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From January 2017 until January 2020, the Stormont assembly in Northern Ireland was suspended, with the Irish language being cited as the main stumbling block to the restoration of government. The continued debate around the necessity of an Irish Language Act (ILA) for Northern Ireland is bound up with more general divisions in society surrounding national identity, and as such, it divided political parties and the nationalist and unionist communities from which they draw their support. Through the analysis of ethnographic interviews conducted in various language learning centres across Belfast, I explore how this debate around legislating for the language impacted on the engagement of learners with the language in the city. By considering the role played by the media in the engagement of interview participants with the Irish language in Belfast, I aim to examine how the policy delay and political discourse affects those engaging with the language. This paper aims to address changing attitudes to the Irish language in Belfast in a period of political crisis, and what it means for those who use the language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the 'global English bias' in the field of L2 motivation, many motivational constructs have been primarily investigated in relation to learners of English. One of these, international posture, has been recently found to hold some relevance to LOTE students. Despite this, no research has examined comparatively similarities and differences in the relevance of a global community to the motivations of EFL and LOTE learners. This study fills this research gap, by focusing, as a case in point, on data collected via a questionnaire and interviews with university students of English studies in Italy and in Germany, and of students of Italian and German studies in Australia. The findings confirm the relevance of this construct to both learner groups and show that it can co-exist with integrative motives. While EFL respondents viewed the affiliation with a global community as dependent on the mastery of English, most LOTE respondents associated it with the language learning process itself and with their new positioning as second language learners and speakers in their monolingual environment. This study advances our understanding of the range of reference of international posture and contributes to reducing the gap in scholarship between EFL and LOTE learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

− Measurement instruments often represent only one domain at a time. − The focus of test instruments is on querying declarative knowledge. − Authentic assessments are rarely being used. Purpose: This paper analyses and classifies currently available English- and German-language measurement instruments for assessing economic literacy. It shows the content-related focuses and gaps of the extracted test instruments, the cognitive level of demand that characterises the instruments, the technical forms of implementation, and the extent to which the lifeworld contexts of test participants were considered. Method: The PSYNDEX, ERIC, German Education Index, and GESIS databases were systematically reviewed, and measurement instruments were examined based on four perspectives of analysis: economic subject dimension, learning psychology, assessment formats and technical design, and authenticity. Findings: Knowledge tests differ substantially from each other. Rather than representing all domains of the subject of economics equally, test instruments usually measure only one domain at a time. The focus of test instruments is on the retrieval of declarative knowledge. Measurement instruments were developed for adults and young people in equal parts. While some test instruments are related to the real world, authentic assessments are an exception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the strong immigration of refugees at the end of the last decade, many minors came to Germany. Their integration into the German educational system will be one of the central tasks of German society and is important for the medium- and long-term integration of incoming young refugees in various areas of society. Data from the ReGES panel study enable analyses of the early integration process of refugees into the German educational system. The study focuses on two cohorts: 2,405 children of preschool age who are about to start school and 2,415 adolescents in lower secondary education who were followed during the transition into vocational training or upper secondary education. Each cohort was interviewed seven times over three school years from 2018 to 2020, with sampling procedures starting in 2017. This article provides an overview of the study design, contents, and research potential of ReGES. The large number of measures of individual characteristics, including objective competence test data (German language and basic cognitive skills) and information on the learning and living contexts of refugees provided by parents, teachers, and administrative staff, allow us to address many research questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses on interpretation of essay in German education. It also states that the interpretation essay often consists of a series of analysis results, ideas and observations on the literary source. Topics discussed includes stage I and secondary-level German tuition, interpretations Bertolt Brecht text and German teachers and narrators.

The German Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-A[G]) for adolescents assesses four regulatory styles within Deci and Ryan's (1985) self-determination theory: intrinsic, identified, introjected, and external regulation. The study on N = 2,123 students (1,057 girls) from secondary schools in Austria analyzes the effects of differential item functioning (DIF) on individual and group-level estimates of the latent regulatory styles. The scale demonstrated small DIF for sex and the ages from 10 to 17. The DIF items favored, if anything, younger students and lead to a slight overestimation of their introjected motivation level. However, the practical impact on group-level means was negligible. The SRQ-A[G] represents a reliable instrument to capture sex- and age-related differences in the four regulatory styles throughout adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Prior to the late 1960s, German history textbooks lacked coverage of Poland and depicted Germany's eastern neighbor with negative images. The 1970s and 1980s, however, witnessed positive changes to the contents of German school textbooks-particularly with respect to their descriptions of Poland and German-Polish relations. How and why did Germany promote a more reflective view of history and correct negative descriptions of the Poles in German history textbooks between the 1970s and 1980s? This article addresses this question by focusing on the influence of Brandt's Ostpolitik and on the activities of the German-Polish History Textbook Commission. The article also shows how contemporary conservative reaction was not powerful enough to reverse these positive changes to German history textbooks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the Qualification for Intercultural Communication project (qualiko) at Hildesheim University in Germany. It states that the qualiko is one of the 46 projects financed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). It notes that qualiko is based from the Institute of Intercultural Communication. Qualiko focuses on three various areas such as intercultural orientation of lectures and counselling services, more qualifications for tutors and peer trainers, and acknowledgement of intercultural qualifications. An overview of the intercultural training programme at Hildesheim University is also presented. Moreover, it highlights the intercultural training programme's objective to promote intercultural learning and development.

The article discusses the provisions of the Arbeitsförderungs-Konsolidierungsgesetz (AFKG - Consolidated Promotion of Employment Act), in effect as of January 1981, which significantly updates its precursor 1969 Arbeitsf̈örderungsgesetz (AFG - Employment Promotion Act). The revised legislation expands occupational education support and rehabilitation for employment, while also adjusting educational grants to the market financial situation.

The article discusses German provincial and federal legislation providing educational subsidies to students and special grants for gifted students, as well as college scholarships. Coupled with the schooling money is a learning media freedom at the provincial level to encourage learning diversity and obviate textbook monopolies.