Teaching and learning Physics in the context of linguistic diversity

Abstract Growing up with more than one language is a reality for a rising number of children and young people not only in Europe, but worldwide. Linguistic diversity can therefore be considered a basic prerequisite for teaching and learning in schools. This contribution introduces the research project “Physics Education in the Context of Linguistic Diversity” (PhyDiv), which aims to develop and evaluate teaching approaches that take into account the linguistic composition of learners in the classroom. The question to be investigated is whether and under what conditions a language-explicit lesson design – with a focus on academic language and the additional integration of pupils’ multilingual skills – supports the subject-related learning success of pupils in physics. For this purpose, three variants of high-quality physics lessons on the basic concept of “energy” have been developed and implemented as part of a quasi-experimental intervention study. PhyDiv focuses on ninth-graders at seven district schools in socially disadvantaged areas of Hamburg, where the majority of learners grow up multilingually. The project aims to provide a basis for the development of teaching strategies that improve learning outcomes for both multilingual pupils and monolingual German learners with limited academic language proficiency.