Promoting Health Literacy among LESLLA Learners: Empirical Findings and Practical Implications

Abstract

LESLLA learners are physically and psychologically stressed not only by Covid-19 but by general living conditions. Hence, they are at risk of becoming ill, so the ability to communicate with health professionals is crucial. An ideal setting to support migrants in developing their health literacy is through second-language courses (SLCs). However, scientific evidence is scarce and insufficient to support SLC teachers in targeting health literacy.

In the research project SCURA, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, we used various ethnographic methods (including participant observation, interviews, and textbook analysis) to explore the health literacy of LESLLA learners in German-as-a-second-language courses and analyzed the different approaches of promote health literacy. Based on the empirical data, we developed numerous theoretically sound and practical interventions for second-language teachers, including training, manuals, and guidelines.

The study showed that health and health literacy can be promoted in SLCs, but this should move beyond words, deal with real-life communicative situations, both functional and critical/ ambivalent, and consider the sociocultural and political context. Although second-language teaching and health promotion are two distinct disciplines, they overlap in the goal of enabling people to act and care for themselves. As a content-and-language-integrated approach focusing on developing action skills, the combination of both disciplines allows for a sustainable impact. This contribution deepens our understanding of the potential of health literacy promotion in SLCs by discussing the challenges and limitations, good practices, underlying theories, and practical strategies for moving forward.