Most prospective teachers recognise language education as a necessary part of their subject teaching; however, they need advice on how to integrate content and language in practice. We propose an interdisciplinary and research-based approach to pre-service teacher education, relating the disciplines of mathematics education and German as a second language.
A growing number of students in Germany face problems in school due to a lack of academic language skills. This is also true for mathematics, a subject with seemingly rather low linguistic challenges: Prediger et al. 2013 showed that grade-10 students with high linguistic competencies achieved considerately better results in centralized mathematics exams (ZP 10) than their peers with low linguistic competencies. In 2009, Northrhine-Westfalia was among the first German federal states to implement obligatory courses in higher education to prepare future teachers for the linguistic challenges they might face in their classrooms (LABG, 2009, § 11 Abs. 8). Most pre-service teachers recognize language education as a necessary part of their future subject teaching; however, they need advice on how to implement language education in their subject lessons (cf. Strobl et al. 2017). We propose an interdisciplinary approach that connects the disciplines of mathematics education and German as a second language. The two-semester masters course has been developed at the University of Duisburg-Essen in the context of ProDaZ, a programme to promote language education in all school subjects. In the first semester of the course the pre-service students (1) strengthen their awareness for language and (multi-)lingual practices in the maths classroom; (2) analyse classroom data (e.g. audio/video footage, written learner documents) from both a mathematical and linguistic perspective; (3) design and re-design learning environments, again taking into account mathematical and linguistic aspects. During the second semester the pre-service teachers work as trainees at a secondary school where they also carry out a small qualitative study. The accompanying seminar provides space to discuss research methods, analyze data from the schools and relate theoretical concepts to practical experiences. Student papers and feedback show that an interdisciplinary and research-based approach helps prospective teachers to develop a professional view towards integrating language and content.
