Writing, as a highly complex strategic literacy skill alongside reading, is an essential prerequisite for learning and determines a student's educational success. In diverse contexts, a student's linguistic repertoire may involve multiple languages, which may serve as mutual resources in his or her multilingual writing skill development. Drawing…

In today's rapidly evolving global economy, it is essential to equip young learners with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in the workforce and contribute to economic development. Education is a vital driver of human capital and development in countries, and the effectiveness of any educational system depends heavily on its curriculum.…

Can early childhood education (ECE) support the societal language development of children from linguistically diverse backgrounds? This study examined how existing variation in classroom interaction quality (CLASS Pre-K), classroom composition (percentages of children from low-income backgrounds and dual language learners [DLLs]), and duration of…

Poor literacy skills can result in exclusion and reduce people's capacity to participate in political, social, cultural and economic life. This is important for migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) who seek to live and work in a dignified, safe and fair environment and to be engaged members of their new communities. The…

In this paper the results of an online survey (n=210) regarding the usefulness of Facebook for informal L2 learning will be presented. Participants were individual Facebook users who study either German (n=118) or Japanese (n=92). By using a combination of open and closed questions, the mostly quantitative findings of the survey indicate that for…

This paper presents and discusses experiences gained in a German teacher education innovation project on competence and skill development in dealing with multilingualism. New seminar structures were developed, which go hand in hand with a reorganisation of the entire teacher education structure in the University of Hamburg. The aim of these reform…

The main focus of early foreign language learning in Europe is on the development of oral skills. In the classroom, speaking is usually reproductive and imitative and activities aim at the production of closely supported accurate output. Opportunities for young learners to experiment with the language and to use it productively outside of fixed…

In this reflection paper, Lihe Huang describes his experience studying abroad in Germany as a visiting scholar. Through the well-designed introductory seminar and study tour arranged by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which provided the grant for Huang's research on foreign languages teaching and intercultural education in Germany, he…

This article reports on the ways of incorporating paintings, posters, and film into an advanced German content- and language-integrated course called "Green Germany." It demonstrates how these visual media can be employed for enriching the exploration of various aspects of the course's environmental themes. In line with the research on…

This article analyzes the longitudinal development of differences in academic skills between children of Turkish origin and children of native-born German parents from age 3 to 6 in Germany with a focus on the role of immigrant parents' acculturation to the receiving society. Growth curve models show that Turkish-origin children start with lower…

This paper chronicles the development of Drehort Neubrandenburg Online, an interactive, content-rich audiovisual language learning environment based on documentary film material shot on location in Neubrandenburg, Germany, in 1991 and 2002 and aimed at making language learning more interactive and more real. The paper starts with the description…

In the light of recent trends in educational assessment, language testing and the pedagogical discussion about new teacher roles, this article focuses on the skills and abilities required of a language teacher wishing to respond to these developments, with specific reference to the primary (elementary) foreign language classroom. A new concept is…

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2017), organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.). Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the…

The report details the Irish portion of an experiment in tandem language learning by electronic mail (e-mail). The partners were Trinity College, Dublin (Ireland) and Ruhr University, Bochum (Germany), funded by the European Union within the International E-Mail Tandem Network as part of a two-year project. Tandem language learning is a form of…