Expert Seminar on Early Language Learning, 9th€¦ · Early Language Learning is part of the Poliglotti4.eu project, co-funded by the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme

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Expert Seminar on Early Language Learning, 9th–10th February 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................................................... 3

WORD OF WELCOME ........................................................................................................................................................ 4

HOTEL ................................................................................................................................................................................ 5

EVENT VENUE .................................................................................................................................................................... 5

ARRIVAL / DEPARTURE ...................................................................................................................................................... 6

EVENING ARRANGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................................... 7

SEMINAR PROGRAMME .................................................................................................................................................... 8

SIGHTSEEING IN LEEUWARDEN ...................................................................................................................................... 11

PROGRAMME ENQUIRES ................................................................................................................................................ 12

PRESENTERS EXPERT SEMINAR ....................................................................................................................................... 13

Anna Verkade, Netherlands ........................................................................................................................................ 13

Bessie Dendrinos, Greece ........................................................................................................................................... 14

Cornelia Nath, Germany ............................................................................................................................................. 15

Drs. Mirjam Blumenthal, Netherlands ........................................................................................................................ 16

Dr. Sabine Pirchio ........................................................................................................................................................ 17

Dr. Maaike Verrips, the Netherlands .......................................................................................................................... 18

Prof. Dr. Hristo Kyuchukov, Germany ......................................................................................................................... 19

Joanna McPake, Scotland ........................................................................................................................................... 20

Eowyn Crisfield, Netherlands ...................................................................................................................................... 22

Dr. Evdokia Karavas, Greece ....................................................................................................................................... 23

Eibhlín Mhic Aoidh, Ireland ......................................................................................................................................... 24

Prof. Jarmo Lainio, Sweden ......................................................................................................................................... 25

Prof. Benthe Kolberg Jansson & Prof. Hilde Traavik, Norway ..................................................................................... 27

Drs. Idske Bangma, the Netherlands........................................................................................................................... 28

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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ABSTRACT

International Expert Seminar in Fryslân, 9-10 February, 2012

Dear Participant,

A warm welcome to the Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism

and Language Learning/Fryske Akademy and the charming city of Leeuwarden/

Ljouwert, the capital of the bilingual province of Fryslân. This Expert Seminar on

Early Language Learning is part of the Poliglotti4.eu project, co-funded by the

European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme.

The Seminar will focus on the Early Language Learning situation in Europe, on

research outcomes and products so far, on policy recommendations and on the

future challenges of Early Language Learning. We believe the programme contains

an interesting mix of presentations and roundtable discussions, which should give

every participant the opportunity to get up to date with the latest developments in

this field of Early Language Learning.

We wish you a stimulating, productive and enjoyable time in Fryslân!

Warmest regards on behalf of the organising team,

Cor van der Meer

WORD OF WELCOME

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Stenden university hotel

Rengerslaan 8

8917 DD Leeuwarden

The Netherlands

T: +31 (0)58-2441188

E: [email protected]

Fryske Akademy / It Aljemint

Doelestraat 8

8911 DX Leeuwarden

T : +31 (0)58 2131414

E : [email protected]

W : www.mercator-research.eu

The conference will take place in

„It Aljemint‟, a former church,

converted into a congress and study

centre. The centre is situated in a beautiful circular courtyard behind the Frisian

Academy. From the Doelenstraat you can reach this location through a gate. It is

a 15 minute walk from the Stenden university hotel (see map page 7).

Symposium participants can make free use of computers with internet

connection in „It Aljemint‟.

HOTEL

EVENT VENUE

http://www.stendenhotel.nl/files/media_files/large/6d7bfe1163b58084f9738f3b0b3974f4.jpg






mailto:[email protected]


http://www.mercator-research.eu/




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No arrangements have been made for pick up and drop off at airports or railway stations. There are several possibilities to get around:

Train from Schiphol to Leeuwarden: There is a train connection between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Leeuwarden twice per hour. The trains leave at xx.19 and xx.49. The trip takes roughly 2½ hours and requires usually one change (Amersfoort or Zwolle). Make sure you are in the right half of the train, as the train will be split in Zwolle, one part (the front) will head for Groningen and the other part (the rear) for Leeuwarden. (In doubt ask the conductor or your fellow-travelers). For your trip back, there are again two trains per hour at xx.05 and xx.45 from Leeuwarden to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Taxi from train station to hotel: While exiting the railway station you will probably see taxies waiting in front of the station. The taxi driver can bring you to the Stenden university hotel in approximately 10 minutes.

Leeuwarder Taxi Centrale Tel: 058-2122222

Taxi centrale Wolters Tel: 058-2161716

Walk from train station to hotel: From the railway station (A) to the Stenden university hotel (B) is a 25 minute walk.

