Making financial education language-sensitive: Promoting the financial literacy of vulnerable groups

The overarching goal of FIBIS is to empower members of vulnerable groups to make self-determined financial decisions and thus increase their opportunities for financial participation. The starting point of the project is a language-sensitive approach, i.e. the financial language skills and abilities of the target group are taken as the starting point. This approach was chosen because, firstly, financial language knowledge and skills relevant to everyday life are central to understanding financial information aimed at consumers and thus to making informed financial decisions. Secondly, based on (foreign) language and didactic findings, it can be assumed that promoting these skills has a positive effect on the development of financial knowledge.  

The subject of the project is firstly to determine the specific financial language requirements placed on consumers (in information materials). The extent of financial language knowledge and skills of individuals will be measured using an empirically validated instrument (C-tests) developed in the project. This (preliminary) work will be incorporated into the development of a conceptual basis for language-sensitive financial education. This will serve as a basis for educational institutions to (further) develop their programmes in order to enable the parallel promotion of financial language knowledge and skills and the financial knowledge of vulnerable groups.

Central project components: 

• Study to identify technical language requirements in financial information materials aimed at consumers  
• Development and empirical validation of a C-test to measure financial language knowledge and skills  
• Main study on financial language knowledge and skills of vulnerable groups (especially disadvantaged youth/young adults)  
• Development of a concept for language-sensitive financial education (for vulnerable groups)