Abstract
This article deals with so-called “nationality schools”, educational institutions in which the primary language of instruction generally differs from the language of the majority society. Conceptually, this applies to minority schools in regions with autochthonous German minorities, which since the 1990s have tended to develop into schools of encounter, as the proportion of autochthonous native speakers has fallen to a maximum of 5 percent of the student body. This makes the educational institutions, which are often referred to as elite schools, all the more sought-after by the majority society. The social relevance of these schools is based on a pedagogical concept that transcends national borders in education and training and makes international perspectives a matter of course in early school years. It opens up transnational educational spaces in which linguistic diversity and multilingualism are part of everyday life.
Subject lessons at these schools are usually taught in the pupils’ second or foreign language and require language-sensitive subject teaching, which requires the teaching and learning of the subject matter, the educational language of the subject and the foreign language German in equal measure (Content and Language Integrated Learning). Various models are presented for locating the language of education, which illustrate the particular importance of linking language and subject learning. Only mastery of the language of education enables difficult and cognitively demanding contexts to be penetrated linguistically and information to be processed. Educational language is therefore an indispensable prerequisite and at the same time a challenge for subject teaching a second or foreign language. The article shows examples of the educational language tools that need to be taught at different levels and provides a possible structuring aid for teachers and learners by discussing the “scaffolding” model.