ARRIVAL / DEPARTURE

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If you arrive on 8 February you will have the possibility to enjoy a Welcome Reception between 6 pm and 8 pm in in our seminar venue “it Aljemint” in the garden of the Fryske Akademy, home of the Mercator Research Centre. On 9 February participants can join a group dinner at 6.30 pm at the following restaurant: Restaurant De Koperen Tuin

Prinsentuin 1

8911 DE Leeuwarden

T: +31 (0)58 2131100

F: +31 (0)58 2131034

The restaurant is only a 7 minute walk away from the hotel and a 3 minute walk away from the event venue (see map). From the Stenden university hotel (A) to the Fryske Akademy (B) to the Restaurant De Koperen Tuin (C). The cost of the dinner will be covered by the Poliglotti4.eu project.

EVENING ARRANGEMENTS

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Wednesday, 8 February

Time Activity

18.00 – 20.00 Welcoming reception; registration, coffee & tea, snack

Thursday, 9 February

Time Activity Topic

Morning programme 08.30 – 12.30

08.30 – 09.00 Registration, coffee & tea

09.00 – 9.20 Welcome/Opening by Reinier Salverda, Director Fryske Akademy. Uwe Mohr, Chairman of the European Platform of the Civil Society to Promote Multilingualism and Poliglotti4.eu Project Director. Cor van der Meer, Mercator European Network of Language Diversity Centres

09.20- 09.30 Speaker 1: Anna Verkade, Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning/Fryske Akademy. ‟Preliminarily results of the Poliglotti4.eu research on Early Language Learning.‟

09.30 – 10.00 Speaker 2: Bessie Dendrinos, Director of the Research Centre for English Language Teaching, Testing and Assessment at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. „Making the shift from monolingual to multilingual ELL teaching & testing‟

ELL Policy

10.00 – 10.30 Speaker 3: Cornelia Nath, Ostfriesische Landschaft – Low German Office. „Lobbying for Early Language Learning and multilingual awareness in East Frisia‟

ELL Policy

10.30 Coffee & tea

11.00 – 11.30 Speaker 4: Mirjam Blumenthal, Koninklijke Kentalis. „Bilingualism in children with a disability: a hidden reality‟

Parents & ELL

11.30 – 12.00 Speaker 5: Sabine Pirchio, University of Rome "Sapienza". „How to become bilingual from birth in a monolingual family‟

Parents & ELL

12.00 – 12.30 Speaker 6: Maaike Verrips, De Taalstudio. “What do multilingual families need?”

Parents & ELL

12.30 Lunch

SEMINAR PROGRAMME

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Friday, 10 February

Time Activity Topic

Morning programme 08.30 – 12.30

08.30 – 09.00 Registration, coffee & tea

09.00 – 09.30 Speaker 1: Eowyn Crisfield, Crisfield Educational Consulting. Teacher-education for bilingualism

Teacher competences and Training

09.30 – 10.00 Speaker 2: Evdokia Karavas, Department of Language and Linguistics, Faculty of English Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. „Introducing English in the first grades of Greek primary schools: The teachers‟ response and their emerging training needs‟


10.00 Coffee & tea

10.30 – 11.00 Speaker 3: Eibhlín Mhic Aoidh, St Mary‟s University College in Belfast. „Irish-medium Early Years Education in the north of Ireland‟

Best practices & teaching materials for ELL

11.00 – 11.30 Speaker 4: Jarmo Lainio, Stockholm University and Mälardalen University, Sweden „Pre-schools and early language learning in the context of the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages, and some examples of recent development from Nordic countries‟


11.30 – 12.00 Speaker 5: Benthe Kolberg Jansson & Hilde Traavik, Østfold University College/Bergen University College. „Early Start with writing both


Afternoon programme 13.30 – 17.00

13.30 – 15.30 Roundtable discussion 1: Early Language Learning Policy Facilitator: Seán Ó Riain, European Esperanto Union (EEU).

ELL Policy

13.30 – 15.30 Roundtable discussion 2: Parents and Early Language Learning Facilitator: Beate Widlok, Goethe-Institut München.

Parents & ELL

15.30 Coffee & Tea

16.00 – 16.30 Speaker 7: Hristo Kyuchukov, Free University of Berlin. „Acquisition of Romani in bilingual context‟

16.30 – 17.00 Speaker 8: Joanna McPake, University of Strathclyde. ‘Learning to learn

(in) Gaelic: The challenge to deliver high quality pre-school provision as

part of a language revitalisation programme.‟

18.30 Conference dinner at the restaurant „The Koperen Tuin‟

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forms of Written Norwegian‟

12.00 - 12.30 Speaker 6: Idske Bangma, Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning/Fryske Akademy. „Multilingual Early Language Transmission‟


12.30 Lunch

Afternoon programme 13.30 – 15.30

13.30 – 15.00 Roundtable discussion 3: Teacher competences and Training Facilitator: Evdokia Karavas, Department of Language and Linguistics, Faculty of English Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.


