The National Action Plan (NAP) for Integration, issued in 2011, was coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior through a dialogue process with experts and stakeholders. Proficiency in German is regarded as the key to integration. Immigrants to Austria have to pass a language exam (level A1) before entering the country. With these prerequisites, Austria is similar to Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands (Bundesministerium für Inneres 2011). 

In June 2011, the Austrian government issued its third report on the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The report refers also to the amendment of the constitutional law in 2011, guaranteeing a stable solution to the tedious Ortstafelstreit (controversy over bilingual signs) about the use of minority languages in topography and in specific public services in Burgenland and Carinthia (Bundeskanzleramt 2011: 11).

Nationwide data collection is mainly based on citizenship and colloquial languages (Umgangssprachen), which has proved insufficient for analysis on the language(s) used by individuals and is criticised by researchers. 

SPIN: SprachenInnovationsNetzwerk, a network initiated by the Österreichisches Sprachen-Kompetenz-Zentrum (ÖSZ), provides a database on www.oesz.at/spin presenting innovative language projects to a wider interested public.

Languages offered in pre-primary education

Since 2010 pre-primary education attendance from the age of five has been obligatory in the whole of Austria. This measure was mainly introduced to ensure that all children learn German before entering school. 

As described in the Language Education Policy Profile (LEPP), pre-primary education is characterised by a decentralised fragmentation. This has consequences on the implementation of language diversity in terms of quantity of offer (with disparities between the individual Länder) and quality of offer, especially when it comes to the qualification of language educators (Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur/Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung/Österreichisches Sprachen Kompetenz Zentrum 2008: 82-88).

Languages offered in primary education

Due to the demographic development, the expansion of Muttersprachlicher Unterricht (immigrant language education), especially at primary level, is regarded as a government priority. The aim of Muttersprachlicher Unterricht is defined by the curriculum as enabling bilingualism and equality of home languages and German.

In the school year 2009/10, 29.4% of primary school pupils in Austria with an additional language other than German took part in Muttersprachlicher Unterricht (Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur 2011: 13). 

The Department for Migration and Schools at the Federal Ministry for Education, Culture and the Arts coordinates the offer. It issues information sheets, for example on the legal framework, data and statistics. On the platform www.muttersprachlicher-unterricht.at information on the registration for parents can be accessed in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Turkish and Albanian. 

For immigrant language teaching, as well as for other foreign and minority languages, the main challenge is not only expansion, but also quality improvement. In both respects, the number of qualified teachers is a key challenge demanding reform in teacher education (Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur/Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung/Österreichisches Sprachen Kompetenz Zentrum 2008: 88-91).

Vienna is taking part in the European ‘Multilingual cities‘ project, collecting data among elementary school pupils to generate knowledge on the connection between language diversity and school success (Brizic 2011).

Languages offered in secondary education

From secondary level (ISCED 2) onwards, the Austrian school system becomes diversified into general (Hauptschule) and academic secondary schools. This interface is crucial for language education processes that can be interrupted, continued or enhanced. 

In 2009/10 Vienna was the only Bundesland which provided Muttersprachlicher Unterricht (immigrant language education) in academic secondary schools as well as in general secondary schools (Bundesministerium für Untericht, Kunst und Kultur 2011: 25). All other Bundesländer provided it in general secondary schools only.

However, the curriculum in academic secondary schools includes two compulsory modern foreign languages (or one plus Latin), in contrast to the Hauptschul-curriculum, which includes only one. 

The New Middle School (NMS) was introduced in 2008/09 to overcome the traditional divide. By 2015/16, all Hauptschulen will be transformed into New Middle Schools. Social learning and integration, together with a more individualised and differentiated teaching is part of the pedagogic concept of the NMS. This is specifically aimed at fostering the potential of pupils with an immigrant background. 

English is the most dominant modern foreign language at schools on all levels, studied by almost 99% of pupils. Regional and minority languages can also be offered as a subject at secondary schools. The provision depends on the region: in Burgenland, a total percentage of 12.9% of pupils learn Croatian and 10.6% of Carinthian pupils learn Slovene (data from school year 2004/5, Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur/ Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung/Österreichisches Sprachen Kompetenz Zentrum 2008: 149).

Languages offered across 3 VET institutions in Austria

Languages offered across 3 Higher Education Institutions in Austria

Apart from adult vocational training and university education, Austria’s tradition of Volkshochschulen (VHS) deriving from both bourgeois and working-class initiatives in the 19th century should be mentioned in the context of language learning. With a share of 39.4% of education units in 2009/10, languages are the strongest education field of the VHS (Verband Österreichischer Volkshochschulen 2011: 1). Vienna’s VHS currently offer more than 60 languages.

Languages offered in audiovisual media and press across 3 cities in Austria

The Austrian broadcasting corporation ORF is by law obliged to provide services to recognised regional and minority language speakers. Apart from TV and radio magazines, the online platform volksgruppen.orf.at provides news and information and audio and video live streams in Croatian, Czech, Romani, Slovakian, Hungarian and Slovenian. 

