Duration:  max. 1300 teaching units
Max. Number of participants: 12
Lesson times: Lesson times are Monday to Friday from 08:15 to 12:15
Funding opportunity: Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).

Welcome to the Nova language school. We see that many migrants who come to Germany as refugees have not attended school in their home country and have therefore never learned to read and write. Or they have forgotten what they have learned due to a lack of practice. These participants face a double challenge in the integration course: They not only have to learn to read and write German, but also Latin script. Our literacy courses offer participants a great opportunity: only by mastering the written language together with a basic knowledge of German is it possible to truly participate in German society.

The literacy course is aimed at migrants who do not speak the Latin alphabet or their mother tongue. These include primary illiterates and functional illiterates. Primary  illiterates have no written language skills and therefore need special methodological and didactic support. Functional illiterates have very poor reading and writing skills that are not sufficient for attending a general integration course. We have found that these people often have fears and inhibitions because they find reading and writing difficult.  That's why our instructors are very empathetic and patient when teaching the content of the given course material, because this is how we see great progress in our participants' learning.

The literacy course can be attended by migrants  who, in accordance with § 4 Para.1 IntV and who are not eligible to attend a general integration course or another integration course for special target groups due to a lack of or insufficient written language skills. Whether participation in a literacy course is necessary is determined in the placement procedure for the integration courses. The integrated alpha module enables the basic identification of existing literacy needs and assignment to the three main target groups of the literacy course.

Lesson times are Monday to Friday from 08:15 to 12:15 and from 12:30 to 16:30.

Alpha courses consist of three parts, each with 300 teaching units. The integration course consists of a basic alpha course, an advanced alpha course A and an advanced alpha course B. It is possible to extend the course by a further 300 teaching units. To do this, a repeat application must be submitted to the BAMF, which is usually approved, as taking the DTZ exam after only 900 teaching units is only successful in exceptional cases.

A course change can only be made at the beginning of a new course section. The prerequisite for a course change is that the participant still  has at least 100 units available.
A transfer of participants from the basic Alpha course to a
Other course types are not recommended for pedagogical reasons. In the advanced alpha courses, a regular check is made to see whether a change of course is possible in terms of the level of written language achieved and whether the participant could achieve a higher language level overall as a result. This is especially true for second language learners. The decision on this lies with the teacher in consultation with the participant.