13.30 – 15.00 Roundtable discussion 4: Best practices &

teaching materials for Early Language Learning

Facilitator: Julia Barnes, University of Mondragon,

HUHEZI.


15.00 - 15.30 Conclusions and closing words

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The Fryske Akademy stands in the centre of Leeuwarden. In the heart of the

centre you can find several shops, bars and nice restaurants. You can also visit

one of the museums, such as the Ceramics Museum Princessehof (opposite

the Fryske Akademy), the Fries Museum or the Natuur Museum.

The Oldehove

A one minute walk away from the event venue

you can visit the Oldehove (Aldehou); a tower

of a church building which was never finished.

Shopping

On Thursday evening you can shop in the

heart of the city of Leeuwarden. Stores will be

open until 9.00 pm.

Prinsentuin

The Prinsentuin is a park situated next to the

event venue. In 1648 the park was built in

order of Prince Frederick William of Nassau.

The restaurant where the group dinner will take

place – De Koperen Tuin – is also located in

this park.

De Waag in the city centre (old

weighing house)

SIGHTSEEING IN LEEUWARDEN

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If you have any questions about these arrangements please contact: Cor van der Meer Poliglotti4.eu project Project Coordinator Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning c/o Fryske Akademy Doelestrjitte 8 P.O.Box 54 NL-8900 AB Ljouwert/Leeuwarden The Netherlands

T: +31 (0)58 2343063 F: +31 (0)58 2131409 E: cvdmeer(a)fryske-akademy.nl W www.mercator-research.eu

Anna Verkade Poliglotti4.eu project Research assistant Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning c/o Fryske Akademy Doelestrjitte 8 P.O.Box 54 NL-8900 AB Ljouwert/Leeuwarden The Netherlands

T +31 (0)58 2336929 F +31 (0)58 213 1409 E [email protected] W www.mercator-research.eu

PROGRAMME ENQUIRES




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09.20- 09.30

Anna Verkade, Netherlands

Affiliation Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning/Fryske Akademy. The department of Teacher Education of the University of Groningen. Biography Mrs Anna Verkade studied educational sciences at the University of Groningen. The title of her master thesis (2010) was: “Diversity and Tolerance in the Dutch classroom. Research on teacher tolerance towards ethnic and cultural diversity”. She is a researcher at the Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning/Fryske Akademy in Leeuwarden and the department of Teacher Education of the University of Groningen. She was partly responsible for carrying out the Poliglotti4.eu research on Early Language Learning. Presentation: „Preliminarily results of the Poliglotti4.eu research on Early Language Learning‟ As part of the Poliglotti4.eu research, questionnaires were distributed throughout Europe during the summer of 2011 among grassroots actors active in the field of Early Language Learning (ELL). The goal was to get a general impression of the ELL situation in Europe in terms of examples of current practice in several European countries, key motivators and obstacles for ELL, target languages, examples of best practice and more. The countries in which the fact-finding was conducted represent a mix of linguistic and cultural situations. The outcome can be of value to policymakers, civil society organisations, teachers dealing with ELL and all who are interested in the state of ELL in Europe. During this presentation the main outcomes will be revealed as an introduction and first step towards themes which will be discussed during the Expert Seminar.

PRESENTERS EXPERT SEMINAR

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09.30 – 10.00

Bessie Dendrinos, Greece

Affiliation Director of the Research Centre for English Language Teaching, Testing and Assessment Faculty of English Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Biography Bessie Dendrinos is Professor at the Department of Language & Linguistics, Faculty of English Studies, University of Athens. With a background in critical educational linguistics, she has been investigating ideologies and the discursive practices of language teaching and educational language planning in Europe. She is particularly concerned with language politics in the E.U. and interested in the multilingual shift in foreign language pedagogy, curriculum and materials development, as well as language testing and assessment. Her published work in applied linguistics, focusing on critical discourse analysis of language policy documents and foreign language teaching materials, appears in English, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese. Since 2002, she has devoted much of her time to developing a national foreign language proficiency suite in Greece and, since 2009, she has been responsible for the new foreign language educational policies in Greece, for developing a new curriculum for languages which is now being piloted in schools throughout Greece and for including in primary school a foreign language programme for young children. Presentation: „Making the shift from monolingual to multilingual early language learning teaching & testing‟ Research in the field of language teaching, learning and assessment had for years been based on a flawed question: Which is the right age to start learning a „foreign‟ language? To answer such a question means to carry out longitudinal studies that account for the multitude of factors that the learning of a language is related to. The attention of those interested in Early Language Learning (ELL) has shifted in recent years from when to how: How do we teach young learners in schools? How do young learners learn languages best –foreign languages in particular? These two questions are not identical but they are tightly linked to the socioeconomic, political, ideological and pedagogic issues that decisions about language teaching and learning are implicated in. In order to respond, with a view to designing relevant policies, curricula and curriculum artefacts, we must first be able to agree on the type of social and pedagogic identities we wish to cultivate in European schools. This presentation will view ELL as the basis for the pedagogisation of a „new‟ learner who has to manage communication in multilingual contexts, multicultural multimodal discourse environments, and must therefore develop new learner identities and new multiliteracies.

