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German courses for Ukrainian refugees launched at Aschaffenburg UAS

Mayor and university management welcomed the first participants of the language course at the University of Applied Sciences

Since Friday, the Aschaffenburg UAS has started offering German courses for 60 refugees from Ukraine. In conversation with UAS President Prof. Dr Eva-Maria Beck-Meuth, Aschaffenburg Mayor Jessica Euler had signalled the great need in view of the number of Ukrainian refugees, which has now risen to over 800 in the city of Aschaffenburg alone. In addition, there are the refugees from the district. It was immediately clear that the university would help here - as it had already done with the German courses for Syrian refugees. "The city of Aschaffenburg is very grateful to Aschaffenburg UAS for offering the additional courses. Demand is very high, even though the integration course providers, including the Volkshochschule Aschaffenburg adult education centre, have significantly increased the number of courses in both integration and German and language cafés offered by various institutions. Therefore, the city is very pleased about these additional offers of support," says Mayor Euler.

There are three courses with 20 participants each, mainly women and children from the city and district of Aschaffenburg - one of them explicitly for senior citizens. The youngest participant is 14, the oldest 69 years old.

The courses are free of charge for the participants. They receive 1.5 hours of German lessons a week and a level A1 German book. The German lessons are funded by the Herlein Foundation and organised by Ernst Schulten, the head of the International Office at the Aschaffenburg UAS.

The German courses are led by Rita Linhart and Nina Schuck, both lecturers and DaF trainers at the university. According to Ernst Schulten, the fact that Nina Schuck speaks fluent Russian and Ukrainian is a stroke of luck and a great advantage for the participants.

The initial plan is for participants to reach level A1 by the end of the semester. A summer intensive course may be offered afterwards.
 

Photo from left to right: Prof. Dr. Eva-Maria Beck-Meuth (President), Prof. Dr. Holger Paschedag (Vice President Studies, Teaching, Internationalisation), Jessica Euler (Mayor of Aschaffenburg), Ernst Schulten (Head of International Office), Nina Schuck (Lecturer)