German as a second language: Language development of Turkish immigrant pre-school-age children in Germany

The study investigates the development of German as a second language (L2) among four- to five-year-old Turkish pre-school children (n = 88). German pre-school children of same age served as a comparison group = 95). Mothers were interviewed and children's L2 language development was measured with SETK 3-5 (Grimm, 2001) during second year at preschool. Turkish children received lower scores than German children. Regression analyses revealed that in both samples, lower TV consumption was related to higher language skills. In the German sample, higher education levels of mothers and sibling positions (first-bom/only child) were also related to higher language skills. In both samples, the amount of months spent at pre-school, paternal educational levels and reading to children showed no direct effect. In the Turkish sample, neither parents' L2 skills nor their years of formal schooling acquired in Germany nor language preferences of parents or children were related to childrens' L2 abilities.