Germany’s most-watched news programme has launched a simplified language edition to better include German learners and those with difficulty understanding complex vocabulary.

Tagesschau launches news programme in simplified German

When the programme’s iconic introductory *Gong* sounds, more people can now keep up with the German news of the day.

Tagesschau, the news programme watched by around 10,13 million people each evening, has launched its new “Tagesschau in Einfacher Sprache” (“Tagesschau in simplified language”) programme.

Distributed by public broadcaster ARD, Tagesschau in Einfacher Sprache covers the same news stories as the main daily programme but is presented by slow-speaking newsreaders using simplified vocabulary and with more clarifications about complex topics, terms or context.

Filmed in Hamburg, the programme will be broadcast Monday to Friday at 7pm on the channel tagesschau24. From 6pm eager viewers will also be able to catch the latest on the Tagesschau website, on the ARD Mediathek streaming platform and on the Tagesschau YouTube channel. Watch the first programme below!

Video credit: Tagesschau / YouTube.com

17 million adults in Germany struggle with language comprehension

According to a 2018 study by LEO, around 17 million people in Germany between the ages of 18 and 64 have reading and writing skills similar to or more limited than a 10-year-old child in the German school system. 

This group is made up of people who didn’t receive adequate school education, German language learners, people with hearing, reading or learning difficulties or people who have had certain accidents.

It is these people that Tagesschau producers want to reach with their new programme, particularly at a time when fake news and misinformation are widespread.

“With this programme, we are focusing on a new audience and making it possible to offer them access to well-researched information about politics, economics, sport, culture and other countries,” Editor-in-Chief Marcus Bornheim told the ARD.

Thumb image credit: Sharaf Maksumov / Shutterstock.com