. The Internet portal www.ich-will-schreiben-lernen.de provides functional adult illiterates with an opportunity to learn reading and writing online. The anonymity of the Internet means that the inhibition threshold for participation is low. Furthermore, Internet users can learn independent of time and space and can organize their curriculum themselves.
  The learning platform www.ich-will-schreiben-lernen.de has been designed as a self-learning portal. At the beginning of the course, the learner gives a self-estimation and does a short test to determine his/her level. The results are automatically registered and evaluated on a weekly basis and the curriculum is adapted individually. The learner ad-vances through the curriculum when he/she has successfully mastered one topic. Sup-portive exercises are offered on often repeated mistakes.
  Currently (January 2007) 11509 people are anonymously learning with this learning plat-form and are trying to improve their basic skills.
• "ALFA-Mobil" project (Bundesverband Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung e.V.): The ALFA-Mobil is a specially equipped vehicle which provides information and counselling locally. It goes in particular to those regions in which there are hardly any literacy pro-grammes so far in order to support the establishment of programmes. It presents, inter alia, the new e-learning programme www.ich-will-schreiben-lernen.de of the "Second change online" project and shows how new learning pathways can be opened through this learning platform.
• "F.A.N -Football. Literacy Campaign. Network" project (Bayrischer Rundfunk / Redaktion BRalpha and Bundesverband Alphabetisierung)
  Within the framework of the project, a six part TV series was developed and has been broadcast several times by BR Alpha and the regional third programmes. Work material for literacy work in courses was designed and provided for this project. New paths are taken with targeted fan club work in order to directly reach the people concerned and to turn their enthusiasm for football into a motivation impetus for learning.

 

 

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