Syntax-based teaching of capitalization in German primary school

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Iris Rautenberg; Dr. Stefan Wahl
• Subject Area: General and Domain-Specific Teaching and Learning ; General and Comparative Linguistics, Experimental Linguistics, Typology, Non-European Languages
• Term: from 2013 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 247372975

For successful participation in our literate society, orthographic skills are crucial. However, especially in this field German pupils very often fail. In German orthography, particularly capitalizations within the sentence are error-prone. This result is surprising, as capitalizations are taught from the beginning of primary school. Therefore, current teaching methods need to be reconsidered. In primary school, children learn that the upper case is directly linked to the semantic properties of the lexical category substantive. This rule, however, distorts the fact that the function of upper case in German is not lexical or semantic, but rather syntactical. An alternative approach for teaching capitalizations is the syntax-based approach, in which the link between capitalization and lexical class is abandoned. Instead, the rule for upper case is motivated syntactically: The root of a noun phrase that can be expanded by adjective attributes is written with a capital. Several single-case studies with primary school children provide evidence for assuming that the syntax-based approach is more successful than a traditional approach that focuses on lexical class. However, experimental studies that have proven its effectiveness are still missing.The proposed study will try to fill this gap by evaluating the syntax-based teaching method empirically. Therefore, an experimental pre-/post-/follow-up study with second grade children is conducted. Two experimental groups (comprising 10 second-grade classes) each receive a different version of tuition following the syntax-based approach. A control group of another 10 second-grade classes learns capitalizations traditionally, using a lexical-class-based approach. Additionally, one group of pupils from grade 6 (control group 2, comprising 5 classes) is investigated. The children's orthographic and meta-linguistic skills concerning capitalization are measured. In order to draw the sample, a short survey of the teaching method of capitalizations is conducted with 150 primary-school teachers. This will form the basis for the selection of the two experimental groups and the control group 1. The two teachers of the experimental groups will participate in a workshop, in which they get to know the syntax-based approach. Along with the project team they will develop teaching materials and different methods. These materials and methods will be applied in class for the following three months, while the control group receives conventional classes.Upon completion of the evaluation project, interested teachers, representatives of school authorities and linguists will be invited to a conference where the research findings are presented and discussed.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants