Course Module: Early Language

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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?

• 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?

• 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?

• 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 IObservation 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 acquisition2. Strategies for supporting language development

in early childhood education 3. Strategies for promoting and supporting

linguistic and cultural diversity

Activity IICase 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 IICase Studies

Belgium – FlandersBelgium – Wallonia

Norway

Spain

Denmark

Germany

Romania

Portugal

England

Activity IICase 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 IICase Studies

Model of case study presentation: Germany• 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• ...• ...• ...• 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 IIICritical 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 posterClass 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?

CriteriaList created by participants (fill in during the

session):

CriteriaList created by participants (fill in during the

session):

CriteriaList 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.

CriteriaExpanded list created by participants (fill in during the

session):

CriteriaExpanded list created by participants (fill in during the

session):

Examples of Criteria IThe 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 IIThe EYPS:

– 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 IIIThe 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

• 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 theTraining

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!