Lichtgedanken 04

Rubrik 51 04 | LICHT GEDANKEN The German language is becoming in- creasingly popular abroad. But why are German language courses—a language that is generally considered to be diffi- cult to learn—top-sellers in many coun- tries? Is there a link between language learning and migration? Prof. Dr Silke Übelmesser and her team from the Uni- versity of Jena are studying these ques- tions as part of a project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The research project »Investition in Sprachkenntnisse und Migrations­ entscheidungen« (Language-Skill In- vestments and Migration Decisions) started in February this year. The two- year project will be conducted with partners including the Ifo Center of Ex- cellence for Migration and Integration Research (CEMIR) in Munich, which is led by Prof. Dr Panu Poutvaara, and selected Goethe Institutes. The DFG is providing funding of almost 160,000 euros. Do people learn German with the intention of migrating? As Silke Übelmesser, who holds the Chair of Public Finance, explains, the new research is building on the previous project »Spracherwerb und Migration« (Language learning and migration). This research project began in 2015 and was also funded by the DFG. The previous research was based on the Goethe Institute's yearbooks from 1965 to 2014. Initially, the data was collated and analysed on an aggregated level to BY STEPHAN LAUDIEN Why people abroad learn German Economist Prof. Dr Silke Übelmesser is investigating motives of people abroad to learn the German language in a project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). She is particularly interested in finding out to what extent the language learning is motivated by potential migration. see if there are correlations between lan- guage learning and migration. The new project will build those results by look- ing at the individual level. Silke Übelmesser explains: »We want to ask course participants about their concrete motives behind learning the language.« The reasons can be very di- verse: occupational benefits, making personal connections with Germans, an interest in the German culture and lan- guage, and also the intention of moving to Germany. Course participants at ten to twelve Goethe Institutes will be surveyed; with two thirds of the Goethe Institutes ly- ing in Europe and one third outside of Europe. The selection criteria include the distance of the language from the German language and the geographical distance. Thus, far-lying countries like India and Japan are included as well as close neighbouring countries like the Netherlands and Poland. The par- ticipants are being surveyed based on paper and pen questionnaires. Silke Übelmesser hopes that the an- swers will make it easier to categorise and interpret the previous findings. It is, for example unclear how important the intended migration is as a possible reason, and what the concrete temporal correlation is. In other words: »Do lan- guage students want to increase their chances in the case of migration by learning German, or are they learning German because they actually want to migrate?« The answers from the lan- guage students promise to be exciting. Prof. Dr Silke Übelmesser is investigating the correla- tion between language learning and migration. Projects