Yesterday the Mayor of Luxembourg City Lydie Polfer, representing the College of Alderman, and Patrick Goldschmidt, the alderman responsible for matters of integration and specific needs, presented 621 attendance diplomas to language students in Luxembourg.
513 of these diplomas were given to students who had attemded Luxembourgish language and culture courses in 2014/15, and 108 of the degrees went to German sign language course students of the 'Deutsche Gebärdensprache' (DGS).
The presentation was attended by representatives of the Municipal Council; of the Consultative Committee of Communal Integration; of the Partipatory Committee on 'Special Needs'; of the Committee for Social Action, Health and the 3rd Age; of the Committee on Equality between Men and Women; of the Ministry of National Education and of the Luxembourg Office for Reception and Integration.
The College of Aldermen congratulated the Luxembourg course students for their efforts to learn the language of the country, thanking the seven teachers involved and the Service for Integration and Special Needs. The College then welcomed the large number of people who had chosen to take a sign language course and congratulated the teachers thereof for their commitment and the quality of the courses provided.
Ville de Luxembourg reported that 66.34% of students who participated in the Luxembourgish language course of 2014/15 were residents of Luxembourg City, with the rest of participants (33.66%) coming from other communes in the Grand Duchy or the Greater Region to attend classes. The success rate for the 2014/15 course stood at 62.8%, indicating 513 people out of the 817 who participated received a diploma.
The City's language and culture courses are also authorised by the Ministry of Education and Training, offering students the opportunity to receive a certificate on the condition that at least 70% of class hours are attended. This year, 56% of students received the certificate, which represented an increase of 12% compared with the 2013/14 course and 14% with regards to 2012/13.
The 2015/16 session will begin Monday 28 September 2015, and the new programme will provide 39 courses overall. For more information visit the Ville de Luxembourg website (www.vdl.lu) or call 4796-4142.
The Ville de Luxembourg has been offering German sign language courses, in collaboration with the Daaflux a.s.b.l association, since January 2010. The course, offered in both Beginner (DGS-1) and Advanced (DGS-2) forms, aims to encourage meetings between deaf and hearing people, thereby improving the communication and integration of the hearing impaired.
Contrary to figures for the Luxembourgish course, only 15.7% of students for the sign language course were City residents, with the majority of registered students coming from further afield.
Throughout the 2014/15 school year, six courses of DGS-1, six courses of DGS-2 (eight sessions of ninety minutes) and one course of DGS-3 (over a weekend) took place at Cents Social Centre.
The success rates for the classes was reported as consistently high, with 59 people graduating from Beginners; 38 from Advanced; and 11 from DGS-3. The most recent course saw 89.3% of students received their diploma, compared with 89.6% in 2013/14; 82.6% in 2012/13; and 82% in 2011/12.
Registration for sign language courses may be completed throughout the year with the Service for Integration and Special Needs, at 4796-4106 and pregenwetter@vdl.lu. People in contact with someone deaf or hard of hearing, or whose profession involves a connection with people with disabilities, will be given priority.
Photo by Ville de Luxembourg
