SchriFT

Subject-specific writing (such as writing up experiments in science class) is a central aspect of language-sensitive teaching, as it is in the writing process that subject content is directly dealt with. This project aimed to examine the interrelation between subject-based skills and writing skills in academic German and in the heritage language Turkish in the participating subjects physics, technology, history, politics. Innovative and interdisciplinary cooperation between the research disciplines German as a Second Language, social and natural science didactics and Turkish studies enabled a comprehensive examination of subject-specific and language educational concepts.

Data from 1,718 students in 7th and 8th grade (including those of 360 students attending Turkish heritage language classes) were collected for the following: writing skills and knowledge in the subjects of technology, history, physics, and politics; academic language skills and general language ability in German and Turkish; socioeconomic, linguistic and demographic background data.

The quantitative part of the study investigated connections between language and subject-related skills. A leading question was whether pupils with a higher level of language skills also showed higher levels of subject knowledge. The focus here was on linguistic-cognitive text features (e.g. text structure or perspective-taking).

The qualitative investigation was based on coordinated, genre-specific writing support in the four subjects (history, physics, politics and technology) and Turkish heritage language lessons, which included the demonstration and application of both linguistic and textual particularities. The writing task for Turkish as heritage language was conducted prior to the other writing tasks in order to observe whether multilingual resources could be activated in subject teaching. In line with the translanguaging approach, students were encouraged to use both languages during the group work phases. As the project concluded, group discussions were held with both students and teachers to obtain feedback on the materials used in the study and the writing intervention itself.

For history, politics and technology, correlations between the scales for subject-specific and linguistic writing skills could be observed. In all subjects there were high, positive correlations between academic and linguistic achievements in the texts produced by the participating pupils. The more students deploy the necessary linguistic means for subject-specific text types, the higher the subject-specific correctness of those texts. In addition, medium to high correlations are also shown for subject knowledge as well as interdisciplinary textual competence in German. Connections between subject knowledge, subject-oriented language and academic language skills can be proven.

The evaluation of the group discussions with the German and Turkish-speaking students shows that, when coordination between heritage language and subject lessons takes place, knowledge transfer from one to the other is possible and awareness of the linguistic requirements of different types of texts increases. Observations show that German/Turkish-speaking students compose longer texts in both German and Turkish, while taking greater account of the linguistic means required for subject-specific texts.

The qualitative results support the quantitative findings and indicate promising outcomes in terms of literacy development when subject and heritage language lessons are coordinated.

Language and subject-specific learning must be seen as two sides of the same coin. In order to create subject-specific texts, students require not only subject but also subject-oriented language knowledge. Text ‘types’ must thus be introduced to subject-oriented language education and taught explicitly in those lessons.

The mediation and appropriation of linguistic means and behaviours in heritage language lessons can trigger cognitive thought processes that can be used in subject lessons. The coordination of linguistic and textual knowledge in the heritage language and in the language of schooling, as well as the systematic coordination of heritage language with subject lessons, may also reduce inhibitions among bilingual pupils to use their heritage language as a resource for learning.

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