Teachers in Zurich are to receive a language handbook with vocabulary and basic information about the 14 main immigrant languages to help ease communication.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
With one in three students coming from foreign-language homes, the manual is designed to help in situations such as parent-teacher meetings as well as in German language classes.
Produced by Zurich’s University of Teacher Education, the handbook “Your language – my language” includes chapters on Albanian, Portuguese, Thai, Tamil and Turkish. The authors say it will, for example, prove useful in sorting out common grammatical mistakes that are linked to the students’ mother tongue.
Basil Schader, lecturer at the university, said the handbook could be used to promote cooperation with parents. “If a teacher greets the parents in their language, that demonstrates openness and interest. This can have a positive effect on the development of the discussion.”
Although essentially intended as a tool for teachers, the handbook would also be a good resource for organisations which have frequent contact with foreign-language speakers, Schader added.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
How centuries of Swiss emigrants left their mark on the US
Bodycams: essential for good law enforcement, or a privacy risk?
Did you ever come across bodycams in your place of residence and if so, how do you think the use of bodycams alter the relationship between the public and (transport) police?
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Youth violence becomes a table topic in Zurich
This content was published on
As part of a two-year pilot project, youth advocacy workers and police have been visiting juvenile offenders at home to make their families aware of the severity of the problem. Often, parents fail to realise that what their child described as a harmless scuffle may have resulted in a trip to hospital for the victim.…
This content was published on
On an average evening, many of the 60 children who live here play outside along a narrow driveway between the 1960s apartment blocks and a row of garages. Mülital is part of the village of Schmitten in canton Fribourg, and yet it is also a place apart, a place most Schmitten residents never visit. Some…
This content was published on
Already in place in 18 areas, the project “schritt:weise“(step-by-step) focuses upon home visits by trained lay people to very young children and their families. swissinfo spent a day with schritt:weise in the town of Olten, to see first-hand how it works. Ayse Kaya rings the doorbell of the apartment building where the Tamil family Calistus…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.