Course Module: Early Language
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Structure of the Course
• Participants’ initial reflections and links to
practice
• Topics for theoretical input
• Analysis of case studies (Toddler WP 3
research findings)
• Best practice examples & evaluation criteria
• Colloquium: Assessment tasks
Activity I
observation checklists
Discussion in small groups : The “observation checklist” (see the course module)
was developed and tested in the framework of the TODDLER project. Please read
the checklist carefully and answer the following questions?
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Description of the Tool: What are the main parts of the observation checklist?
What do you think is the main purpose of using such an observation checklist?
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Analysis of the Tool: Did you understand all the items? Would you know what to
do if you had to use it in your practice?
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Reflection and connection to practice: Have you ever used such a tool (or
something similar) for the analysis of input and interaction? Do you think this tool
could be useful to you? Why? Why not?
Activity I
Observation Checklists
Discussion in small groups– personal observations:
• Do you think you use the strategies described in the observation
checklist?
– What are the main characteristics of the input you provide to the children?
– Do you promote language comprehension? If so, how?
– How to do you react to children’s output?
Make some notes of your personal perceptions
Theoretical Input
The course module provides a short theoretical
input on the following topics:
1. Theories of second language acquisition
2. Strategies for supporting language development
in early childhood education
3. Strategies for promoting and supporting
linguistic and cultural diversity
Activity II
Case Studies
The TODDLER project collected research data in early childhood settings in
nine European countries to identify families’ and practitioners’ attitudes
towards different languages and cultures, effective underlying
pedagogical approaches for dealing with diversity (culture and language
specific), as well as examples of best practices that enhance language
learning and multicultural awareness in pre-school settings. Our findings
are summarized in seven case studies that are described in your course
module.
Task:
Split up into small groups and work on a short presentation on one of the
case studies. The next slides will provide you with support for this task.
Activity II
Case Studies
Belgium – Flanders
Belgium – Wallonia
Norway
Spain
Denmark
Germany
Romania
Portugal
England
Activity II
Case Studies
1. Please use the “Reflective Questions” (in
your course module) to guide your analysis
2. Structure of the short presentation:
– Introducing paragraph that shortly explains the context of the case
study.
– Presentation of the five most important research findings (according
to your subjective evaluation)
– One example of the experience EYPs have made with multiculturalism
and multilingualism (summarize the attitudes presented)
– Explanation why the example was chosen
Activity II
Case Studies
Model of case study presentation: Germany
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Setting :
Eleven children between the age of 0 to 3 attend the centre. They stay in there for about 10 hours per day. Most of their
families have an academic background and about 1/3 of them have a multilingual and multicultural background. The
ambient language is German, which is supported by special programmes within the centre, the other L1s do not have any
special support. Diverse cultures are mainly integrated into the everyday work of the setting through traditional
celebrations and through the use of multicultural books written in German.
5-most important Results:
The L1 of the children is rarely supported, focus is on German
The diverse situation of the group is not much represented by the institution’s equipment (books, representation of
nationalities, literature, etc.), the centre focusses on establishing equalization
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EYP’s attitude and handling of ML & MC:
Overall the EYPs treat the topic openly. They consider the situation as an opportunity. They think, it offers opportunities to
support values , like tolerance, etc. The situation has an impact on their daily work, e.g. when planning specific educational
activities. The combination of the EYPs’ lack of awareness for their own diverse situation and the lack of materials that
represent multiculturalism leads to the conclusion that work on the topic is carried out in a non complex and superficial
manner. …
The example of the cultural representation (pictures) shows that certain knowledge about the possibilities to support
multilingualism and multiculturalism is present. This knowledge has not yet been appropriately transferred into the daily
work.
Activity II: Case Studies
Short Presentations and Comparisons (guided by
reflective questions)
Activity III
Critical Reflection
Split up into small groups
• Discuss some criteria for best practice in promoting
multilingualism and multiculturalism in early childhood
settings
• Create a list with 10 criteria (Prepare a poster in order to
present the list)
• The list should be created by taking the following aspects into
account a) theoretical underpinnings b) practical work
experience and c) practicability in a stressful daily routine
Criteria
Present your 10 criteria to the class using a
poster
Class discussion:
Do the criteria overlap?
