In-depth analyses of the efficacy of two types of instruction fostering second language acquisition of immigrant elementary school students

Studies on the acquisition of second languages reveal that children with a non-German home language do not perform as well in German compared to children who speak German at home and struggle with specific structures of German language. The explicit development of language competencies in elementary school context is still a question of high interest. In a first phase of the current project we addressed this question by an empirical intervention study with a pre-post-design including a control group. In the second phase of the project we analyzed the available data from the two implemented training approaches (focus on forms versus focus on meaning) in detail with regard to their effects and specific conditions. To this end we utilized verbal probes as well as video-taped classroom lessons. In addition, a test of grammatical competencies for children with a non-German language background was revised, extended and normed.
The results of the analyses of the verbal probes revealed that students show significant gains in their verbal academic productive lexicon. However, this holds true for all groups of children including the control group. This development cannot be traced back to the training conditions. The results of analyses of the video-taped lessons showed that the quality of the implemented curriculum could be measured reliably. At the same time, we detected substantial differences in the quality between the 32 trainings classes as well as within the training approaches.
The test of grammatical competencies presents a standardized instrument suited for use in school practice as well as for research purposes. It allows the reliable and valid measurement of individual grammatical competency of elementary school students and its comparison with the relevant population.