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Project BiLTex

Bilingual learning arrangements for text comprehension

The IDeA project BiLTex investigates potential differences between bilingual and monolingual learning environments for text comprehension. Whereas in monolingual learning environments all information and actions are available or take place in German, in bilingual learning environments the mother tongue is systematically included. BilTex aims to investigate whether the inclusion of the language of origin has a positive effect on text comprehension and the learning experience of pupils growing up bilingually.

Migrants in Europe do not give up their languages of origin, so that pupils with a migrant background in Germany often grow up bilingually with German as a second language. Multilingualism is defined as an educational goal in the German school system, which also addresses the appreciation and consideration of native languages. In addition, the systematic, planned use of more than one language in learning processes is said to have positive effects on the understanding of learning content, the development of language skills, and on affect and motivation.
Given the importance of bilingual pupils’ life-worlds and the learning potential of using both languages in learning processes, institutionalised bilingual learning arrangements appear to be suitable for adaptively supporting the educational processes of these pupils. However, there is little empirical evidence to test this assumption, especially for bilingual pupils with a migrant background in the context of monolingual education. Therefore, this project investigates potential differences between bilingual and monolingual learning arrangements for text comprehension in bilingual fourth graders.