There is some confusion to the translation of ‘Kindergarten’ into English language. The English use the term ‘Kindergarten’ for the one year before elementary school. This kind of Kindergarten is limited to this last year. The semantics of German ‘Kindergarten’ doesn’t seem to know these limitation. It doesn’t easily allow a different form of nursery school, toddler groups and pre-school offers. Anyway, all terms refer to a pre-school offer.
However, in my opinion there are such offers in Ruhr. Some language schools set up schools for children, and there are toddler groups and Kindgarten with a profile that includes introduction into English language. On the internet I also find classifieds looking for nurses that speak German and English. Some school projects offer or plan to offer an English language nursery. Further (private) offers are an English language toddler group in Dortmund (Krabbelgruppe Dortmund) and an additional offer for pre-school children in Essen by Dreistein. The last one I found via a newspaper article in the NRZ which also mentions prices.
After a meeting with the people from Bochumer Bildungszentrum e.V. (BBZ) about their work and project of an English or international school, I realized that there are demand and offers for bilingual offers at the different German school types. There is not only a comprehensive school. Traditionally, the secondary school in German knows three different types of schools: the Hauptschule (literally: main school), the secondary modern school (Realschule) and the German Grammar School (called Gymnasium). The school project of the BBZ could end up with such a secondary school. Different from the British system, pupils go to different secondary schools in Germany.
Today I want to focus on an existing secondary modern school: the Elsa-Brändström-Realschule in Essen. The school bilingual branch offers a biliginual class where in grade 5 and 6 two additional lessons English are taught per week. From the 7th grade on additionally another subject – later two – are taught with more lessons per week and in English language. The class aims at strengthening the English language skills of pupils either to get more easily into job which need English or to more easily attend a high school afterwards.
The picture on the front cover, title and the first paragraph clearly define what this book is about: the history of the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen.
The Zollverein colliery and coking plant in Essen is a unique architectural monument and a testimony to mining history in the 19th and 20th century. At the same time it is now a new venue for art, culture, design, education, research and tourism. The Zollverein mining complex (comprising shaft site 12, shaft site 1/2/8 and the coking plant) was inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2001. Is is one of three industrial World Heritage sites in Germany and one of only 41 technical and industrial history World Heritage sites throughout the world.
This article is not about the Zollverein World Heritage Site. It is about a book with this title which gives a tour through the history of this historical industrial site which is part of the regional Route of Industrial Heritage (Route der Industriekultur) and the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH). The special thing about this book is, that it is bilingual. On the left of each page you’ll find German language and the other half shows the English translation. Maybe it is a gift for people who are learning German?
I cannot recommend this book for people who just look for a short summary about what Zollverein actually is. It shows the history of coal mining, especially of coal mining in Ruhr and at Zollverein with its connected coking plant. It doesn’t deal with the industrial heritage of Ruhr in general but it focusses one of its most important relicts. I recommend this book if you want to compare living in Ruhr yesterday and nowadays.
The development of Zollverein since the pit was closed down in 1986 and the coking plant in 1993 is a prime example of the structural transformation of the Ruhrgebiet. Just as the pit and coking plant reflect the development phases of the golden age of industrialisation, the transforamation of the industrial complex to a venue of arts, culture, the creative economy and research is a model for the radical economic and commercial upturn in the region.
The book is published by Klartext Verlag, Essen for the price of € 17.90.
Welterbe Zollverein World Heritage Site, published by the Zollverein Foundation in cooperation with the Foundation for the Preservation of Industrial Monuments and Historical Culture, bilingual: German & English language, Klartext Verlag. Essen 2008, ISBN 978-3-89861-8441
My wife and I heard about it form another American women in Bochum: There is a mobile market (a lorry) that comes to Bochum frequently which offers food and some other stuff from the USA and the UK. Talking about it again, I was told about an website of that guy. It’s www.foodfromhome.de.
