Research & Development

Completed Projects

The Mercator Institute for Literacy and Language Education wants to improve language education. To achieve this objective, it has already carried out numerous projects exploring, developing and evaluating concepts, tools and measures for language education. Here you will find information about completed projects.

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

KANSAS
search engine for authentic written text samples

The goal of KANSAS is to develop, test and evaluate a user-oriented, web-based search engine (KANSAS), which finds authentic written text samples for language based on their individual learning skills and requirements.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

COLD
Competencies of school teachers and adult educators in teaching German as a second language in linguistically diverse classrooms

The aim of the project is to examine the professional competencies of teachers in school and adult education who teach German as a second language in linguistically heterogeneous learning groups.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

Language Education in the Corona Pandemic
Teachers' Perspectives on New Challenges and Opportunities

The aim of the project is to highlight challenges and potentials of language education during the ad hoc changes of teaching and learning settings in the Corona pandemic 2020/2021 from the perspective of teachers.

more

© Annette Etges/Mercator-Institut

The effectiveness of integrated strategies in classrooms

The project will conduct a systematic narrative review of integrated strategies in classrooms at the primary and secondary levels.

more

© E. Ouwerkerk/BiSS

Lesen macht stark - primary schools

Within the framework of Lesen macht stark, the Mercator Institute – in cooperation with the Institut für Qualitätsentwicklung an Schulen in Schleswig-Holstein (IQSH, i.e. the Institute for Quality Development at Schools in Schleswig-Holstein) – is developing material for assessing and supporting reading and writing skills at primary school level.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

R/EQUAL
Requalification of (recently) immigrated refugee teachers in Europe

The project aims to make open-access-material for further qualification for (newly) immigrated and refugee teachers available to European higher education institutions.

more

© E. Ouwerkerk/BiSS

ELaL
Education through Language and Literacy

Education through Language and Literacy (ELaL) is a research and development programme. Within the framework of the programme, the language support, language skills assessment and reading support activities introduced for children and young people in Germany’s federal states will be scientifically reviewed with respect to their effectiveness and efficiency, and then further improved.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

VeRbinden – including newcomer students in regular classes in Germany

The objective of the project is to identify supportive measures, critical moments, challenges and key factors of the transition process.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

Reading and writing fluency –
conceptualization, assessment and support

The objective of the project was to develop assessment methods and support concepts with respect to reading and writing fluency in secondary school pupils.

more

© A.Etges/Mercator-Institut

Collection of Methods for
Language-Sensitive Subject Teaching

The objectives of the project is the development of an online tool meant for future and already qualified teachers of all subjects and school forms. It enables the search for and download of free pedagogical-methodical suggestions for language-sensitive lessons.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

Mathematics for learners of German

Language support should be provided not only in German lessons but in all subjects. The project explores the issue of writing proficiency in maths lessons, focusing particularly on written exercises and support of writing skills.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

State Europe School Study Berlin

The state of Berlin has commissioned the scientific monitoring and evaluation of the State European School Berlin. During the course of the study, the language, subject-specific and intercultural skills of the pupils are compared with those of pupils taught in conventional schools.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

Staff development for teachers
working in a multicultural society

The goal of the project is to compile an overview of staff development programmes currently available nationwide, to classify them appropriately against the backdrop of the research findings obtained so far, and to work out practical action recommendations on this basis.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

Newly arrived
migrant children in schools

How can these pupils be included into school life at the earliest possible stage, while at the same time giving them the most comprehensive language support possible? This is one of the questions being addressed by the network Newly arrived migrant children in schools, in which the Mercator Institute for Literacy and Language Education has teamed up with the Centre for Teacher Education as well as the department of Intercultural Education at the University of Cologne.

more

© © E. Ouwerkerk/BiSS

Language support and intervention programmes
for newly arrived migrant children in nursery schools – an international comparison

The goal of the project is to compile an overview of international support and intervention programmes in preschool education.

more

© H. Rohm/Mercator-Institut

German as a second language
– the student’s perspective

The goal of the project is to learn more about the wishes and expectations of students on teacher training programmes as regards the subject of German as a second language in their degree course, and to use this knowledge to improve teacher training in the area of language education.

more

© E. Ouwerkerk/BiSS

MehrKita
Language skills of educators in Cologne nursery schools

The goal of MehrKita is to identify those multilingual skills of educators in Cologne nursery schools that can be used for multilingual language work in preschool education.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

German as a second language:
what role is played by teacher training?

The study "Language support and German as a second language at German schools: what role is played by teacher training?" explored how teachers at all types of schools and in all subjects are trained in the area of language support and German as a second language.

more

© E. Ouwerkerk/BiSS

Language proficiency assessment methods
in preschool education

By developing quality criteria and using these criteria to evaluate the assessment tools in use, the Mercator Institute’s goal is to contribute to greater comparability and review of the methods.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

Effectiveness of language support

An expert report was compiled on behalf of the Zurich Department of Education that would reveal the current state of research and would serve as a scientific basis for a strategy aimed at coordinated and consistent language support throughout all educational stages.

more

© A. Etges/Mercator-Institut

German as a second language
- The teacher’s perspective

The study looked at how teachers experience linguistic heterogeneity in their classrooms, how they are prepared to deal with this during their training, and what support and assistance they would like to receive..

more