"A voice that everyone understands..."

The projects carried out by four Kassel students on the German as a Foreign and Second Language Master's course, Linda Alphei, Astrid Lange, Kelly de Oliveira and Vimansani Pathirana, entitled "A voice that everyone understands..." focused on action-oriented German learning in cultural locations in Kassel with unaccompanied minor refugees (UMF). The young people involved in these projects learned German during the implementation of the two projects at the Institute for Languages in Kassel in order to subsequently be integrated into the German education and training system. They showed a high level of motivation and great willingness not only to learn German, but also to get involved in their new environment.

The aim of both projects was therefore to give the UMF access to popular places in Kassel and to sensitize them to the cultural identity of the city. At the same time, they were given the opportunity to expand their language skills through authentic speaking, writing and reading activities.

As part of the first project in summer 2015, two excursions led to two extracurricular learning locations: Hercules, Wilhelmshöhe Palace Park, the Karlsaue and the Orangery. The excursion to Hercules and Wilhelmshöhe Palace Park took place on 23.07.2015. The visit to Hercules and the Octagon Palace was followed by a walk in the palace park, where all participants met for a picnic. The walk to the orangery took place a week later on 7 August 2015. On the way, the pupils passed various outdoor works of art in the Auepark, for example Claes Oldenburg's "Pickaxe", Giuseppe Penone's "Idee di Pietra (Views of a Stone)" and the sculptures in front of the orangery, for which various tasks were to be completed. The day ended with a meal together.

On both excursion days, the pupils completed tasks in a playful way at various stations (movement games

tasks at various stations (movement games, language and dialog exercises, small music and art projects). The tasks were designed in such a way that even pupils with little knowledge of the language were able to complete them and thus achieve a sense of achievement. In addition, the UMF were given the task of taking photos with disposable cameras on both days. This enabled them to give form to their individual views of the places in Kassel.

The results of the first project were presented on 20.08.2015 in the form of a photo exhibition at the Institute for Languages was shown. In addition to the worksheets that were worked on during the excursions, the pupils presented their photos and self-made posters and collages as part of the exhibition. The posters contained speech bubbles and thought bubbles, which the pupils used to describe their memories and impressions of the two excursions. Visitors to the exhibition were thus given the opportunity to experience these popular and well-known cultural sites in Kassel through the eyes of the young refugees. The project not only trained language skills, but also teamwork, empathy and independent learning - skills that the UMF have often not yet acquired due to their previous educational biography, but which are essential for integration into the German school and training system. In addition, the sense of belonging and the atmosphere in the individual learning groups also improved.

The second project, which was carried out in November 2015 by Linda Alphei, Kelly de Oliveira and Vimansani Pathirana on behalf of the Department 02 Humanities and Cultural Studies at the University of Kassel, also focused on action-oriented German learning at cultural and interesting places in Kassel. Here too, the target group consisted of unaccompanied refugee minors. In addition to extracurricular and activity-oriented language teaching, the second project also included an interdisciplinary focus. The project team planned a joint walk along the old city wall to the orangery in the Karlsaue. This was followed by a visit to the planetarium, including a guided tour. After the tour, there was coffee and cake in the adjoining restaurant of the orangery.

As with the first project, the planning was based on a "three-phase model". As in the first project, the first phase, preparation and pre-release, was an integral part of the regular lessons. The second phase, the excursion, combined the teaching of facts with language teaching. As part of this project, the learners were also given the opportunity to get to know the content of a school subject lesson, in this case geography lessons. Once again, the focus of the exercises and tasks was on success. Even learners with little knowledge of the language should have no difficulty in completing the exercises and tasks. In addition, the UMF were again given the task of taking photos with disposable cameras along the way and at the stations. The third and final phase of the project consisted of a comprehensive exhibition in the foyer of Faculty 02, which was open from 10.12.2015 to 11.2.2016. Posters and other exhibits from all phases of the project were presented at a vernissage to which the participating UMF, their supervisors, teachers from the Institute of Languages, teachers and students from the DaFZ department, guests from Tunis-El Manar University (Tunisia) who were present at the same time and all interested parties from Faculty 02 were invited. The choice of exhibition venue gave the young people their first insight into the university as an educational institution.

The projects were generously supported financially by the Department of Humanities and Cultural Studies at the University of Kassel, the department's Barbara and Alfred Röver Foundation, Sparkasse Kassel and the DaFZ department. We would also like to thank the Department of German as a Foreign Language, especially Junior Professor Christine Czinglar, for her dedicated and helpful support in the implementation of both projects.