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10.00 – 10.30

Cornelia Nath, Germany

Affiliation Ostfriesische Landschaft – Low German Office. Biography Studies of political sciences and Romance studies at the Universities of Göttingen and Heidelberg 1987 M. A. in political sciences at the university of Heidelberg Since 1988 scientific assistant at the Ostfriesische Landschaft (corporation under public law for regional culture in East Frisia, based on the former estates) Since 1992 head of the Low German section of the Ostfriesische Landschaft 1999 - 2002 manager of a EU-project on multilingualism in pre- and elementary school 1999 - 2006 member of EBLUL Germany 2002 - 2008 member of the Federal Council of Low German 1999 - 2011 head of the expert group for Low German at the Heimat-Union of Lower Saxony

Presentation: „Lobbying for Early Language Learning and multilingual awareness in East Frisia‟ Summary of the experiences with bilingual nursery schools and trilingual elementary schools in East Frisia. The report focusses on the development of regional structures and quality standards as well as on lobbying for multilingual awareness and policies, with a special look on parents.

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11.00 – 11.30

Drs. Mirjam Blumenthal, Netherlands

Affiliation Researcher at Koninklijke Kentalis Biography Mirjam Blumenthal started to work as a speech-language pathologist in 1980, and worked in that capacity in a hospital in The Hague, the Netherlands, until 1995. After that she worked in an audio logical centre in the same city, serving the multilingual and multicultural population in speech-language diagnostics. After finishing a study in psychology, in 1996 she started to work in research and development on the theme of cultural and linguistic diversity in children with auditory/communicative disabilities. At the moment she works as senior researcher in that subject for Royal Kentalis (dept. PonTeM), a national organisation for education and care for children and young adults with a auditory/communicative disability. In 2009 she published a book in Dutch that describes a methodology, about the theme (title translated in English): Bilingual development in children who are auditory/communicatively disabled: how do we advise parents best? The methodology was developed to support the experts in advising these parents. In 2011, together with Margreet Verboom, she made a film about the same theme, showing situations in families, and good practices professionals can use.

Presentation: „Bilingualism in children with a disability: a hidden reality‟ Although in the Netherlands a growing percentage of children is raised bilingually, the subject is still more or less controversial. If a child is born with an auditory / communicative disability, chances are still high that somewhere along the line parents receive advice to stop the bilingual input their child is receiving. This means in most cases, that they are advised to drop the home language, if this is not Dutch. Professionals cán be convinced that a bilingual upbringing is feasible, and often necessary for communicative success at home, even for children with disabilities. A multimedia approach is needed: the use of workshops, lectures, and written material has to be supplemented with film images of bilingual situations in families.

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11.30 – 12.00

Dr. Sabine Pirchio

Affiliation: University of Rome "Sapienza"

Biography: Sabine Pirchio, PhD, is stable researcher at the University of Rome "Sapienza". She wrote several articles on the topic of bilingual growth, language acquisition processes and intra family communication strategies. She coordinates a Multilateral European Project having as topic the promotion of family bilingualism: "Let's become a Bilingual Family".

Presentation: ´How to become bilingual from birth in a monolingual family´. Knowing more than one language is important for the future of citizens in Europe and the world. Being bilingual should not be regarded as a special condition: it is very common in many parts of the world and it is well known that children learn to speak without any effort. The human brain is able to cope very well with more than one language and early childhood is the best period for becoming bilingual, because the brain is highly flexible and children are very interested in learning language. Children can learn two or more languages if they have enough input and they have enough motivation and enjoyment. Speaking two languages is important not only because it provides the child with the possibility of understanding two cultures, but also because it brings several cognitive advantages. The disadvantages of bilingualism, when they occur, are purely temporary and are just a small price to pay for the advantages that it offers. When in a family two different languages are spoken or when the family‟s members speak a different language compared to the language spoken in the rest of the society, the children have the opportunities of growing bilingual, but this require some effort and systematic strategies by the parents. On the contrary, for most parents the task of educating their children in two languages does not come with the provision of a concrete theoretical basis or experimental evidence. This is precisely the objective of Bilfam project: for the first time, parents will be given a valid tool, the Narrative Format model, to bring up their children knowing and practising two languages at home and with friends. The Narrative Format is a psycholinguistic language teaching model successfully tested in Italian and European Pre-Schools and Primaries and is currently being employed by more than 4000 teachers throughout Europe. The Narrative Format model emerges from the detailed study of the natural process of early acquisition of two languages and its comparison with the process of monolingual language acquisition. It also involves a series of educational strategies, activities and materials that aim to create the appropriate conditions conducive to language learning. Facilitating the process of learning two languages is a central aim of the Narrative Format as well as establishing good and positive communication in the relationships with others. In this sense, the Narrative Format is not only a tool for learning language, but also a tool to facilitate a good communicative and affective rapport between the participants. This teaching model has been applied successfully in schools and is now being adapted to and tested in the family context. In this presentation we will present the activities proposed, the theoretical bases and first results of the experimentation.

