Deutsch

Abstract

This pilot study explores which type of task formulation— an implicit directive to perform a speech act expressed as a question or an explicit directive expressed through a linguistic action —6th-grade students prefer in physics education and the role of students` multilingualism in subject learning. Using qualitative research methods, a group of 15 students from a middle school in Graz was examined. The students worked in small groups and could choose between two differently phrased tasks. Findings indicate that most students preferred the question format, perceiving it as easier to understand, whereas explicit linguistic actions caused uncertainty. Furthermore, students with high proficiency in their first language actively used it for clarification, while others deliberately spoke German, sometimes due to social or linguistic insecurities. However, there is strong student support for allowing all languages in the classroom.