Faculty of Language, Literature and Humanities - RUEG

Our main objective is the transfer of researched-backed knowledge and insights on heritage language speakers gained in RUEG, with a special focus on multilingual families and teachers of multilingual children and adolescents. The materials developed are geared to helping teachers and parents understand certain emerging grammatical patterns as typical for multilingual and monolingual language behaviour, relevant for language acquisition, family language policy, and language socialisation. By providing families and professionals with materials enhancing reflection about languages and addressing family language policy questions, we expect to successfully and effectively reach parents in contexts where they are particularly sensitive to and interested in language issues concerning their children.

The material and output of Pt consist of an open-access, multilingual website and curricula for sample workshops, covering five modules: M(1) basic knowledge about languages, language acquisition and use; M(2) how languages change in contact situations, specific findings from the RUEG languages; M(3) biographical experience of multilingual speakers; M(4) myths/discourse about languages in society, and M(5) research addressing one’s biography, family and community, also suitable for use in the classroom. In order to illustrate relevant phenomena, Pt will produce accessible texts and informational graphics, as well as audio features and videos. Language-specific elements, based on the data obtained in RUEG, will be combined with additional information and findings on language maintenance.

Practice Partners

Servicezentrum der Berliner Volkshochschulen, Germany

AIM Innovative Bildung Heilbronn, Germany

Cooperation Partners

Annick De Houwer, Erfurt University, Germany
Haley De Korne, University of Oslo, Norway
Ingrid Gogolin, Hamburg University, Germany

Elizabeth Lanza, University of Oslo, Norway
Gail Prasad, York University, Canada

PhD Student

Johanna Tausch, Sofia Grigoriadou (from May 2021)

Student Assistants

Geylan Ahmed Daud, Serpil Kuzay, Özge Zar