Low-literate learners of German as a foreign language are often characterized by a very uneven profile of language competences (vgl. Lemke-Ghafir et. al. 2021) and their competences often lie (partly) below the levels described by the CEFR. To date, such profiles cannot be mapped (or assessed) using conventional assessment tools. Furthermore, assessment tools for emerging literacy competences usually focus mainly on technical reading and writing skills (cf e.g. Perlmann-Balme et al. 2007) and usually fail to take functional literacy competences into account. At the same time, the need for an instrument that is able to map the individual competence profiles in the technical and functional area below the CEFR levels is clear: for teachers as a basis for learner- and action-oriented lesson planning and for the identification of required support measures, for learners as a small-scale and competence-oriented feedback on their own learning progress and for researchers as an instrument for the empirical evaluation of methodological approaches in literacy teaching.
The LASLLIAM scales developed by the Council of Europe (cf. Schramm 2021) allow for the development of such an assessment tool, as they describe technical reading and writing skills as well as communicative written and oral skills of low literate learners of a second language below the A1 level according to the CEFR.
While developing such an assessment tool, the specific requirements for the deployment of a test in this particularly vulnerable target group must be considered. Thus, to prevent negative emotional reactions (like fear of failure or feelings of being overwhelmed) to the test tasks, the tasks should avoid excessive use of written language. Furthermore, the task should be designed in a way that allows the participants to relate to them and draw parallels to their daily lives, and not require abstract task knowledge (cf. Heinemann 2008).
In my contribution to the Symposium Adult Migrants Acquiring Basic Literacy Skills in a Second Language at the 2023 AILA Congress, I'll outline the exact requirements for a tool that is suitable to map emerging literacy competences of low literate learners of a second language and describe the process of developing such a test based on Bachman/Palmer (2010), as well as present an example for measuring emerging literacy competences in German as a second language.
Bibliography
Bachman, Lyle F.; Palmer, Adrian S. (2010): Language testing in practice. Designing and developing useful language tests. 12. [Nachdr.]. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press (Oxford applied Linguistics).
Heinemann, Alisha M.B. (2008): Eine Förderdiagnostik für alle? Zu den Besonderheiten einer zielgruppengerechten Diagnostik für Zweitsprachlerner und Zweitsprachlernerinnen. In: Ferdinande Knabe (Hg.): Innovative Forschung - innovative Praxis in der Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung. Münster: Waxmann, 149–168.
Lemke-Ghafir, Cosima; Rezzani, Miguel; Schroeder, Christoph; Steinbock, Dorotheé (2021): Erste Schrift und zweite Sprache. Migrant_innen ohne oder mit geringer formaler Bildung in Alphabetisierungskursen. Osnabrück.
Perlmann-Balme, Michaela; Dengler, Stefanie (2007): Einstufungssystem für die Integrationskurse in Deutschland. Goethe-Institut e.V.
Schramm, Karen: Zur Entwicklung supranationaler Deskriptoren für die zweitsprachliche Alphabetisierung – das LASLLIAM-Projekt des Europarats. In: Info DaF 2021 (48(6)), 571–581.
