(Un)divided classes: Learning language with friends

In school, proficiency in German plays a key role, not only as the language of instruction, but also as the language in which social interaction takes place. In linguistically heterogeneous classes, social interaction with more competent speakers of the target language in the context of friendly relationships can be seen as a valuable resource for first and second language acquisition.

To date, however, there has been a lack of empirical findings that prove the connection between friendship networks and the development of language competence in German as a first and second language. Based on the finding that verbal interactions play a central role in establishing and maintaining friendships, this project focuses on the question of the connection between friendship relationships in multilingual primary school classes and the linguistic development of children over time in their first or second language German. The particular interest here is in children who speak a family language other than German.