Are there reasons against one or more of the
criteria?
Are all criteria equally important? Is there anything
that you feel is more important than another?
Criteria
List created by participants (fill in during the
session):
Criteria
List created by participants (fill in during the
session):
Criteria
List created by participants (filled in during the
session):
Activity IV: Analysis of
Best practice examples
• Split up into 7 groups.
• Each group receives a best practice example.
• Evaluate this example by using the criteria created by
the group. Does the example meet all the criteria
discussed previously?
• Present your results to the class
• You can add more criteria to the list, based on your
analysis of the best practice example.
Criteria
Expanded list created by participants (fill in during the
session):
Criteria
Expanded list created by participants (fill in during the
session):
Examples of Criteria I
The institution:
– acknowledges , celebrates and reflects the different
cultures present in the community (e.g. classrooms have
multicultural displays e.g. flags, toys, etc…).
– adopts a multicultural curriculum.
– recruits EYPs and support staff who are multilingual
– develops projects focusing on multilingual (ML) and
multicultural (ML) issues.
– Develops MC and ML related projects that have a long
term perspective.
Examples of Criteria II
The EYPS:
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have a good degree of awareness about their own language, the language of the children and
about language development in general.
are equipped with resources (time/staff/material/in-service training/money) to support the
language development of children from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
use effective scaffolding techniques to support the development of the home language and of
additional languages.
take into account children’s previous cultural experiences in the design and implementation of
different activities.
use objects or artifacts that reflect the cultures of the children.
Work closely with parents (e.g. staff members support parents in choosing appropriate language
learning resources to be used at home).
Create opportunities for children to join in and express themselves even if they don’t have a good
command of the ambient language. (e.g. by using songs and rhymes)
Support language development during all ECEC activities, even if they don’t have a focus on
language (e. g. toilet time and games)
Help children who don’t have a good command of the ambient language to develop effective
compensation strategies that allow them to use the language in spite of their gaps in knowledge.
Examples of Criteria III
The children:
– Received adequate support for acquiring the ambient language.
– Receive adequate support for continuing their native language
development.
– are allowed to use their home languages at the ECEC setting in
interaction with other children or even with EYPs.
– Are exposed to stories, songs, games and other activities that
represent different cultures.
– are encouraged to engage with bi- or multilingual materials (e.g.
bilingual books).
– are encouraged to use objects and educational resources that reflect
the ambient culture as well as other cultures.
Examples of Criteria IV
The parents:
– participate in the design and implementation of minority
language learning activities as ‘language experts’.
– are invited to share cultural knowledge (e.g. stories,
legends, games) with EYPs, which can then be
incorporated into ECEC activities.
– are provided with resources to support their children’s
linguistic development at home (e.g. they use bilingual
resources to support at home )
– Take part in or observe ECEC activities in order to grasp a
better understanding of their child’s language acquisition
in that context.
Student Assessment
There are two possible assignments:
a) You use the observation checklist in a setting with toddlers to
analyze the interaction between the children and the EYP.
Report your results to the whole class in a colloquium.
b) You design your own project fitting to your institution either to
facilitate language acquisition or the integration of different
cultures. Take the theories introduced in this course, the criteria
you established and other practical requirements into account.
Present your project in a colloquium.
Criteria for the evaluation of the Assignment
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Clear presentation of the theory
Inclusion of original ideas/thoughts
Clear presentation of project and findings
Quality of the results of the analyzed observation
Quality of the designed project (based on the criteria
discussed during the course)
• Appropriate links between practical work and theory
• Critical reflection on findings and criteria
• Appropriate response to questions raised during the
presentation
Final Reflection on the
Training
Compare your notes (keywords of your perceptions and
your observations) made during the course and your
views after completing this training module:
• Did your views change? If so, how?
• Which aspects of this course can you use in your practical work?
• What did you already know or do well in your work before attending
the course?
• Which aspect of your work would you like to change or do differently in
the future?
The End (?)
… there is always room for improvement
Thank you very much for your attention throughout the
training, for your valuable contributions, your curiosity,
your participation and hard work!
Good luck with your work and with the efficient
implementation of the new ideas!