For some time now, multilingual children have been recognised as having an advantage over monolingual children in language awareness (cf. Bialystok 2001). For German-speaking countries, Oomen-Welke (2008) found that multilingual pupils produce more metalinguistic utterances and language-analytical actions than monolingual pupils. Wildemann, Bien-Miller and Akbulut (2016, 2018, 2020) also showed that multilingual primary school pupils produce more metalinguistic utterances, which suggests advantages in language awareness. The researchers were able to show that multilingual children produce expressions of language awareness at higher levels (see Wildemann et al. 2016 or 2020) and thus demonstrate more developed linguistic analytical skills. These correlate with overall language competence (see Akbuluth et al. 2018). Similar evidence comes from research on heritage speakers. Riehl et al 2018 postulate connections between language awareness and multilingual writing and text skills. Our project “SchreiBe Mehr” has two general goals: 1. We want to find out, which sorts of language awareness multilingual adolescents display throughout their writing processes and when being asked about their writing. 2. We try to integrate our findings and derive a model of writing awareness, which can be very useful in teaching writing.

To get a more specific notion of how language awareness is displayed and can be developed in writing, we focus on writing processes and texts by multilingual adolescents in Russian and German.

To specify a general concept of language awareness, in an initial project phase a heuristic concept of writing awareness was developed and differentiated into various sub-competences based on the data analysed in our pilot project, we identified criteria for studying writing awareness. From the literature, we adopted the division of signs of awareness into those directly related to writing and elicited aspects (cf. Wildemann et al. 2016). Observable aspects of writing awareness include visible aspects of the writing process, observable writing strategies, comments during writing, and others. Elicited aspects include comments on individual phases of the writing process, strategies and individual levels of the text, genre features, similarities and differences in the text when comparing languages. In addition, the presence of metalinguistic vocabulary is also a sign of writing awareness.

A special emphasis is laid on multilingual competences and resources in writing, e.g. the knowledge of writing schemata and genres in both languages. The genre selected for the study – a process description - is used not only in language subjects, but also in art, social and natural science subjects, which allows interdisciplinary didactic implications. We focus on the pupils´ reflection of their own writing processes and the visible or reported use of writing strategies by multilinguals in early secondary school. The texts and the interviews reveal the pupils´ knowledge of culture-specific text-schemata and how much writing such texts may be part of their (academic) lives - and in which languages. This offers many valuable insights on the interrelatedness of language, culture, and identity for linguistically responsive teachers. (Hufeisen 2008).

To reach the abovementioned goals, we use a qualitative approach to writing awareness in addition to a more quantitative perspective as can be seen in other studies. We do not focus on the question of possible advantages of certain groups of pupils, but to take a closer look at the specifics of the occurrence of language awareness in each individual case. Our study has the following design. First, we conducted a semi structured interview with our informants (N=9, ages 11 to 14) about their language biography and writing experience. Then they wrote two instructions for installing a game on a smartphone for an older person in their L1 and L2 (Russian or Ukrainian and German). The writing process was recorded on camera. After this, the interviewer conducted a stimulated retrospective interview: together with the informants, she watched a recording of the writing process, the informants were asked to comment on how they completed tasks and explained individual decisions. Our design combines the observation of visible aspects of the writing process (made visible by screen-capturing) and comments made by the informants while writing with stimulated retrospective interviews, whereby the recorded writing process is played as a stimulus during the interview (cf. Breuer 2017, Karsten 2017). The data are analysed using qualitative content analysis to create categories (Mayring 2010; Schreier 2014), so that the concept of writing awareness developed in the first project phase (cf. Peschel/Sulimova 2020) can be further specified. On this basis, the diversity of possible forms of writing awareness is to be recorded and described qualitatively. The informants were recruited through teachers teaching them Russian, Ukrainian and German. When recruiting informants, it was important to us that they could write in L1 and L2. Thus, the sample is not representative, but corresponds to the goals of our exploratory study. We investigate students’ subjective views toward their own multilingualism and writing skills. We also find students’ comments on the role their languages play at school. To examine the writing processes with the documented observation and to gain insights into reflective aspects of writing competence, a triangulation was carried out. The questionnaire also explores the informants’ awareness of the role that writing plays in school success, and whether they feel comfortable using different languages.

The paper provides insights into writing processes and reflections of individual informants and the components of writing awareness in both languages that can be derived from them. On this basis, the potential of multilingualism in writing is shown and didactic consequences for the promotion of writing are derived. The model can be used in teacher training programmes to illustrate the complexity of writing process. The findings can furthermore help to make future teachers aware of regarding their students’ first languages as learning resources and enable them to invoke students’ first languages intentionally (Burner & Carlsen, 2019). In addition, we intend to show future teachers the value of students’ languages, and strategies their use to deal with own linguistic diversity.The data obtained during the survey (recordings of the writing process, reflections of the test subjects) illustrate concrete strategies. As the chose text type is used across all subjects at school, starting points can be found for the promotion of school writing in all subjects in the sense of continuous language education. The model gives the knowledge needed to support linguistically diverse students when teaching writing in different subjects.

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