‘Educational Landscaping’: a method for raising awareness about language and communication

The article introduces 'Educational Landscaping' (EL) as a measure of qualification in educational institutions to support the development of teachers' language awareness (LA). In EL, participating teachers are invited to investigate, analyse and, if necessary, adapt the linguistic landscape of their educational institution. The article first describes the setup of the training programme, which proceeds in three phases (introduction, implementation, and discussion and revision). Based on a qualitative-explorative interview study, the results of EL are reported and discussed with respect to LA. The article shows that in a number of cases, EL was able to spark considerable developments in teachers' LA. These findings are used to make suggestions concerning a broadened understanding of LA that includes non-linguistic means of communication. The term 'communication awareness' is proposed as a complement to LA.