CRITICAL REVIEW OF BRIDGE CLASSES

Abstract

The article describes the work of German bridge classes with children of war refugees from Ukraine. These classes for Ukrainian refugee children have different names (exclusively integration classes or so-called «welcome classes», so-called «preparatory classes», depending on the federal state, as well as «transitional international classes», I-classes or «bridge classes», «international preparatory classes», «intensive classes», adaptation classes), but they all provide an opportunity for Ukrainian children to adapt to the new educational environment, learn German and prepare for integration into mainstream classes in Germany. The novelty of this paper is that it describes the successful experience of the School in Germany practice at the Buеnde Primary School (Germany) in the period from 28.08 to  29.09.2023 and from 19.02 to 22.03.2024. The practice was implemented by the association «Bridges of Friendship to Ukraine» with the cooperation of the city of Buеnde with the aim of introducing an effective model of bridge classes for refugee children from Ukraine. The study provides valuable information on how bridge classes for refugee children can be organised to maximise their integration into the German education system. The aim of bridge classes is to help children improve their German language and school subjects in a playful way and to unlock their skill potential. The article analyses the features of the bridge class concept: individual timetables for core subjects; additional lessons in German, English and core subjects; teachers with experience in teaching students whose mother tongue is Ukrainian; trained teachers in German as a foreign language; language-sensitive teaching of core subjects; internal differentiation of core subjects depending on previous learning; manageable class sizes with individual support; exchange and cooperation with students from all classes within the bridge class concept. The article also provides an overview of the challenges associated with the functioning of bridge classes in Germany.