Preparing teachers for heterogeneity and multilingualism

Insights into a qualification program for future teachers of all subjects

Abstract

Heterogeneity and multilingualism play a crucial role in pedagogical contexts; they are the starting point and at the same time an objective for planning, giving and evaluating lessons (Wildemann, 2017). Language-sensitive teaching and language education form cross-sectional tasks of all subjects and types of schools (Gogolin & Lange, 2011, p. 117). There is a rising demand for qualification of (future) teachers in this area. As a part of the “Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung”, the interdisciplinary qualification program “Heterogeneity and Multilingualism” responds to these requirements by giving university students enrolled for teacher training the opportunity to develop their competences in dealing with linguistic and cultural heterogeneity and multilingualism. It contains courses from the fields of first and second language development, language variation, language diagnosis, language enhancement, multilingualism in the classroom as well as intercultural education. Furthermore, the students gain practical school experiences; before and during their practice phase, they are supported by university seminars. The evaluation shows that the participants’ didactical knowledge in the area of language enhancement increases significantly. We also measured a positive development of the participants’ attitudes towards multilingualism, especially when com-pared to students not enrolled in the qualification program. Structured interviews with graduates reveal a high demand for training (future) teachers in this area. Concluding, the paper preliminarily takes stock: We discuss the presented results regarding the participants’ measured competence development and their self-assessments. Given the ongoing evaluation process, we also shed light on the limitations of the project.