Language, time, and diversity : Ghanaian and Syrian newcomers’ perceptions of inequalities and opportunities in Germany’s tracked secondary-school system

Abstract

In Germany, newcomer students are usually directed toward lower-track schools due to perceived language deficiencies, commonly attending preparatory classes primarily offered in such schools. This tracking phenomenon raises questions about educational inequalities and institutional discrimination. Drawing on interview data from Syrian students in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg and ethnographic data on transnationally mobile Ghanaian youth in Hamburg, this paper investigates how newcomer students perceive their schooling in relation to their German language acquisition. Two themes emerge from our analysis: ‘language and time’, which captures how students experience ­preparatory classes as a waste of time while recognizing the linguistic benefits of slower-paced learning environments; and ‘language and diversity’, which reflects how students value being surrounded by others who are learning German or share similar migration experiences. We analyze these perceptions through the lenses of institutional discrimination and temporalities, and belonging and Spracherleben (the lived experience of language), respectively, showing how students simultaneously question and appreciate aspects of their school placement. The paper thus argues for conceptual complexity, whereby experiences of inequalities and opportunities can co-exist in migrant newcomers’ educational trajectories.