1. Turkish-language ability of children of immigrants in Germany: which contexts of exposure influence preschool children's acquisition of their heritage language?
- Author
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Oliver Klein, Birgit Becker, and Nicole Biedinger
- Subjects
Mehrsprachigkeit ,family ,Sociology and Political Science ,Elementary Education Sector ,Turkish ,First language ,Immigration ,Einwanderung ,Kind ,Spracherwerb ,heritage language ,exposure ,children of immigrants ,Turkish immigrants ,learning context ,language retention ,Sociology & anthropology ,Developmental psychology ,Heritage language ,Turk ,Vorschule ,media_common ,education ,child ,Sociology of Communication, Sociology of Language, Sociolinguistics ,Bildungswesen Elementarbereich ,preschool school ,Language acquisition ,Bundesrepublik Deutschland ,language acquisition ,language ,Türke ,ddc:301 ,Psychology ,immigration ,Cultural Studies ,multilingualism ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Bildungsverlauf ,Vorschulalter ,Federal Republic of Germany ,mother tongue ,Kommunikationssoziologie, Sprachsoziologie, Soziolinguistik ,Muttersprache ,ddc:372 ,Erziehung ,course of education ,Multilingualism ,preschool age ,Via media ,Language ability ,Primary education (elementary education) ,language.human_language ,Soziologie, Anthropologie ,Familie ,Anthropology ,Primar- und Elementarbildung - Abstract
A lot of research has been devoted to explaining immigrants' acquisition of the language of the receiving country. However, less attention has been paid to explaining the acquisition of the heritage language among children of immigrants. The most important determinant for young children is exposure to the language. Language exposure can occur in various contexts, such as within the family, during preschool, through peers or via media. Our empirical analysis therefore explores which of these contexts is most statistically significant for the acquisition of the heritage language among children of Turkish immigrants. Using data from the project Preschool Education and Educational Careers among Migrant Children, we show that all contexts are important at different age levels but the acquisition of the heritage language is mainly determined by the exposure to it within the family.
- Published
- 2015