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12.00 – 12.30

Dr. Maaike Verrips, the Netherlands

Affiliation: De Taalstudio Biography Maaike Verrips is a linguist and the founder of De Taalstudio in Amsterdam. She has worked for years as a researcher and a consultant on monolingual as well as multilingual child language development. Since her PhD thesis about syntactic development in children, she published various popular books about these topics, contributed to a TV documentary and set up various forms of information services. De Taalstudio supports parents and professionals in the field of multilingual upbringing in various ways, for instance with the parenting programme 'Talen in Balans' (Languages in Balance).

Presentation: “What do multilingual families need?” In public discourse the important role of parents for their children‟s cognitive and linguistic development of their children is often repeated. Very little is known about the expectations and needs of parents whose children speak another language at home, and whose children depend on the school to teach them Dutch more than other children. In my presentation I will show the first results of some studies into parents' expectations and their multilingual practices at home. In addition, I present our experiences with the multilingual parenting programme Talen in Balans (Languages in balance) that De Taalstudio developed on the basis of these studies.

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16.00 – 16.30

Prof. Dr. Hristo Kyuchukov, Germany

Affiliation Free University of Berlin Biography Prof. Dr. Hristo Kyuchukov is a Linguist (Psycholinguist) with Roma ethnic background and is originally from Bulgaria. At the moment he teaches at Free University of Berlin, Germany. He has a PhD. in Linguistics from the University of Amsterdam and two PhD‟s in Education from Bulgaria. His interests lay in the field of acquisition/learning of Romani and Turkish in bilingual context and learning Bulgarian as a second language by Roma and Turkish minority children. He has published a number of books and articles on these issues.

Presentation: „Acquisition of Romani in bilingual context‟ The presentation is focused on the process of acquisition of Romani grammatical categories in bilingual context. Observations and research with young Romani speakers from Bulgaria and Slovakia will be presented. All the findings will be connected with Romani language teaching at school environment in both countries.

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16.30 – 17.00

Joanna McPake, Scotland

Affiliation: University of Strathclyde, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Strathclyde. Biography: My research focuses on language learning and teaching, with a particular focus on community languages, i.e. all languages in use in a given society other than the national, official or dominant language(s). I have conducted a number of studies in Scotland, the UK and Europe-wide, mapping provision and identifying challenges and opportunities for learners, teachers and the communities associated with the languages in question. Most recently, I have been engaged in two studies concerned with provision for Gaelic-medium (GM) education in the pre-school sector in Scotland, investigating the range of provision available across Scotland, and the experiences of children, aged 3 to 5, enrolled in GM nurseries. A key question which this research sets out to answer is how such provision can simultaneously support and develop the language competence of children for whom Gaelic is the first or main language as well as those (now the majority) for whom it is a second language which they are in the very early stages of acquiring, while meeting the more general goals of the Scottish pre-school curriculum which posits young children as active learners constructing their own learning trajectories.

Presentation: Learning to learn (in) Gaelic: The challenge to deliver high quality pre-school provision as part of a language revitalisation programme. Educational provision via the medium of a minority language is one of the key ways in which language revitalisation programmes seek to reverse the fortunes of endangered languages, by supporting children who already speak the language fluently and encouraging others with little or no previous exposure to learn it. This paper, based on two recent studies of provision for Gaelic-medium (GM) pre-school provision in Scotland, explores some of the challenges inherent in seeking to address both specific linguistic and broader (national) educational goals. Expanding provision for early years education in Gaelic contributes to ambitious plans to revitalise the language in Scotland where the number of speakers has been in sharp decline for over 100 years: in 2004-5 fewer than 1% of Scottish families with young children reported using Gaelic at home. The National Gaelic Education Strategy aims to increase the number of children enrolled in GM provision, starting with the pre-school years, critically important in introducing children to the language and preparing them for GM primary education. This paper presents findings from two studies of current GM pre-school provision. The first (2008-9), based on survey and interview data, and case studies of three pre-school settings, was commissioned by the Scottish Government and Bòrd na Gàidhlig, to investigate supply and demand for GM pre-school provision, gaps and weaknesses, and opportunities for development and improvement.1 The second (2010-11), drawing on playroom observations and discussions with children and pre-school practitioners over the course of a year, focuses on children‟s experiences: how they encounter and use Gaelic, how they interact with adults and other children, and how they access the curriculum. This latter study was funded by the British Academy.2 Both of

