Teaching German as the language of education in preparatory classes. A proposal for a curriculum at the lower secondary level

Increased immigration of schoolchildren with little or no knowledge of German presents schools with unique challenges. In order to integrate these students into regular classroom structures, preliminary language support (which may be offered in separate classes for up to a year) needs to consider relevant content while taking into account the diversity of the target group. Structural difficulties, including in many states the continuous flow of students into and out of preparatory classes, add to the challenges. The present article outlines a proposal for a "spiral curriculum" designed for this context and describes how scaffolding can be used in such a heterogenous context.