A growing body of research suggests that fine motor skills (FMS) are associated with language development. In this study, we examined 76 children aged 3-6 years assessing the link between language and FMS. Specific measures included receptive and expressive vocabulary, oral narrative skills, and various fine motor tasks. Hierarchical linear…

With the rapid implementation of early foreign language programmes in the state of North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, first for Grade 3 (ages 8-9 years) in 2003 and then from Grade 1 (ages 6-7 years) in 2008, primary school teachers had to adapt to teaching a foreign language in Grade 1 quickly. Teachers had little experience with language teaching…

Academic language and its associations with school success have been established in many prior studies. However, the scholarship lacks research on the mechanisms that constitute these relations. This study investigates the mediating role of motivational-­affective variables, specifically reading self-concept and reading enjoyment, in relations…

The increasing number of students with German as a second language (GL2) poses a great challenge for schools. Previous studies showed that especially young learners with a migration background are lagging behind in the acquisition of second language (L2) literacy. Experiencing problem behaviors (PB) in addition, might pose even greater challenges.…

Learning academic vocabulary is a crucial task for all students, but especially challenging for students with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) and those who are multilingual. Following a participatory research strategy, we analyze whether iconic gestures can be integrated in teaching routines in an inclusive elementary school and…

Research Findings: We assessed socio-emotional behavior, nonverbal reasoning, German receptive language, and motor skills of refugee children attending early childhood development [ECD] programs and of those who did not (N = 207, mean age = 69.4 months). Young refugee children overall demonstrated lower levels of development and more…

Throughout Europe, there is a growing trend for students to start learning foreign languages at elementary school. Although policymakers expect early-start programs to boost second language skills, empirical findings are mixed; recent studies have raised many questions. In this large-scale study, we aimed to close some of these gaps. We examined…

With the growing popularity of early foreign language learning (EFLL) programmes in elementary schools, the transition to secondary school constitutes a crucial bridge. Ensuring a smooth transition that builds on students' L2 language proficiency and gradually shifts pedagogical approaches is key for long-term success. The present study examines…

This article examines factors that promote active multilingualism. For this purpose, the "Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test" was used with 48 children. Their results were linked to a parental questionnaire designed to evaluate the children's linguistic input in their immediate environment. The study shows that, besides a minimum amount of…

This contribution presents the preliminary findings from the TEPS study ("Teaching English in Primary Schools"). The study is situated in Germany where primary foreign language (FL) education has been compulsory since 2004, with pupils beginning FL education -- mostly English as a FL (EFL) -- in either year 1 or 3. Generally, this…

We elicited the production of various types of relative clauses in a group of German-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing controls in order to test the movement optionality account of grammatical difficulty in SLI. The results show that German-speaking children with SLI are impaired in relative clause…

The present paper explores and compares the receptive vocabulary sizes of two groups of learners of different native languages. One of the most widely used vocabulary size tests is the Vocabulary Levels Test designed by Nation. Some reservations have been raised in relation to the adequacy of the Vocabulary Levels Test to estimate the vocabulary…

While multilingualism itself is a widely analyzed topic, a study about multilingualism at German schools abroad is so far unique. This quantitative study investigates the differences in the size of German expressive and receptive vocabulary between monolingual and multilingual students, aged between 5 and 11 years. A cohort of 65 multilingual…

Lexicon Pirate was originally developed as a strategy intervention programme to treat lexical disorders of pre-school children. To evaluate the therapy's effectiveness for school-age students, a randomized controlled trial (RCT, N = 157) was conducted. Based on a pre--post-test design, the programme's impacts were compared with a control group…

The present paper was written under the auspices of the interdisciplinary research group "Educational Processes, Competence Development, and Selection Decisions at Preschool and Primary School Age (BiKS)" (FOR 543), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The surveys were conceptualised and supervised as part of the developmental…