1 Review of Gaelic medium early education and childcare. Edinburgh: Scottish Government http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/06/22090128/0 2 Young children learning in Gaelic

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/06/22090128/0

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/06/22090128/0

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these studies were conducted in collaboration with Dr Christine Stephen, at the University of Stirling and Dr Wilson McLeod, Univeristy of Edinburgh. Key findings include tensions between the specific linguistic goals for GM pre-school provision and national curriculum goals for all pre-school provision in Scotland; the need for enhanced initial education and professional development for practitioners working in this sector; and the emerging cultural and linguistic identities both of children who are already fluent in Gaelic and those in the process of becoming Gaelic speakers as they embark on their educational careers.

http://www.ioe.stir.ac.uk/research/projects/youngchildrenlearningingaelic.php

http://www.ioe.stir.ac.uk/research/projects/youngchildrenlearningingaelic.php

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09.00 – 09.30

Eowyn Crisfield, Netherlands

Affiliation Crisfield Educational Consulting Biography Eowyn Crisfield is a Canadian-educated expert in teaching English as a second/foreign language, teacher-training and bilingualism, with a BA in TESL/TEFL and an MA in Applied Linguistics from Concordia University. Over the last 19 years she has lived and worked in France, the US, Canada and the Netherlands. Since 2003, she has specialised in the area of parent and teacher education for bilingualism. Eowyn works closely with teachers and schools, ensuring that the teachers have the best knowledge and training to integrate non-native speakers into their classrooms and school community. This includes knowledge seminars on the theory of bilingualism, as well as hands-on workshops on EAL in the classroom, from innovative teaching to evaluation. She also works with schools to develop School Language Policies that define the needs and rights of all the students, and follows up with parent education seminars. Presentation: ´Teacher-education for bilingualism´ Over the past years, the population of Europe has become more mobile. One of the consequences of this is that early years teachers in primary schools across Europe are welcoming more non-native speakers in their classrooms. The lack of training for bilingualism and language acquisition issues does a disservice to the students and to the teachers who are doing their best with few resources. This talk will discuss the need for all EU teachers, especially early years teachers, to have training on language acquisition and bilingualism in initial teacher training and for in-service teachers to have access to professional development on theory of bilingualism and accommodating for language learners in the classroom. This session draws on the experience of teachers in two schools with high numbers of non-native speakers.

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09.30 – 10.00

Dr. Evdokia Karavas, Greece

Affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Language and Linguistics, Faculty of English Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Biography Evdokia Karavas holds a doctorate from the University of Warwick where she specialized in the evaluation of ELT curricula, educational research methods and English language teacher education. She is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of English Studies of the University of Athens, co-coordinator of the Pre-service EFL teacher training education programme and coordinator of the EFL Mentor Training Programme. She is also coordinator of two modules of MA programme in TESOL of the Hellenic Open University. From 1997 to 1999 she co-organised a series of three funded Euroconferences on the theme of Teaching and Learning Language In European Primary Schools . Within the wider context of the research, evaluation and development work for the Greek state language proficiency exams known as KPG, Dr Karavas has been responsible for the development and design of speaking module of the KPG in English and for the training of oral examiners and markers for the KPG exam. She is currently coordinator of two nationwide teacher training programmes. The first, addressed to primary school EFL teachers, involves the development of specialised face to face and distance training materials for the teaching of English to very young learners. The second is addressed to public school foreign language teachers and aims at training teachers in the implementation of newly introduced curricula. Dr Karavas has taken part in conferences within and outside Greece and her research interests include curriculum/ programme evaluation, teacher education and development, TEYL, EFL didactics, educational research methods,She has publications in these areas in local and international journals.

Presentation: „Introducing English in the first grades of Greek primary schools: The teachers‟ response and their emerging training needs‟ Responding to EU policy for the promotion of multilingualism in Europe and taking into account the benefits of an early start in language learning, in 2010 English as a foreign language was introduced to first and second grade primary school learners in Greece. The project entitled “New foreign language education policies in schools: learning English in early childhood” was launched on a pilot basis in 800 all day primary schools throughout Greece and aims at the development of social literacies in English, the development of an intercultural ethos of communication and the development of a range of cognitive, linguistic and social skills of very young learners. However, experience gained from relevant research projects (ELLiE, Inca) clearly shows that an early start does not in itself guarantee positive outcomes. As the Commission has made clear in the Framework Strategy for Multiligualism (section 11.1.3) the competences and skills of teachers and the nature and intensity of their training constitute decisive factors for success. Acknowledging the pivotal role of teachers in the effective implementation of this programme, one of the major research foci of this project has been the investigation of the needs and characteristics of teachers in an effort to build a profile of Greek primary school EFL teachers, to identify their specialized training needs and to develop a policy for the training and education of primary school EFL teachers. The research, based on a questionnaire completed by more than 800 teachers, revealed significant findings as regards the effect of the teachers‟ age, experience and educational background on their attitudes towards the programme and their concept of self efficacy. The presentation will focus on the results of this ongoing research study and their implications for the development of an efficient nationwide training programme and the design of effective training experiences for Greek primary schools EFL teachers.

