Scrabble DaZ/SB
Image Credit: Lorenz Brandtner
What does mathematics have to do with language? And why should all teachers know what a proform is? How can teachers foster language learning that benefits students across all subjects? How can multilingualism – both within our everyday world and in the lives of students – be developed as a potential and used as a resource? These and other questions related to language across the curriculum and to language education (Sprachbildung) are addressed by our team in teaching as well as in our research.
Another important interest is research into second language acquisition, namely German as a second language. German can be acquired as a first, second, or foreign language. Learners of German as a second language learn the language primarily through everyday communication and must often perform important communicative tasks with potentially insufficient linguistic competency. Questions that we address include the following: What are the specific implications of this for students in the German school system? Does it make a difference if students begin acquiring German in preschool, primary school, or as young adults?
Modules in the German as a Second Language/Language Across the Curriculum & Language Education programme focus on such topics. The division also collaborates with the cross-institutional bachelor’s programme Language & Society.