Zeichenensembles und Assemblages im Kommunikationsraum Schule: „Verhaltensampeln“ und ihre Effekte

Abstract Previous work on the semiotic landscape of educational institutions (‘schoolscapes’ or ‘educationscapes’) has focused on spatially emplaced texts and semiotic inscriptions (‘signs’) in multilingual contexts, while the interplay between signs and oral communication is less well researched. This paper introduces the term ‘sign ensemble’ and draws on the concept of assemblage to examine the interplay between schoolscape signs and situated school communication, thereby focusing on signs and practices of behavioural regulation. The data originates in a project on the connection between schoolscape signs and the social conditions of secondary schools drawing on a mixed-methods approach. Sign ensembles are multi-part signs that are framed as belonging together and serve a common purpose. A sign ensemble typical of classrooms in this study is the so-called ‘behaviour traffic light’ (‘Verhaltensampel’), i. e. a conglomerate of color-coded symbols, strips, and magnets on a board that is used to evaluate students’ observed behaviour during class. While photographic data enables a social-semiotic analysis of the ‘behaviour traffic light’, interviews with teachers and students allow to reconstruct how the sign ensemble becomes part of a semiotic assemblage that involves people (teachers and students), their verbal and embodied actions, and space (i. e. the classroom). This assemblage determines subsequent actions by participants as well as third parties (such as parents) and contributes to the construction of institutional identities. The study reveals new possibilities for linguistic research into school communication and contributes to a holistic approach to schoolscapes.