The Language Checkers: how multilingual children help with research
Mannheim is home to people from more than 100 nations, and the number of languages spoken there is even higher. Researchers are interested in this, too.
Together with researchers at the Leibniz Institute for the German Language, children and young people in Mannheim get to explore their multilingual everyday life in connection with a research project. They are called “Language Checkers” and are directly involved in the research process, describing their diverse environment and developing their own investigative questions.
The language of the heart
Together with a professional author, primary school children are involved in a project which involves writing a book of their own. The focus is on how they experience multilingualism: what is it like to speak one language at home and the other at school? The children also read aloud in their own languages – German, Arabic, Bulgarian, Italian, Polish and Turkish.
In another sub-project being pursued by the Language Checkers, the children create so-called language portraits: on a body outline, they mark where they see their respective languages as being centred in their own body. One young football fan of the Italian national team coloured the foot of the outline in the Italian colours. But a lot children mark their mother tongue as being in their heart. These projects not only touch on fascinating research issues, they also help the children gain confidence with regard to their multilingualism.
Traces of language in the city
If you take a look around Mannheim’s Neckarstadt-West district, you will discover a variety of languages: on stickers and graffiti, in shop windows, in front of restaurants, and on signs. Adolescent Language Checkers roam their neighbourhood and map these language traces. In linguistics, this is referred to as “linguistic landscaping”. The data is analysed and provides fresh perspectives on multilingualism in public spaces.
A song about multilingualism in Mannheim’s diverse neighbourhood:
The Language Checkers Song: “Bitte hör mir zu!” (with English subtitles)
This “citizen science” approach involves young people on a local basis. It also seeks to strengthen trust in scientific research. Above all, however, a citizen science approach opens up new perspectives and research questions by listening to voices from within society. The Language Checkers at the Institute for the German Language have received several awards for their work, including the European Union Prize for Citizen Science 2024.
