About the project

Background

German is still the only language of instruction in most schools in Potsdam. That is why its mastery is a requirement for active class participation and ultimately for a successful educational career. However, a significant (and potentially growing) number of children show insufficient German skills. Already the PISA shock¹ in 2000 - revealing below-average reading and mathematical skills among German school students - alarmed those responsible in education and politics. In response to the PISA results, programs to support language skills before entering elementary school were implemented in all German federal states. This led, for example, to the introduction of elaborate assessments and regular documentation of language skills in daycare centers, to the training of qualified employees for language support and their employment in daycare centers, to a discussion of an obligatory period spent in kindergarten, and to the employment of laypeople as language supporters.

These counter-measures, however, have not yet yielded the desired effect: insufficient language skills are still increasingly identified as a significant problem at school entry examinations. The school entry examinations in Berlin showed, for example, that in 2013, 25% of the children had a language deficit, in 2016, it was 28%, in 2019, 30%, and at the end of the report's timeframe in 2022, even 33% (Gesundheits- und Sozialberichterstattung Berlin²). Especially prominent were the deficits in children from families with low levels of education and in children who went to kindergarten for less than 2 years. A report on the school entry examinations in Potsdam also reveals that language deficits are disproportionately more common among children with a migration background (Immigrationsmonitoring Potsdam³). In Potsdam, we also see an increase in children in need of support: in the language proficiency assessment, 11% of children being in their last year of kindergarten in the academic year 2019/20 were categorized as in need of support, two years later it was 12%, and two years after that in the academic year 2023/24 it was 16% (Parlamentsdokumentation Brandenburg⁴).

From language acquisition research, we know that three different (but possibly overlapping) reasons can lead to insufficient German skills:

The acquisition of German as a second language due to another family language being spoken at home
Being exposed to an insufficiently rich linguistic environment
The presence of a pathological developmental language disorder

While the first two factors may depend on insufficient input of the German language, we want to urgently point out that, in most cases, children of the first-mentioned and possibly biggest group have good skills in their first language. This provides a strong basis for acquiring a second language. Further, the third group is clearly separate from the first two because it concerns developmental language disorder, a condition that requires therapy and cannot be compensated for by mere language support. The separation of these groups can often only be done by professional language therapists.

Our goal

Through the language mentor project in Potsdam, we would like to contribute to supporting children with weak language skills. The basic requirement to acquire language is rich linguistic input (quantitatively and qualitatively). If this is, for whatever reason, not guaranteed in the home environment, it is crucial that children experience even more linguistic input and communication opportunities in their daily life in kindergarten. Because the current supervision situation in daycare centers in Potsdam does not allow the pedagogical staff to support individual children, we support the kindergarten team with voluntary language mentors who can devote their time on site to the children without having to take care of organizational matters and documentation. Importantly, support from language mentors does not replace language therapy. Children with language disorders need supervised language therapy in any case.

Our goal is that the supported children experience more linguistic input, more opportunities to speak and richer communicative situations, so their language aptitude in German improves before entering elementary school. We are aware that with our project, we can only support individual children and that we cannot solve a systemic problem. Through the scientific supervision and evaluation, we hope that we can find successes in individual children and can, this way, highlight the importance of more individual language support to those responsible in education and politics.

Our contribution

We, as a team of the language mentor project Potsdam, recruit and supervise voluntary language mentors in co-operation with the Berlin club Sprachpat*innen für KiTa-Kinder e. V .⁵ (language mentors for kindergarten children). The language mentors will be registered at the volunteer agency AWO Potsdam and receive, through it, free accident and liability insurance. Further, we support the application of an expanded police certificate of good conduct.

Also, we are in contact with the responsible bodies of the daycare centers (currently AWO and Fröbel), as well as the respective kindergarten management, to determine the need for language mentors and to provide them to the daycare centers. The pedagogical teams, i.e., the kindergarten management, are fully responsible for determining the children who need support.

It is important to us to provide background information on the job to the language mentors, which is why we offer regular further training on topics such as multilingualism, language-supportive behavior, and language disorders. While we are convinced that most engaged communication is supportive, we would like to offer language mentors ideas and consolidate them based on scientific findings. Another part of the supervised scientific project lies in the evaluation. We are currently developing an evaluation instrument to make the successes of individual language support measurable, thereby highlighting their relevance and urgency.

