Language acquisition as a window to social integration among Russian language minority children in Germany and Israel

Immigrant parents generally speak to their second generation children in their native language, while their children tend to respond in the language of the receiving country. This well-documented phenomenon usually leads to relatively rapid transition (language shift) over a single generation. It can also contribute to the development of multiple ethnic identities, identities which are maintained and/or modified through early and later childhood and adolescence.

This research group explores the transitions in language development and ethnic identity of preschool and 1st grade elementary school children in Russian-Hebrew and Russian-German immigrants in Israel and Germany, looking at cross-language comparisons in these two national contexts in an attempt to understand some of the complexity in preschool children’s ethnic identity development and its relationship to language proficiency and language use.
Language acquisition and ethnic identity development both offer a window to transitions from home to school, from parental to peer socialization, and from monolingualism to bilingualism. Language and ethnic identity are highly complex constructs with multiple dimensions and multiple measures.

The guiding research questions were:

What are some of the linguistic indicators of ethnolinguistic and ethnic identity which show evidence for convergence to/divergence from German/Israeli culture and language?
In what ways do children's attitudes toward the receiving country and its speakers show evidence of transition from Russian to German/Israeli culture?

Overall, notable similarity was found among immigrant preschool and first grade children (ages 4–7) in Germany and Israel with regard to language, identity and their interface. There were, however, clear differences in the parents’ perceptions and aspirations regarding their children’s ethnic identities.

See detailed information on:
Language proficiency
Ethnic and ethnolinguistic identity
Social preferences
Attitudes towards speakers and languages
Effects of exposure on language acquisition and ethnic identity
Summary and discussion
About the project
Publications