Mehrsprachigkeit und Mehrkulturalität im Lehrwerk für Deutsch als Fremdsprache Vielfalt

For several decades, the didactics of multilingualism and multiculturalism has been one of the key areas of focus in foreign language teaching. It remains unclear, however, whether current textbooks actually put these concepts into practice. Against this background, this article examines the extent to which the textbook Vielfalt (Hueber) incorporates current concepts from the didactics of multilingualism and multiculturalism and translates them into teaching and learning activities. The study is based on a qualitative analysis of all five volumes of the textbook series, focusing on the promotion of intercultural competence, reflection on individual and societal multilingualism, and the typologies of exercises and tasks designed for integrated language learning. The study shows that the textbook series offers numerous opportunities for language– and culture–reflective engagement and incorporates multilingualism in a variety of ways as a resource for foreign language acquisition. At the same time, it becomes clear that there is scope for further development, particularly in the area of culturally sensitive reflection on specific communicative situations and the consistent utilization of the potential offered by multilingualism didactics.