The Interplay of Language Awareness and Bilingual Writing Abilities in Heritage Language Speakers

Abstract

This paper investigates how language awareness influences the writing abilities of bilingual heritage language speakers. The study includes 175 bilingual 9th and 10th graders with Italian, Greek, or Turkish as their L1 and German as an early L2. The analysis is based on a corpus of narrative and argumentative texts in L1 and L2 and a language awareness test to explore semantic, pragmatic, and textual knowledge that was administered in both languages. We found that the students’ writing abilities in both languages were highly interdependent and there was a significant correlation between achieving high scores in the heritage language test and achieving equally high (or even higher) scores in the L2 test. The results further point to a significant correlation between metalinguistic awareness and writing abilities. However, there was a higher correlation between metalinguistic awareness and text level scores in the heritage language, which shows that writing abilities in this language are more dependent on metalinguistic awareness than in the language of schooling. Moreover, differences were found between the respective language groups and different school types. Based on these results, it is argued that the fostering of language awareness ought to be implemented more intensively in the language classroom.

Approaching the Concept of Multiliteracies: Multilingual Writing Competence as an Integrated Model

“…The first-order proficiency factors show substantial connections to the observed data (indicators) as well as to the second-order competence factor, indicating that each type of proficiency is an integral component of the synthesized competence of multilingual writing competence. Our model corresponds to previous findings on the positive interrelation of languages in writing (e.g., Böhmer, 2015;Cenoz & Gorter, 2011;Payant, 2020;Riehl, 2021;Uluçam-Wegmann et al, 2019). Moreover, our study provides an empirical approach that integrates the proficiency and competence levels of multilingual writing within the same statistical measurement model.…”

“…Our model shows that despite the given complexity of the underlying theoretical concepts and approaches to multilingualism, it is possible to express them in a practical empirical model applicable for language measuring in linguistically diverse settings. While converging both theory and providing rich evidence for the positive interrelation of languages in writing (e.g., Böhmer, 2015;Cenoz & Gorter, 2011;Riehl, 2021), we offer an empirical model that is guided by a resources-oriented perspective toward multiliteracies as representing valuable resources within rich multilingual repertoires. However, we acknowledge that further research is needed to validate the proposed model.…”

“…Concerning a statistical approach to model multilingual writing competence, an integrated model is needed that accounts for literacy skills in complex multilingual repertoires rather than for each of the specific languages in isolation. The growing body of research on multilingual writing provides evidence for the interrelated nature of multilingual writing skills based on the data gathered in different national contexts-that of Canada (e.g., Kato-Otani, 2008;Payant, 2020), the United States (e.g., Soltero-González et al 2012;Sparrow et al, 2014), the Netherlands (e.g., Schoonen et al, 2003;, Verhoeven et al, 2012, Italy (Danzak &Arfe, 2016), andGermany (e.g., Böhmer, 2015;Riehl, 2021;Usanova & Schnoor, 2021a).…”

Learning Effect in a Multilingual Web-Based Argumentative Writing Instruction Model, Called ECM, on Metacognition, Rhetorical Moves, and Self-Efficacy for Scientific Purposes

“…The results also confirm those of Cotos et al [63], who demonstrate that WBWI, known as Research Writing Tutor (RWT), promotes the metacognitive processing of writers during the revision of research articles. However, this study did not focus on written argumentation, although it was assumed that it is a genre included in research articles [18,81]. Moreover, only one metacognitive dimension was evaluated (the revision of the text).…”

Die Entwicklung von Schreibfähigkeit in mehreren Sprachen im Verlauf der Sekundarstufe – eine sprachpragmatische Sicht

“…B. Riehl, 2021). Die Schreibfähigkeit von Jugendlichen der zweiten Migrationsgeneration, die ihre schulische Ausbildung in Deutschland durchlaufen, erstrecken sich dabei vom Auflisten einzelner Wörter bis zu elaborierten Texten (Böhmer, 2015;Usanova, 2019).…”