Luxembourg simplifies education for French-speaking children

Luxembourg's Minister of Education, Claude Meisch, responded to a parliamentary enquiry explaining the changes in approaches to teaching children to read and write. These changes reflect the growing linguistic and cultural heterogeneity of schoolchildren.

Historically, literacy education in Luxembourg public schools has been taught in German. This is due to the proximity of the Luxembourgish and German languages, which makes it easier for children with a native Luxembourgish or German language to master written language. There are no plans to introduce the Luxembourg alphabet in schools, as German has traditionally fulfilled the role of a bridge.

With the growing number of children whose mother tongues are different from Luxembourgish and German, the traditional system is no longer universal. To support these pupils, the ALPHA - Maturity through French Literacy project was created, targeting children with a French or non-native Germanic language background. French was chosen as a means to improve school performance due to its socio-cultural relevance.

These reforms demonstrate Luxembourg's commitment to creating a more inclusive and culturally diverse educational environment. The Minister emphasised that this approach would help children with different linguistic backgrounds to successfully adapt and integrate into the education system.