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IFS-Logo and black lettering of the Center for Research on Education and School Development
Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology
Studierende sitzt am Arbeitsplatz und schaut auf den Laptop. © Aliona Kardash​/​TU Dortmund

Linguistic diversity in the classroom

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Eine Lehrkraft hält einen Globus und ist von Grundschulkindern umgeben.
On International Mother Language Day, we take a look inside classrooms: how diverse are the languages that children speak at home?

Current data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany show how diverse the linguistic backgrounds of children in Germany are. Among children aged 6 to under 15, 70 percent speak only German at home. Six percent speak mainly German and sometimes another language. Twenty-four percent of children mainly speak non-German at home, with numerous languages represented. The most common languages spoken are Arabic, Turkish, Russian, and Ukrainian, followed by Kurdish, English, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, and Persian. Other Asian, European, and African languages are also mentioned. In the representative sample of PIRLS 2021, 68 different languages were named that fourth graders speak at home in addition to German. 

There is great linguistic diversity, and our education system must take this into account, since the educational opportunities of young learners depend largely on their language skills. That is why the IFS is researching how these can be specifically promoted. One example of this is the SPEAK project, which focuses on innovative language support at the beginning of elementary school. After all, native languages are an asset—they should not be an obstacle to academic success.