Small Groups, Big Impact: Exploring the Effects of German Language Tutorials on Language Proficiency, Academic & Personal Growth, and Social Integration for Ukrainian Refugee Students

Investigators @RILL: Katharina M. Bach, Sarah Hofer

Collaborators: Münchner Ukraine Tutoren (gefördert durch die Münchner Bürgerstiftung)

Duration: July 2023 until August 2024

Main Goals: We explore the influence of German language tutorials in small groups, led by student tutors and organized by the "Munich Ukraine Tutors" (MUT), on Ukrainian refugee. Specifically, we investigate the impact of learning German in small groups on a) emotional and affective factors, such as the students' self-concept, b) social factors, such as the Ukrainian students' social network in Germany, and c) the students' academic performance and language proficiency.

Key Methods: The study will be conducted as a long-term study with pre-, interim-, and post-assessment as an intervention and a control waiting group. Moreover, we will have regular mini-evaluations after the tutorials.
The tutors (university students of “German as a foreign language”) offer weekly language tutorials as optional add-on program for Ukrainian students at secondary schools in Munich. The tutors receive training beforehand and use an elaborated pedagogical concept. The groups consist of 3-6 students and supplement the existing welcome classes; they take place during the regular school day. The tutors focus on teaching grammar and vocabulary (especially oral) in a playful and individualized way and bring students to a level between B1 and C2. The intervention group will participate in tutorials from the beginning, while the control waiting group group will participate in the courses only after the post-test.

Practical Relevance: The study should not only scientifically evaluate the didactic concept and the implementation of the courses by MUT, but most importantly contribute to gaining knowledge about the emotional, motivational and social effects of learning the language of the host country (i.e. German) on refugee students. We would like to understand to what extent language learning in small groups facilitates students’ daily life and integration, increases well-being (e.g., higher self-concept) and creates more opportunities (e.g., better participation in academic and the social context in the host country. The findings can help to improve and institutionalize such programs to support refugee students.