DaZ-UMF

Initiated by the refugee situation in 2015, the DaZ-UMF research project focuses on a group of learners who have hardly been studied in language acquisition research to date, namely unaccompanied refugee minors from Afghanistan, who only begin to learn German in adolescence and often only have low literacy skills in their first language (mostly Dari, sometimes also Pashto).

To date, there have only been a few studies on the acquisition of German as a second language among UMF or generally among young lateral entrants in German-speaking countries. This deficit affects both studies on the cognitive processes of second language acquisition and teaching research. In order to be able to train teachers specifically for GFL lessons with this target group (see also the FörLeSch project), basic research is still required. The DaZ-UMF project therefore aims to investigate how literary skills that were and continue to be acquired in the L1 through school attendance in Afghanistan and/or in the L2 through literacy training in Germany can affect the development of L2 acquisition in German, particularly in the areas of grammar and oral skills.

In cooperation with the Institut für Sprachen (IFS) and the Fachstelle UMF of the Hephata Diakonie Kassel, initial pilot studies on the second language acquisition of UMF were carried out, whereby both longitudinal and cross-sectional data were collected on a small scale. As student research projects, an instrument for literacy assessment in L1 Dari and L2 German and an instrument for measuring phonological awareness were developed and tested. In addition, spontaneous speech data was collected several times from several test subjects and various language tests were carried out with them. An application for third-party funding is currently being prepared on the basis of the pilot studies and literature research.

As part of the DaZ-UMF project, we also organize lectures and workshops to exchange ideas with other researchers who are interested in similar issues. For example, with Sarah Faseli, a member of the GFL program at Kabul University, who is currently doing her doctorate at Bochum University on the writing skills of GFL learners with L1 Dari (flyer). Or with Dr. Jana Gamper from the University of Potsdam, who is also working on data from young lateral entrants (flyer).

The DaZ-UMF project was presented in the current issue of the department's alumni newsletter. Download (p. 18-20)

Students writing their theses in the DaZ-UMF project were presented in the current issue of the department's alumni newsletter. Download (p. 18-20)

Student research projects:

Mirova, Farzona (in progress): Literacy skills and phonological awareness in unaccompanied refugee minors in L1 Dari and L2 German (working title). MA thesis, supervisor: Junior Professor Dr. Christine Czinglar.

Reez, Carina (in progress): Development and testing of an instrument for eliciting w-questions in young lateral entrants (working title). MA thesis, Supervision: Junior Professor Dr. Christine Czinglar.

Schumacher, Anne-Christin (in progress): Behavioral observation and writing assessment as a means of assessing literal abilities in young adults with Dari as their first language (working title). MA thesis, Supervision: Junior Professor Dr. Christine Czinglar.

Schumacher, Anne-Christin/Flierl, Julian & Jia, Zongyue (2016): Assessing literacy - Proposal for a procedure to assess basic reading and writing skills in Dari-speaking learners of German. Research project, Supervision: Prof. Dr. Karin Aguado.

Presentations:

Schumacher, Anne-Christin/Mirova, Farzona & Czinglar, Christine (2017): Is it possible to assess the literary skills of learners of German without knowing their language of origin? Lecture. Section German for learners unaccustomed to school and/or writing.XVI International Conference of Teachers of German, Fribourg/Freiburg - Switzerland, 31.7.-4.8.2017.

Schumacher, Anne-Christin/Mirova, Farzona/Aguado, Karin & Czinglar, Christine (2017): Assessing literacy - a procedure for assessing basic reading and writing skills in Dari-speaking learners of German. Multilingualism as an opportunity "Atlas of Multilingualism in Europe", University of Kassel, June 3-5, 2017 [Poster presentation].

Czinglar, Christine (2017): L2 acquisition of oral grammar skills in adolescent refugees in Germany with disparate literacy skills (Research project on L2 acquisition of oral language skills in German among learners with different literacy backgrounds). GAL-Research School "Elizitationsverfahren in der Mehrsprachigkeitsforschung", University of Münster, 8-10.3.2017.

Czinglar, Christine (2016): The second language acquisition of newly immigrated children and adolescents using the example of grammar acquisition. Lecture. Expert forum on multilingualism and language acquisition in the context of flight and migration - opportunities and challenges for language education. University of Kassel, Department of "Socialization with a focus on migration and intercultural education", 16.12.2016.

Czinglar, Christine (2016): The L2-syntax of German: variation in the rate of L2-acquisition of verb placement in the context of migration. Presentation. COCOLAC-RC Seminar on L2 Syntax, University of Helsinki, 18.11.2016.

Publications:

Schumacher, Anne-Christin/Mirova, Farzona & Czinglar, Christine (in preparation, to be published fall 2018): Is it possible to assess literary skills of learners of German without knowledge of the language of origin? In: Studer, Thomas/Barras, Malgorzata/Karges Katharina & Wiedenkeller, Eva (eds.): Proceedings of the XVI International Conference of German Teachers. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag.

Czinglar, Christine (2017): The acquisition of German as a second language by newly immigrated young people. Youth welfare 55 (2): pp. 137-143.

Czinglar, Christine (submitted, 2017): Second language acquisition in adolescence: which factors are decisive for newly immigrated adolescents? In Nora von Dewitz, Henrike Terhart &, Mona Massumi (eds.): Transitions into the German education system: An interdisciplinary perspective on new immigration. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa.

Funding: ZFF funds from the University of Kassel (until August 2016); appointment funds
Duration: since August 2015
Research assistants: Carina Reez M.A. and Anne-Christin Schumacher M.Ed.
Former research assistants: Astrid Lange M.A. and Evelyne Raupach M.A.

Text: Christine Czinglar and Carina Reez
Photos: Carina Reez