Multilingualism in Teacher Training and Primary Education: Working on Case Vignettes With the ABC’s Model

Abstract Prospective teachers in Germany undergo a two‑phase training program of university studies then a practice period at a school. During these phases, they are prepared for different professional fields and teaching subjects at various school levels. In recent years, training has increasingly included preparation for a resource‑oriented and differentiation-sensitive approach due to the growing number of migration‑related multilingual pupils in German schools. This chapter focuses on a learning unit designed for prospective primary school teachers who grew up predominantly speaking German, the majority language. In a seminar during their university studies, the students were introduced to the written migration‑related biographies, called case vignettes, of multilingual prospective teachers. This chapter presents these case vignettes with transcribed narrative interviews and the virtual learning unit using the ABC’s model. We found that Step B of the model, biography, does not necessarily require an interview. Instead, case vignettes can be used to approach multilinguals’ school and life stories. Based on our analysis, we discuss the influences, and thus the possibilities, of the teachers’ training to deconstruct and reflect on cultural and linguistic diversity in education systems.