Abstract
In the school years 2015/2016 and 2018/2019, the authors accompanied and evaluated 21 public elementary schools in Bavaria, Germany, in a research collaboration with the Bildungspakt Bayern Foundation about bilingual (German/English) instruction in German elementary schools. The goal was to investigate how high the potential of implicit teaching and learning in a bilingual primary context is. Altogether, over 900 students, parents, and 42 teachers participated in the empirical long-term study (over 5 years) Learning in Two Languages –Bilingual Elementary School English. The findings not only show that students taught in the bilingual classes have a foreign language advantage and perform at least as well in mathematics and German as students in regular classes do, but also that they have a very positive attitude towards learning English in elementary school. These findings, the study, and its theoretical background are aimed to be portrayed in short in this chapter.
TopIntroduction
Current research results prove that children and adolescents growing up bilingual or multilingual have considerable competence advantages compared to their peers with regard to concentration, complex thinking, and linguistic creativity (Festman & Schwieter, 2019; Franceschini, 2016)
In 2015, the Bildungspakt Bayern Foundation, together with the Bavarian State Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, initiated the school experiment Learning in Two Languages – Bilingual Elementary School English. One bilingual class per grade was gradually established at 21 participating model schools. From grades 1 to 4, students receive instruction in the subjects of local history and general studies, mathematics, art, music, and physical education in two languages (Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Unterricht und Kultus, 2021).
The lessons in the bilingual classes are based on the competency expectations formulated in the subject curricula of the LehrplanPLUS Grundschule, the German curriculum in place (München, 2004). When suitable topics and occasions, e.g., intercultural learning or creative task formats, arise, teaching units or lessons in the above-mentioned subjects are conducted in English. The specific thematic selection for the English language phases is made by the respective teachers based their knowledge of the learning group and is their pedagogical responsibility. The teaching of the English language is implicit. The assurance of the German technical terms as stated in the LehrplanPLUS is guaranteed. The lessons in the bilingual classes are taught according to the given timetable, i.e., without additional time quotas or afternoon classes. Admission to a bilingual class is voluntary upon application by the parent or guardian in accordance with the applicable class formation guidelines.
The first cohort was scientifically monitored from the beginning to the end of primary school (grades 1 to 4), the second cohort from grades 1 to 3. The scientific, comprehensive evaluation included annual surveys with questionnaires (students, teachers, parents, school administrators), standardized tests in English, mathematics and German, classroom documentation, observations, and guided interviews.
The main goal of the project was to investigate how high the potential of implicit teaching and learning in a bilingual primary context is. The subgoals can shortly be outlined as follows:
The school experiment Bilingual Elementary School English is unique and not comparable with any research in Germany or pan-European countries as it takes into account the importance of English as an international lingua franca in business and science. In addition to the early promotion of the kids’ multilingualism, primary school pupils are supported in the development of their intercultural competence.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Learning in Two Languages: In dual-language education, subjects are taught in two languages during one lesson.
Bilingual Education: Bilingual education involves two languages as a means of instruction for students, either embedded in individual subjects or the entire school curriculum. The respective subjects, however, are taught monolingually in one of these languages.
Language Development: The developmental process through which children acquire the ability to communicate in a language.
Language acquisition: The process by which humans acquire (their native) language(s). It occurs naturally and differs from most institutionalized language education due to implicit learning processes.
Implicit Learning and Teaching: A natural and unconscious form of learning in which students are exposed to a large amount of highly comprehensible and compelling input as well as respective teaching approaches.
Immersion: The process of learning a language implicitly by being surrounded by the foreign language itself.