Research cluster Language-aware subject teaching / language-sensitive teaching and learning
Research cluster Language-aware subject teaching / language-sensitive teaching and learning
The demand for consistent language education in schools and the relevance of the close connection between subject-related and linguistic performance of pupils has become the basis for various approaches and research work since the PISA studies at the latest. At the University of Oldenburg, the approach of language-sensitive teaching and learning is one of the cross-cutting topics within the quality offensive for teacher training (OLE+), which is to be anchored in the curriculum of all teaching degree programmes. The discourse on language education and support has developed rapidly in recent years and is now aimed not only at pupils with German as a second language, but at everyone. Depending on the subject discipline and type of school, different concepts and terms such as language education and support, language-sensitive, language- and subject-integrated or language-aware (subject) teaching, CLILig (Content and Language Integrated Learning in German) have now become established, which are generally characterised by the requirements of the subjects and give different weight to language support. The core idea behind all of these approaches can be summarised as follows:
"The term language-sensitive teaching stands for different teaching concepts that consciously use language as a means of thinking and communicating in order to link subject-related and linguistic learning. An essential element is the targeted linguistic support of pupils integrated into the lessons." (Woerfel; Giesau, 2018)*
The Language-Aware Subject Teaching cluster thus attempts to dovetail all perspectives, including language and subject didactics as well as educational science, and enables a joint exchange on language education topics and the initiation of collaborative research projects. Research work at theinterface between language and subject can promote joint exchange and initiate student participation.
Research questions
In general, the research cluster focuses on theoretical considerations and empirical analyses of the role of language(s) in teaching and learning processes, the development and testing of tools for describing and analysing language(s) in school subjects, research into the effectiveness of didactic and methodological approaches to language education and language support, as well as studies on the effectiveness of training programmes in these areas. The focus is not only on the cognitive-linguistic level, but also on the hegemonic level, where linguistic norms, as well as (subject-specific) traditions and routines, and access to education are examined, as is the willingness to engage with pupils’ (native) languages.
The following questions may serve as a guide for the envisaged research activities:
- Which linguistic acts and the corresponding linguistic structures and forms of expression are constitutive of learning in the individual school subjects within the context of oral and written classroom discourse? Which linguistic acts and structures and forms of expression must therefore be acquired? How do these differ across year groups?
- What role do the individual (linguistic) registers play in teaching and learning processes across different types of school?
- What similarities and differences between the individual school subjects can be described in this regard?
- Which didactic and methodological approaches have proven effective in promoting language acquisition in subject-specific and vocational contexts?
- How can language education be structured in subject-specific and vocational contexts? Which didactic and methodological approaches have proven effective in this regard?
- Can language-sensitive teaching scenarios be successfully implemented in the digital (learning) environment?
- What approaches do the individual subject disciplines adopt?
- What implications do the research findings in language (acquisition) didactics have for the didactics and methodology of individual subjects, or for educational sciences, and vice versa?
- Can multilingualism be conceptualised as a resource for subject-specific comprehension and learning processes?
- What can be said about language-building efforts from the perspective of learners, but also from that of teachers?
- What are the challenges and limitations of these efforts?
- What competences should future teachers possess in order to fulfil this cross-curricular role?
- How should effective training programmes in teacher education be designed in these areas?
We would like to ask other interested colleagues to get in contact with the initiators:
*Woerfel, Till; Giesau, Marlis (2018): Language-sensitive teaching. Cologne: Mercator Institute for Language Promotion and German as a Second Language (Basiswissen sprachliche Bildung). Available at: www.mercator-institut-sprachfoerderung.de/de/themenportal/thema/sprachsensibler-unterricht/ [15/06/2022].