I had a short look at the page and here is my summarize: You can get all the stuff via mail order or from the mobile store which travels through North Rhine-Westphalia and parts of Holland (the Netherlands). The website contains a list with place where the mobile store with about 250 different items (out of more thatn 1,500 available) stops.
In Ruhr there are stops in Bochum (2nd Saturday in month, 13.15 – 13.45h at Starlight Express), Bottrop (2nd Saturday in month, 17.00 – 17.30h at carpark Osterfelder Straße/Hans-Böckler-Straße), Dortmund (2nd Saturday in month Rheinische Straße / Langestraße, 14.20 – 14.40h) and Duisburg (International School St. Georges School), 2nd Tuesday, 1st and 3rd Friday in month, 15.00 – 16.00, Birkenstraße 15, Tuesday at Kranichstraße 21), Essen (2nd Tuesday, 18.00 – 18.30h, ica halle Am Westbahnhof and 2nd Saturday in month, carpark at Barbarossa Platz), Gelsenkirchen (2nd Saturday, 12.30 – 12.50h, Ringstraße 75-80), Hamm (3rd (!) Saturday, 17.00 – 17.20h, Carl-Goerdeler-Straße 3) and Recklinghausen (2nd Saturday, 15.20 – 15.40h, carpark at Kemnastraße / Hertenerstraße).
You can get English magazines there, too. I’ll hopefull try it in May.
At the moment, I see some activities in Ruhr about new schools. The hype is around the the Term “International School”. There seems to be some demand for a bigger variety of schools in the Ruhr area for quite a while. The hype started with Dr. Jürgen Großmann, CEO of RWE, offering money for founding a private International School. The intentions seems to be to get a school with the elements: English language, German as second language taught as a subject, Cambridge Curriculum, Internationale Baccalaureate (Germans call it ‘Internationales Abitur’). It shall be an offer for academic staff or managers who speak English. An international class that moves around the world with their children. In my opinion, this project is more part of regional business development. Ruhr as an international metropolis will need an International School like this. The next one is situated in Düsseldorf.
“International School” is also used for other school, partly with similar concepts. The International School in Velbert-Heiligenhaus is going to open a branch in Bochum. As far as I unterstood the concept is different from International Schools like the one in Düsseldorf – the one mentioned above. It seems to focus on an international clientele and a German as well. Different form this concept is the one of a private bilingual school, the Carolinen-Schule in Bochum. This school is going to use the curriculum of the state of Northrhine-Westfalia. This is the officual one used by public school. Lessons shall be offered in German and English via two teachers at the same time. Following the public curriculum the school will get public sponsoring by the state and the (German) pupils will be garanteed to fulfill compulsory schooling here.
There a plans to add preschools/Kindergarten and grades 5th to 12th.
“International School” can also refer to schools that offer an International Baccalaureate without being a private school, an International School like mentioned above or beeing connected with an elementary school. Currently, there are secondary public schools in Germany that offer bilingual education. Some of these offer the option of an International Baccalaureate
I knew about a school in Bochum, Hildegardisschule, with offers bilingual education in French and the additional Baccalaureate. About bilingual public Schools offering the IB, I just read about at ruhrbarone.de
Looking at the websites mentioned by ruhrbarone.de there is the Leibniz-Gymnasium in Dortmund since 2007 and the soon will be the Goetheschule in Essen. Due to its website the IB will be offered at Leibniz Gymnasium form 2009/10. Both schools offer bilingual German-English education and optionally the IB. Due to the website of the Leibniz-Gymnasium there are 40 schools like this in Northrhine-Westfalia. At both schools some lessons will be offered German, some will be offered in English. Different concepts work with two teachers and lessons are bilingual. Further “International Schools” offere lessons only in English and German taught as second language.
There is a demand for a broader offer of schools in Ruhr. It’s developing. The diffences mentioned here, are not the only ones. E.g., private schools often offer smaller classes.
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