Pupils who volunteer as “Deutsch-Checker” receive a certificate upon completion of the program. In 2026, the certificates were handed over at an celebration.
Language Support
“Deutsch Checker” Project Celebrates Ten-Year Anniversary
Around 450 pupils have already benefited from the project. Ruhr University Bochum will continue to engage in language support in the future.
For ten years, students at the Ruhr University Bochum have been helping with language promotion at five schools in Herne as part of the “Deutsch-Checker” program. What was originally designed as a two-year project has since become a permanent and successful collaboration. The city of Herne honored the program on the occasion of its ten-year anniversary on July 8, 2026, with a celebratory event.
In this format, prospective teachers, who are specially trained in education and didactics, qualify 11th and 12th-grade pupils to become so-called Deutsch-Checkers. In turn, these pupils support 5th and 6th-grade pupils with language support needs.
Ten Years of the Deutsch-Checker Project in Numbers
“The special thing about the program is that relationships are formed between older and younger participants during learning. It’s a bit like learning with an older sister or brother,” says Professor Björn Rothstein from the Professional School of Education at Ruhr University Bochum, who heads the Deutsch-Checker project. “Often, the students and the schoolchildren also stay in contact beyond the collaboration.”
That’s so great about the Ruhr region. We find enough students every year who get involved with all their heart.
Rothstein is particularly enthusiastic about the commitment of the students to the voluntary work: “That’s so great about the Ruhr region,” he says. “We find enough students every year who get involved with all their heart. That’s something special, as I know from conversations with colleagues from other regions who, without compensation in the form of money or grades, have difficulties finding enough participants. In the Ruhr region, people have their hearts in the right place.”
We see it as our task to have an impact on the region.
The project arose from a specific practical need. “I had already cooperated with the Herne Integration Center on other topics, and the colleagues told me that they urgently needed language support,” recounts Björn Rothstein. “And in the Professional School of Education, we see it as our task to have an impact on the region.”
The team behind the Deutsch-Checker project (from left): Dr. Florian Koch, Jasmin Zielonka and Professor Björn Rothstein
A scientific evaluation confirmed that the students benefit from the project – and not just the younger ones who improved their German skills. “The benefit for the Deutsch-Checkers is mainly that they come into contact with the university, overcome barriers, and they learn to take on responsibility,” Rothstein summarizes. Therefore, the successful collaboration between Ruhr University Bochum and the schools in Herne will also be continued in the future.
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