Intergroup Contact Between Germans and Turkish Immigrants Living in Germany ― Exploring Tandem Language Classes As a Means to Reduce Prejudice

In Germany, the relationship between Turkish immigrants and Germans without migration background is often characterized by negative views. Intergroup Contact Theory describes how social contact can improve relations between groups in conflict. This book examines a series of five tandem language classes that have never before been studied in an intergroup contact context. Applying the theory’s principles, native Germans and Turkish immigrants taught each other German and Turkish supervised by a bilingual language teacher. Statistical analyses reveal a prejudice-reducing effect for course participants relative to a non-participating control group. This and other findings promote tandem language classes as a means to improve relations between host population and immigrants from the start.

Anna Noack is a social psychologist with a PhD from the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences. She developed and organized conflict-reducing and empathy-promoting encounters for youth from diverse cultural and ethnical backgrounds. Intergroup relations and methods of conflict resolution are her main areas of interest.