Startklar reaches more than 8,500 children through early language support

The Startklar association has reached more than 8,500 children through early language support since 2018, ORF reported. The initiative has run more than 1,150 language-support courses and now operates at more than 80 locations in Lower Austria, Vienna and Burgenland.

Its programmes include German-language playgroups for kindergarten children and courses for primary and lower secondary school pupils. Parents and teachers are also involved.

“The earlier investment is made in language development, the fewer problems arise later,” Lisa-Maria Sommer-Fein, secretary-general of the MEGA Education Foundation, told ORF Lower Austria.

Language is taught through play, with each session focusing on a specific topic and language skill. In a session about clothing, for example, children are introduced to words using bags filled with different garments while also learning a particular grammatical point, said Janine Fischer, Startklar’s managing chairwoman and director.

Reading support is another important part of the association’s work. In projects such as “Reading with all the Senses”, objects from stories are brought to the sessions and the children act out the plots together. Parents can take part and encourage children’s interest in books at home.

Reading habits are shaped at home from early childhood, Sommer-Fein said. The aim was therefore also to create spaces where reading could be celebrated as something enjoyable as well as an important skill.

Startklar works in groups of six to eight children. This gives them more confidence to speak, Fischer said, particularly when they realise that other children face similar language challenges. Some children speak German for the first time in the groups.

The support extends beyond language. Fischer said the group setting also had a positive effect on the children’s social behaviour.

Fischer said there was still a need for improvement in how multilingualism is handled. Children growing up with several languages were often compared with children who grew up speaking only one language, even though their language development could require more time and targeted support.

Multilingualism should not be viewed as a disadvantage, Sommer-Fein said, calling it “an absolute gift and enrichment”. Children should develop the highest possible level of proficiency in their languages, while their family language also needed to be taken into account.

Supporting families was therefore central to the work. Children learn language from their surroundings from infancy and early childhood, while society also had a responsibility to support families raising multilingual children.

Fischer said educational institutions also needed more support. The large number of enquiries from such institutions showed that demand was high, with some staff lacking knowledge of how to support multilingual children effectively.

Cooperation between educational institutions and organisations outside the school system, such as Startklar, could help, Sommer-Fein said. The association could work on specific issues and complement the work carried out by educational institutions.