This research investigates crosslinguistic awareness (XLA) looking at conditions for future teachers to become skilled facilitators of XLA. Teaching approaches used in German L3-language courses at Norwegian and Danish universities were observed and compared. Interviews with lecturers were conducted for insights into i.a. conceptualization of language and language teaching philosophies.
Previous L3 research has shown the advantages of multilingualism in the language learning process. The benefit for the learner, however, is said to be dependent on their crosslinguistic awareness, e.g. Haukås 2012, which oftentimes will need to be facilitated by a skilled teacher. The present research investigates crosslinguistic awareness in language teacher education looking at conditions for future teachers to become skilled facilitators of crosslinguistic awareness.
The main research questions of this study are:
For the purpose of the analysis, I observed and compared teaching approaches used in German L3-language courses at Norwegian and Danish universities attended by regular language students and pre-service teachers. In addition, interviews with the lecturers of the observed courses were conducted to gain insights into their educational background, language repertoire, conceptualization of language and language teaching philosophies. The observed lessons with the choice of approaches and teaching materials served as important starting points for the interviews.
The results show show but few examples of explicit awareness-raising activities and the non-target language use is largely restricted to the students' L1, i.e., Danish or Norwegian. The university lecturers' perception of language characterizes as formal and skill-oriented and their feedback as error-based. Hence, the lecturers appear to lack knowledge as well as tools to integrate multilingual didactics and partial linguistic competence in their teaching.
Haukås, Å. (2012). Gewusst wie! Die zentrale Rolle der Bewusstmachung. Fremdsprache Deutsch, 46, 23-26.
