This paper discusses the potential impact of teachers' beliefs and attitudes related to the challenges and potentials of multilingual classrooms on their pedagogical decision-making and to what extent a didactics of pluri- and multilingualism is considered as a resource for actual teaching practices. Data from several small-scale studies will be presented that a) were collected in three subsequent university courses (October 2020-February 2022) in Educational Sciences at the University of Koblenz-Landau for prospective teachers of all backgrounds (N=80) on linguistically responsive teaching and language facilitation support in the classroom based on a questionnaire to assess teachers' beliefs related to multilingualism (cf. Fischer, Hammer & Ehmke 2018). On the basis of the empirical data and students' verbal feedback it will be evaluated which course contents in the syllabus may contribute positively to preparing prospective teachers for the challenges of linguistically diverse classrooms. Furthermore, the paper presents b) data from a study with in-service language teachers in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (N=128, data collection summer 2021) focusing on the merit of a didactics of multilingualism and multiculturalism in the language classroom administering a modified version of a questionnaire by Heyder & Schädlich (2014). On the basis of the empirical results and the students' verbal feedback this paper draws conclusions for curriculum development at university level for prospective language teachers as well as for teachers of all backgrounds.
Bibliography:
Fischer, N., Hammer, S., Ehmke, T. (2018). Überzeugungen zu Sprache im Fachunterricht: Erhebungsinstrument und Skalendokumentation. In T. Ehmke, S. Hammer, A. Köker, U. Ohm, & B. Koch-Priewe (Eds.), Professionelle Kompetenzen angehender Lehrkräfte im Bereich Deuthsc als Zweitsprache. Münster: Waxmann.
Heyder, K. & Schädlich, B. (2014). Mehrsprachigkeit und Mehrkulturalität – eine Umfrage unter Fremdsprachenlehrkräften in Niedersachsen. Zeitschrift für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterricht, 19(1), 183-201.
Heyder, K. & Schädlich, B. (2015). Herkunftsbedingte Mehrsprachigkeit und Fremdsprachenunterricht: Eine Befragung von Lehrern in Niedersachsen. In E.M.F. 79 Ammann, A. Kropp & J. Müller-Lancé (Hrsg.), Herkunftsbedingte Mehrsprachigkeit im Unterricht der romanischen Sprachen (S. 233-252). Berlin: Frank & Timme.
