Is two-way immersion education associated with social and intercultural benefits? This book examines social and intercultural benefits of bilingual or two-way immersion (TWI) schooling in Staatliche Europa-Schule Berlin (SESB). The author uses quantitative methods to compare SESB with mainstream education and identifies a series of statistically significant differences between the two. These findings contribute to the well-structured argument that SESB programmes can play a role in promoting social integration and group cohesiveness within schools and potentially in the wider society. The author also makes a number of recommendations for stakeholders and policymakers, and suggests that SESB may indeed serve as a useful model for other multilingual areas of Europe.
Gabriela Meier worked as a translator and language teacher in Switzerland and the UK before she gained her MA and Ph.D. in European Studies from the University of Exeter (UK). Based on her practical experience, she developed her academic interest in language policy and planning, as well as multilingual education and questions of social cohesion. She now works at the University of Bath (UK).
Contents: Social and intercultural benefits of two-way immersion (TWI) education - Peace-linguistic examination of
Staatliche Europa-Schule Berlin
- Summary of TWI research in Germany - Quantitative design with control group (n=603) - Discussion of findings from Germany and the USA in a European Dimension - Recommendations for stakeholders.