Does the use of migrant languages in German primary schools transform language orders? Findings from ethnographic classroom investigations

Abstract

Migration-related multilingualism is a core issue of academic discussion regarding educational inequality in German schools. While existing studies have analysed the discrimination against children’s languages from linguistic minorities in school, this paper focuses on social practices in a primary school that seeks to recognise and value multilingualism. The aim of this article is to investigate the extent to which the inclusion of migration-related multilingualism can transform language orders in school and classroom. For this purpose, we examined linguistic practices on the micro-level of the classroom based on lesson protocols. The observed practices indicate that the inclusion of the children’s languages is meant both as a means of valuing and acknowledging the children’s multilingualism and as part of comprehensive language teaching and learning. The question as to the scope of individual schools for overcoming monolingual ideologies within the structural context of the national educational system and dominant societal discourses remains, however.

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