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10.30 – 11.00

Eibhlín Mhic Aoidh, Ireland

Affiliation: Senior Lecturer in Irish-medium Education at St Mary‟s University College in Belfast. Biography: Eibhlín Mhic Aoidh has been a Senior Lecturer in Irish-medium Education at St Mary‟s University College Belfast since 2001. Prior to this appointment she taught in a Belfast Irish-medium school as an early years teacher. At St Mary‟s, she contributes to Irish-medium teacher education programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She is Option Leader of a new Masters-level specialism on immersion education issues. She has been a member of a number of working groups which have advised the Department of Education and the Northern Ireland Council for Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) on the adaptation of curriculum developments and resources for the Irish-medium sector. Her research interests include immersion education and early years education and assessment. She is currently completing a doctoral dissertation at the School of Education, Queen‟s University Belfast on early years assessment in Irish-medium schools.

Presentation: „Irish-medium Early Years Education in the north of Ireland‟ Irish-medium education is a form of immersion education where pupils are immersed in and educated through a language which is for the vast majority of pupils not the language of the home. The first Irish-medium school in the north of Ireland was set up by parents in 1971. Since then, the Irish language in the north of Ireland, in contrast with the experience of some other minority languages, has experienced a renaissance and the growth of the Irish-medium sector at nursery, primary and post primary levels has been identified as a contributing factor. My presentation will outline the development of the Irish-medium sector. I will explore successful strategies used by early years educators in promoting Irish language learning as part of the holistic development of young children and I will highlight recent initiatives for the continuing professional development of immersion early years educators in the north of Ireland.

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11.00 – 11.30

Prof. Jarmo Lainio, Sweden

Affiliation: Stockholm University and Mälardalen University, Sweden

Biography: Prof. Jarmo Lainio, is at the present a Full Professor of Finnish at Stockholm University and Guest Professor of Finnish with a special attention paid to the situation of Sweden Finnish, at Mälardalen University. He was born in 1955 in Ulvila/Ulvsby in Finland. His family moved to Sweden in 1959. He took a BA in English, German and Finno-Ugric languages at Uppsala University, where he also wrote his Ph.D. thesis, defended in 1989 (Spoken Finnish in Urban Sweden). He also studied Russian and Political Science of Eastern Europe at Uppsala University, and Japanese at Stockholm University. A scholarship during one semester in 1981 at Helsinki University in Finland substantially improved his capacity in Standard Finnish. In 1990-91 he was a guest researcher at the Department of Linguistics, at University of Ottawa, Canada. During the 1990‟s he was project coordinator, researcher and lecturer at the Department of Finnish and the Centre for Research on Bilingualism, at Stockholm University. He became Docent in 1994 (Tampere University, Finland) in Finnish, especially sociolinguistics. During 2000 - 2003 he held a senior research position at the Swedish Science Council, with a specialization towards Finnish in Sweden. During the 2000‟s he has been engaged in research and international networking, as well as functioning as an expert at the Council of Europe, in the fields of minority language policy and language policy in general. His scientific publications cover Finnish dialectology, the sociology of language, sociolinguistics, educational linguistics and studies on bi-/multilingualism, as well as (minority) language policy, often with a focus on educational issues or language contacts or language learning. Within these areas and some more to be added (for example Swedish as a second language), he has also functioned as a supervisor and opponent, as well as an expert, in a handful of countries.

Presentation: „Pre-schools and early language learning in the context of the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages, and some examples of recent development from Nordic countries‟ The early phases of language learning are for many reasons quite crucial for the long-term results of language learning per se, but also for learning in general, understanding of cultural values and identity development. However, for example in the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe (ECRML), concentration is very much put on the basic or primary school level (which may be quite differently defined in the different countries). This both concerns the weight of the monitoring and the role the different levels are attributed in the chain of pre-compulsory, compulsory/primary, secondary and then tertiary education. (I will have in mind the nine-year compulsory school of for example the Swedish and Finnish educational systems, mainly the ages 9-16 years, when discussing „primary school‟ in general, as a contrast to or as the stage following the pre-school level and that one following it, the secondary level. With pre-school, which in a similar vein is differently defined in different countries, I will refer to the age of 3-5 years in general.) It seems that the sixth year of age in different educational systems is in an intermediate position, either the first year of compulsory schooling, or treated as an in-between year between pre-school and primary school. The reason for concentrating on the primary school level in Article 8 (Part III) of the Charter, is presumably among others, that most of the crucial introduction to the world of schooling, that is, learning to learn in the school context for future and higher level learning, acquiring academic literacy skills and learning substance in different subjects are mainly developed and take place during these years. Also for language as such is this period of great

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importance, not the least since a more directed and planned extension of for example vocabulary for special purposes, and stylistic, written and oral, training take place in particular during these years.