FM4 is the radio station of the ORF targeted at a young audience. Though bilingual, English is spoken predominantly. The news bulletins are read in English and twice a day in French. FM4’s hosts and on-air guests are encouraged to follow FM4’s ‘Native Speaker Principle‘ and speak in their mother tongue.

Languages offered in public services and spaces across 3 cities in Austria (N ≥ 2)

Although the LRE project focus was on major cities in terms of population, Austria is largely characterised by smaller towns, also in the regions with recognised linguistic minorities (Volksgruppen). Therefore, the afore-mentioned constitutional amendment decided by the parliament in 2011 on the use of minority languages (BGBl. I Nr. 46/2011) in topography and official languages to be used in public services affects mainly those smaller towns.

Languages other than English offered in business across 19 companies in Austria (N ≥ 2)

The Institute for Research on Qualifications and Training of the Austrian Economy (ibw) conducted a survey in 2005 among 2,017 Austrian companies on their demand for foreign languages. 86% said that they need foreign languages. In 45% of the companies, English is needed by ‘most‘ employees. For contacts with business partners in Eastern Europe, German is the language used, according to the survey. (Tritscher-Archan 2008: 172). 

Whereas language skills in Austria as an export-oriented country are traditionally regarded as a tool to access foreign markets, some companies, for example banks and telecommunication providers, are also responding to a diversifying inland market with so-called ethno marketing, using immigrant languages in their campaigns and services.

Austria is characterised by ambivalent developments in terms of multi- and plurilingualism. On the one hand, the government programme recognises the increasing diversity of Austrian society by emphasising the importance of acquisition of language skills mainly through education for children and young people, particularly referring to English, the languages of the neighbouring countries, and immigrant languages (Republik Österreich 2008: 206). 

On the other hand, it is above all a question of resources (for example, when it comes to the number of qualified teachers), which prevents the creation of a more diverse and comprehensive language education provision and makes it difficult to form a continuous language education process. 

Whereas German is regarded as the most important language for successful integration (also strengthened by current education and immigration policies), society is slowly becoming aware of the benefits of additional language skills, at least when they are seen to be ‘useful‘, for example in the economy for specific export-oriented trade and business.

There are many good practice examples throughout the domains of Language Rich Europe. One example is a project that EDUCULT is actively involved in: 

Sag’s multi is an annual rhetoric competition for bilingual pupils organised by an association of business people, the Verein Wirtschaft für Integration (VWFI) together with EDUCULT. Pupils from grade seven (age 12) onwards present their speeches switching between their German and their additional language. Since 2009, approximately 700 pupils have already taken part in the competition, presenting in more than 40 languages.

 

Biffl, Gudrun, Skrivanek, Isabella (2011): Schule-Migration-Gender Endbericht. Study commissioned by the Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur. Available at http://www.bmukk.gv.at/medienpool/21041/schule_migration_gender_eb.pdf accessed 7 December 2011.

Brizic, Katharina (2011): ‘Multilingual cities‘ Wien. Available at http://www.oeaw.ac.at/dinamlex/Multilingual-Cities_Wien-2009_Endbericht-V1Stand20111111.pdf accessed 7 December 2011. 

Bundeskanzleramt Österreich (2011): 3. Bericht 3. Bericht der Republik Österreich gemäß Artikel 15 Abs. 1 der Europäischen Charta der Regional- oder Minderheitensprachen. Available at http://www.bka.gv.at/DocView.axd?CobId=45599 accessed 7 December 2011.

Bundesministerium für Inneres (2011): Nationaler Aktionsplan für Integration. Available at http://www.integrationsfonds.at/nap/bericht/ accessed 7 December 2011. 

Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur (2011): Der muttersprachliche Unterricht in Österreich. Statistische Auswertung für das Schuljahr 2009/10. Available at http://www.bmukk.gv.at/medienpool/3720/nr5_11.pdf accessed 7 December 2011. 

Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur und Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung, Österreichisches Sprachen Kompetenz Zentrum (eds.) (2008): Language Education Policy Profile. Country Report Austria. Available at http://www.oesz.at/download/spol/lepp_engl_1.pdf accessed 7 December 2011. 

Initiative Minderheiten (n.d.): Minderheiten in Österreich / Volksgruppen. Available at http://minderheiten.at/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=30 accessed 9 December 2011. 

Republik Österreich (2008): Regierungsprogramm 2008-2013. Available at http://www.bka.gv.at/DocView.axd?CobId=32965 accessed 7 December 2011. 

Statistik Austria (2011): Registrierzählung 2011. Pressemeldung. Available at http://www.statistik.at/web_de/presse/059977 accessed 7 December 2011. 

Tritscher-Archan, Sabine (ed.), Institut für Bildungsforschung der Wirtschaft (2008): Fremdsprachen für die Wirtschaft. Zahlen, Daten, Fakten. 

Verband österreichischer Volkshochschulen (2011): Statistikbericht 2011. Available at http://files.adulteducation.at/statistik/berichte/statistik_2011.pdf accessed 7 December 2011.