Anja Steinlen: English in Elementary Schools: Research and Implications on Minority and Majority Language Children’s Reading and Writing Skills in Regular and Bilingual Programs (Multilingualism and Language Teaching, 7). Tübingen: Narr, Francke, Attempto, 2021.

Once confined to German secondary schools, ever since 2004 the teaching of English has become compulsory in elementary schools. The exact point at which English teaching starts varies from federal state to federal state, as does the number of English lessons per week (usually between one and three). According to Steinlen (p. 31), about 2% of elementary schools also offer subjects taught bilingually.
Steinlen’s English in Elementary Schools examines English in primary schools within a tripartite structure. An initial literature review gives an overview of some existing German approaches to elementary school English and of previous empirical studies on the matter. The central chapters of the book deal with new data collected by Steinlen and her collaborators since 2012. The data comes from three schools and four different programmes: a regular English teaching programme of two hours a week (Hügelschule, Tübingen); a school with 20% of teaching conducted bilingually (the subject of science at the Muhlius Schule, Kiel); a school with 50% of teaching conducted bilingually (the bilingual track of the Hügelschule); and a school where 70% of teaching is conducted bilingually (the private Platanus Schule, Berlin). On the basis of the results, Steinlen then makes some teaching recommendations in the final part of her book.