Beyond this, regular informal meetings should provide opportunities to exchange own experiences. The language mentors can learn from each other, share challenges and chances, as well as give us feedback regarding the actual work in the kindergarten and how we can further support them.

Language mentorship

For the framework of a language mentorship, we orientate ourselves toward the concept of the Berlin club Sprachpat*innen für KiTa-Kinder e.V. (language mentors for kindergarten children), which has proven itself for a few years: in an ideal case, 2 language mentors support the same 2-3 children within the same daycare center. They will visit the children once per week for approximately 3 hours. This way, Tom, Bilal, and Katja are visited by language mentor Liese, for example, on Tuesday morning, and are visited by language mentor Hans on Thursday morning. For the language mentors, the expenditure is, therefore, restricted to half a weekday. These tandems enable language mentors to exchange their experiences and is doubling the visitation time for the 3 target children. During the visits, the language mentors follow the concept of everyday-integrated language support - they let the children be guided by their own interests and accompany them. That is: drawing/painting, reading, playing with Play-Doh, moving, daily activities, music, etc. During these activities, they will incorporate as much linguistic interaction and communication as possible, so the children receive input, as well as have their own opportunities to speak. The language mentorship is thought to be long-term, so a personal relationship can develop and the children will, ideally, be accompanied until they start going to elementary school.

Of course, it is not always possible to implement this "ideal" in the chaotic daily life in a kindergarten - every kindergarten is different, every child is different and every day is different. That is why the language mentors, as well as our project, need to be adaptable. We intend to have a very good and close collaboration with the pedagogical staff and the kindergarten management to develop each language mentorship. Regarding this, it is all about the choice of target children, determining visitation hours, the spatial conditions, and the integration of the language mentors into the kindergarten's daily life. During these visits, the language mentors should act patiently and engaged, and react flexibly and with superior ease, if, for example, more children join or the supposed target child currently does not want to interact. The language mentors are open to the child and offer suggestions, but never force the child. Good collaboration and open communication with the pedagogical staff help tremendously in such situations. For those participating, we, as a project team, are always open to being contacted.

The language mentors should not further strain the pedagogical staff in the kindergarten. You will focus on the selected children, but also be considerate of the other children and help out in the kindergarten. The language mentors are laypeople, while kindergarten teachers are qualified employees and often have many years of experience. That is why it is important that the language mentors respect the kindergarten team for their daily working performance and are open to tips and ideas in dealing with the children.

Requirements for language mentors

At the beginning of becoming a language mentor, there will be an extensive talk with experienced language mentors and our project team. We recommend prospective language mentors to use the possibility of visiting a kindergarten for one morning in order to experience the work as a language mentor. The final decision to become a language mentor is made by the kindergarten management, who will personally and thoroughly get to know the language mentor; a team member of our project will accompany this meeting. The language mentor will then introduce themselves to the parents of the daycare center with a profile poster/letter.

Beyond this, it is necessary to have an expanded police certificate of good conduct, and for people born in 1971 or later, proof of vaccination against measles or of a previous measles illness. In line with the RKI's official recommendations, we also recommend that people aged 60 and older be vaccinated against COVID-19 and the flu. In case of an increased susceptibility or chronic illnesses, e.g., asthma, the slightly higher risk of infections in kindergartens should be considered, and this should possibly be discussed with your general practitioner. Most importantly, it is required for language mentors to be fluent and proficient speakers of German.

¹ Artelt, C., Baumert, J., Klieme, E., Neubrand, M., Prenzel, M., Schiefele, U., Schneider, W., Schümer, G., Stanat, P., & Tillmann,
K.-J. (2001). PISA 2000: Zusammenfassung zentraler Befunde. Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung.
²www.berlin.de/ba-mitte/politik-und-verwaltung/service-und-organisationseinheiten/qualitaetsentwicklung-planungund-koordination-des-oeffentlichen-gesundheitsdienstes/gesundheits-und-sozialberichterstattung/daten-der-einschulungsuntersuchungen-1363460.php
³www.potsdam.de/system/files/documents/integrationsmonitoring2019_0.pdf
⁴www.parlamentsdokumentation.brandenburg.de/starweb/LBB/ELVIS/parladoku/w8/drs/ab_0200/276.pdf
⁵www.sprachpat-innen.berlin