Recognition and Endorsement for International GERMAN SCHOOL campus
Vizepraesidentin des Deutschen Bundestages Ulla Schmidt
Courtesy Translation
Dear Ursula,
Two months ago, I visited Los Angeles as Vice-President of the German Bundestag. My trip was centered around the Special Olympics World Summer Games for people with intellectual disabilities, where we met in the context of your support for the German team. I also used the opportunity for political discussions and visits to local institutions on the issue of accessibility and inclusion. After all, it was in multicultural and open-minded California that the Independent Living Movement was born—a social movement working to ensure that people with disabilities can live independently. In addition, my program included bilateral visits to institutions within the scope of Germany’s foreign cultural and education policy and meetings with the Jewish community in Los Angeles. After all, many people forced to leave Germany during the Nazi era found a new home here in California.
That is why I am particularly happy and grateful that interest in the German language—and thus also in Germany, its people, and its culture—is again on the rise in the region. You are now reacting to this by opening your German language school. You aim to get children and young people interested in the German language and the broader cultural context. Your unique concept of also speaking German outside the classroom, learning in fun ways, and activating all the senses while taking part in watersports, fishing, or hiking together represents a new departure. In addition, the beautiful location directly on the waterfront will undoubtedly make it easier for all those teaching and learning together in this location to look to the future and broaden their horizons. And perhaps, as a result, we will soon be able to welcome interculturally trained young people from southern California to responsible jobs at German or transnational companies – or as students at German universities!
I wish you and the German Language School all the best and much success in this endeavor!
Andrea Bischoff
Büro Vizepräsidentin Ulla Schmidt
With best regards from Berlin,
Deutscher Bundestag, Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin
Dr. Martine Jago, FRSA
It is with pleasure that I offer my endorsement of the German School Campus located in Southern California (United States). I specialize in German and French language and literature (medieval to modern) and have a basic understanding of Dutch and Italian. In 2018, I was hired as an instructor at the German School Campus to teach the youngest learners (four to seven-year-olds). As a proponent of cross-disciplinary research, I value the focus on core curricula in the German language, culture, and humanities.
My qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Modern Languages (French and German) from the University of Oxford and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Language Specialism) from the University of Cambridge. In 1995, I was awarded a three-year full-time research scholarship to complete a doctoral study, ‘Foreign Languages in Early Schooling.’In 2001, I was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (RSA) in England for my contribution to language education and the learning sciences. This partnership’s affiliates have been utilized in creating transnational projects with universities and cultural institutes. Recent research has focused on policy studies and transcultural issues with a comparative focus: early foreign language learning (England and Scotland); language and cultural awareness (The Netherlands and Hong Kong); early years curricula (Australia and New Zealand);
Singapore); international, educational, and governmental agencies (England and France); knowledge and linguistic transfer in school settings (Germany and Spain); and notions of citizenship in early childhood (England and France).
The administration, faculty members, parents, and (most importantly) the students form a community of practice—a family environment is fostered wherein children across the age range learn and play together. I fully support Frau Ursula Schoeneich’s application for the German School Campus accreditation.
Es ist mir eine Freude, den German School Campus in Südkalifornien (USA) zu unterstützen. Ich bin spezialisiert auf deutsche und französische Sprache und Literatur (Mittelalter bis Neuzeit) und habe ein grundlegendes Verständnis für Niederländisch und Italienisch. Im Jahr 2018 wurde ich als Dozentin auf dem German School Campus eingestellt, um die jüngsten Studenten (Vier- bis Siebenjährige) zu unterrichten. Als Befürworter der fachübergreifenden Forschung schätze ich den Fokus auf Kernlehrpläne in der deutschen Sprache, Kultur und den Geisteswissenschaften.
Meine Qualifikationen umfassen Bachelor of Arts und Master of Arts in modernen Sprachen (Französisch und Deutsch) von der University of Oxford und ein Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Language Specialism) von der University of Cambridge. 1995 erhielt ich ein dreijähriges Vollzeitstipendium für die Promotion zum Thema “Fremdsprachen in der Grundschule”.
Im Jahr 2001 wurde ich für meinen Beitrag zum Sprachunterricht und zu den Lernwissenschaften zum Fellow der Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (RSA) in England gewählt. Die sich aus dieser Partnerschaft ergebenden Verbindungen wurden bei der Schaffung von transnationalen Projekten mit Universitäten und Kulturinstituten genutzt. Jüngste Forschungsarbeiten konzentrieren sich auf politische Studien und transkulturelle Themen mit einem vergleichenden Schwerpunkt: frühes Fremdsprachenlernen (England / Schottland); Sprache und kulturelles Bewusstsein (Niederlande / Hongkong); Lehrpläne für die ersten Jahre (Australien / Singapur); internationale, Bildungs- und Regierungsbehörden (England / Frankreich); Wissens- und Sprachtransfer in der Schule (Deutschland / Spanien); und Vorstellungen von Staatsbürgerschaft in der frühen Kindheit (England / Frankreich).
Die Verwaltung, die Fakultätsmitglieder, die Eltern und (vor allem) die Schüler bilden eine Praxisgemeinschaft – ein familiäres Umfeld wird gefördert, in dem Kinder aller Altersgruppen gemeinsam lernen und spielen. Ich unterstütze Frau Ursula Schoeneich voll und ganz bei ihrem Antrag auf Akkreditierung des German School Campus.