Heritage language education (Herkunftssprachenunterricht (HSU))
*This page is also available in German / Turkish / Greek.*
The heritage language education (in German: Herkunftssprachenunterricht (HSU)) has existed in Germany for many years. When the guest workers came to Germany with the beginning of the recruitment agreements in the 1950s until the recruitment stop in 1973, the “muttersprachliche Ergänzungsunterricht (MEU)” (mother tongue supplementation education) was organized for the foreign students at that time. The approved work permit and the residence permit of the guest workers were only temporary, therefore the children were ought to be prepared for the return to their home countries with the MEU, so that they could seamlessly go to school there.
Many decades have passed since then, and now the third and fourth generations of former guest workers live in Germany. Most of these people have a permanent residence permit in Germany or are EU citizens. The HSU isn’t limited only to this group. Nowadays people still come to Germany to live here, for example from countries that are in a war or from economically weaker countries. Their children go to the HSU as well.
The native language education