I am a TA at a German university in a first-year engineering course and I have a few students whose native language is not German. The class is entirely in German and relies on technical vocabulary more than e.g. math or physics.

So obviously these students will have a harder time in the class [citation needed], but my question is not about their skill level per se, but about their ability to judge how well they are doing in that class compared to other students, and also compared to what we expect of them.

Do you know of any research on this topic? Personal experience? Opinions? Am I overthinking this?

If my hunch is confirmed I think my professor, my colleagues and I should look into how to account for this and how to help these students where necessary.