Caritas Lerncafe - Free learning support

In Austria, school-aged children are enjoying their last days in school before a long-awaited and well-deserved summer break. During the 2021/22 school year, ending at the end of June/begin of July, more than 2100 children have been supported in their learning efforts in 62 Lerncafés (learning cafés) all over Austria. In total, around 960 dedicated volunteers supported them in doing homework, preparing for tests and exams, encouraging their creativity and fostering their personal and social development.

In this update report we want to share with you some uplifting case stories collected over the school year to highlight the positive impact the Caritas Lerncafés have on concrete individuals.

All students’ names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Julya leaps over her shadow
Julya, a girl from a Viennese Lerncafé, is a very shy child who tends to keep to herself in larger groups and prefers to do her homework in a very quiet setting. Anyone who learns with her first needs time to gain her trust. But once this is done, Julya literally blossoms. She then proudly tells about a good grade or shows off one of her beautiful self-painted pictures. One particular success story was her participation in the journalism workshop, where you could see how much she enjoyed it. In the beginning, it took a lot for her to speak up in front of the whole group and actively participate in the workshop. But she managed to leap over her shadow and when her independently conducted interview was finally finished, she was glowing with pride. After the workshop, she shared several times how "cool" it was to have met a real journalist.

Samer’s dedication to get a positive degree
Samer, a 12-year-old boy, is going to a Lerncafé in Lower Austria and attends the 2nd grade of secondary school. Initially, he had big problems with German from the beginning. Especially writing and formulating essays was visibly difficult for him. German is hardly spoken in his home and environment, so it was difficult for him to formulate grammatically correct sentences after long holidays or lockdowns. As a result, he received a "Nicht genügend" (test failed) on his first German school test in autumn. Samer was very disappointed about this, but tried to improve his negative grade. With a lot of effort and practice hours in the Lerncafé, various practice materials and also the dedicated help of a volunteer, the student succeeded in preparing well for the next German school test, so he got a "Befriedigend plus" (satisfactory plus). His ambition paid off. He was able to improve his negative grade and get a positive final grade.

Sunil's transformation
Sunil joined the Lerncafé in April 2021 already. In the beginning, he hardly spoke German, was shy, introverted, insecure and lacked independence. Back then as a first-grader in 2021, distance learning was particularly difficult for him, as the Lerncafé (due to the high incidence in the district) worked for a very long time in online mode. Once physically back at the Lerncafé at the start of the school year 2021/22, his brother helped him get started, though you could see Sunil’s struggles at every syllable reading at the Lerncafé. The exhaustion was clearly visible in his face after each session. But Sunil kept on trying, practicing, learning and developing – with huge success. By the end of the year, he is now almost transformed. He reads well and fluently, has good pronunciation and most important: really enjoys reading. He is now able to speak confidently in German and is no longer tempted to answer in his first language. He is much more confident and also made some friends in the Lerncafé.

Lerncafés in numbers

• Over 2,100 children and young people are cared for in the Lerncafés
• 62 Lerncafé locations throughout Austria
• Around 960 volunteers are currently involved
• Almost 810 children and young people are on the waiting list for a place in a Lerncafé  (the need is much higher, the waiting list is limited)
• 94% of the children and young people at the Lerncafé have a migration background
• 96% of the participants complete the respective school level positively
• 51% girls and 49% boys currently attend the learning cafés

Links:

• Homepage of Austrian-wide Lerncafes (GER)