Plurilingual Approaches to Spatial Education – Perspectives of Primary Schools in the German Context

Doctoral thesis (2016)

‘Plurilingual Approaches to Spatial Education – Perspectives of Primary Schools in the German Context’ is a theory-based didactic study which centers on the role of migratory languages in primary ... [more ▼]

‘Plurilingual Approaches to Spatial Education – Perspectives of Primary Schools in the German Context’ is a theory-based didactic study which centers on the role of migratory languages in primary geography education. Hereby, theories of space, concept development, and plurilingualism are discussed while migratory languages are recognized and actively applied in the content-based teaching of primary geography classes. A language-sensitive approach to plurilingual concept development processes is fostered in spatial education. The paper can be divided into three parts: Firstly, established theories on space, language, and plurilingualism are constituted. Highlighting possible interlinkages, a symbiosis of the different fields is developed for the educational context. Secondly, a didactical model is derived in order to be able to apply theory guided discussions to daily educational practices. Thereby, the approach of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is incorporated into the model. Subsequently, the newly generated didactic model is intensively discussed in all its complexity. In relationship to the model, an exemplary CLIL learning sequence is developed. Thirdly, this best-practice learning sequence is implemented in the field of primary school education in Germany. This process is accompanied by scientific research in order to gain insights into the concept development processes of eight-year-old learners. Here, development is understood as emergence rather then progression. Significant concept development processes as well as the core concept are retrieved through the application of the Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM). The paper closes with a critical discussion on the relevance of meaning-making processes in plurilingual spatial education and their prospects in the realm of geography didactics. [less ▲]