Multilingualism in Germany and the Role of Submersion and Immersion Programmes

Abstract

As a result of recent immigration, Germany has become a multilingual country with a great need for multilingual education. In the first part of the article the roles of minority and immigrant languages in Germany are discussed. Some demographic changes are briefly
outlined as well as the implications for the general education system. In the second part, submersion and immersion approaches are discussed and evaluated in the context of the German school system. It is argued that classroom interactional competence is a crucial factor in promoting students‘ linguistic skills.