After his immigration from Albania, the accadis ISB
student Bledion Vladi founded the project "We are learning German"
and successfully teaches German to refugees.
21-year-old Albanian Bledion Vladi came to Germany
from his home country three years ago. Today he lives in Idstein. He knows how
difficult it is to arrive and integrate in a foreign country. Language is
usually a big hurdle, he says. With a lot of motivation and commitment Bledion
Vladi learned German in a very short time and then began to teach refugees. To
this day the initially small project "We are learning German" has
integrated numerous people into society and the labor market. Bledion Vladi is
currently completing his International Baccalaureate Diploma at accadis ISB and
is planning the follow-up project "The Story Store" nominated for the
German Integration Award 2018.
Language as the
gateway to the world
"With the project 'We are learning German' I
wanted to show that it is possible to learn a new, difficult language,"
the Secondary School student recalls about the beginning of the project.
"That's why I started teaching refugees every Saturday and later founded
the facebook profile 'Wir lernen Deutsch'. It now has 10,700 followers. I want
to make refugees and society aware that language is the gateway to the world."
Bledion Vladi currently teaches via e-learning systems. "Due to time
constraints, I can't give classical classes. In addition, the shared
accommodation where I had taught was closed down last year. Also the facebook
profile requires lots of my time. We react to every contribution, like, share
and comment. But I like doing it."
Teaching
traumatized refugees
According to Bledion Vladi, the biggest challenge is
to motivate the students permanently. "They have experienced a great deal.
Many suffer from trauma and need psychological help. Last but not least, they
miss their families. Understandably, it is sometimes difficult for some to take
part in lessons." Nevertheless, the students have a lot of fun in class.
"I often ask for the Arabic translation of single words. When German words
or their counterparts sound funny, we laugh together and experience how
different languages are." Many students have difficulties with the German
articles "der, die, das" and with the German case. "Again and
again my students ask why the German language is so complicated, and why it has
more rules than many other languages. When should I use the dative, when the
accusative? What's the genitive again? Why isn't it called "das
Blume"?"
Entering job
market with "We are learning German"
Despite the hurdles posed by the German language, the
project has been a great success. "Many of my former language students now
speak German at B1 and B2 level and are undergoing training. The lessons are
therefore a good basis for integration."
Refugees write a
book
With the workshop "Storytelling for Change"
Bledion Vladi is also busy at the literal level. In the joint project with
MasterPeace Wiesbaden, 19 refugees wrote down their experiences of escape with
the help of language teachers. In June 2018 they will be published in the book
"Why we are here - travel stories from our world".
Nominated for
the German Integration Award 2018
Bledio Vladi has another project which he has taken to
heart. "With my colleague Kristine Tauch I would like to create 'The Story
Store', an online shop to sell exceptional books and textiles created by
fugitives. Every product carries the story of its developer." With this
project Bledion Vladi was nominated for the German Integration Award 2018.
Bledion Vladi also
inspires his schoolmates and teachers with his commitment to his fellow human
beings. "We are very impressed by his extracurricular activities,"
says Gerda Meinl-Kexel, Managing Partner of accadis ISB. "Bledion Vladi is
a shining example of thinking outside the box. His language teaching overcomes
all limits of integration. We are proud that he is an accadis ISB student.“