Nevertheless, at least from the point of view of learning both the language of primary socialization and the extension to the secondary one, often accompanied with the acquisition and learning of the language of instruction in school, which may or may not be the first language of the child, the period up to about 6-7 years is of great importance. The basics of language is for example learned during these pre-school years, for example most of the phonological patterns of the language(s) the child grows up with, most of the morphology and most, basic syntactic patterns, as well as a great deal of the pragmatics/interactional side of language use and some stylistic and situationally varying language use patterns, are already in place when the child starts school. The challenges of the educational systems and for families are great at this age, especially for children growing up in a bilingual or multilingual surrounding.

There is great variation in the extent to which the primary and secondary as well as additional or other simultaneously learned languages are established in the child, depending on a multitude of other factors, which to a high extent may be called social. It is also crucial, to what extent which languages are used as the medium of instruction or introduced in other ways, already at pre-school age. In addition, the introduction to reading and writing, also takes place at this age, and it is of importance how and in which language(s) it takes place.

In the presentation an overview of the Charter‟s treatment of the pre-school period, with some examples, will be given. In addition, some examples of attempts to promote and/or revitalize a minority language in Nordic contexts, at pre-school age, will be presented. These mainly concern Sami and Finnish, but also other experiences will be discussed. At least hypothetically, the discussion may lead to the conclusion, that the role of learning a child‟s several languages at early age, through the support of the formal and educational system, has been underestimated and thus also the importance of this period in a child‟s life, at this age and later on as an adult, at least concerning the position of the first, and therefore often the minority language.

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11.30 – 12.00

Prof. Benthe Kolberg Jansson & Prof. Hilde Traavik, Norway

Affiliation: Østfold University College/Bergen University College

Biographies:

Prof. Benthe Kolberg Jansson Benthe Kolberg Jansson is an associate professor of mother tounge didactics at Østfold University College, where she has been working for almost ten years. She also has been working as a teacher in secondary school and in high school. Jansson has been working in the field of the didactics of the two forms of written Norwegian, nynorsk and bokmål, for several years, and

many of her publications and most of her research work is in this field.

Prof. Hilde Traavik Hilde Traavik is an associate professor of Norwegian language and literature at Bergen University College, where she has worked for twelve years. She also has worked as an elementary school teacher for a number of years, and as an advisor of the teaching of reading and writing, for teachers at all the schools (almost 100) in Bergen. Her main interest in the subject of Norwegian language and literature is the teaching of writing and reading. This is what she mostly teaches future teachers, i.e. students that are taking Bachelor or Master degrees in teaching. Traavik has written quite a lot of articles in different publications and books about reading and writing; text books for elementary school pupils and more academic books for teacher students and teachers.

Presentation: „Early Start with writing both forms of Written Norwegian‟ Our main hypothesis in this project is that early start will be a good action to improve the competence in both forms of written Norwegian, especially for the group of pupils who learn nynorsk as their second variant of written Norwegian. Nynorsk is the lesser used form of written Norwegian, and the learning outcome has been reported not to be satisfactory for the majority of the pupils. Traditionally, learning to write «the other form of written Norwegian» starts at grade 8 or 9 (age 14 to 15). In our opinion this is far too late, and recent studies in Norway seem to support that point of view. Our project includes three fourth grade classes (age 9 to 10), two fifth grade classes (age 10 to 11) and two sixth grade classes (age 11 to 12). The project leans on a variety of approaches in the classroom, but there are three pillars: the classroom dialogue about language, the contrastive approach to nynorsk and bokmål and the relation between reading and writing. The results so far are interesting and inspiring for further work in the project. At the seminar we will discuss some of these results.

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12.00 – 12.30

Drs. Idske Bangma, the Netherlands

Affiliation: The MELT (Multilingual Early Language Transmission) Project Biography Mrs Idske Bangma is a researcher at the Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning / Fryske Akademy in Ljouwert/Leeuwarden. She was responsible for carrying out the MELT (Multilingual Early Language Transmission) research on current best practices in pre-school education for children 0-4 years old in a minority language environment in the four European MELT project regions (Wales, Brittany, Finland, and Friesland). She has worked for nine years as a teacher on a trilingual (Dutch, Frisian and English) primary school and she lectured at the Stenden University of Ljouwert/Leeuwarden, where se guided students of the study Bachelor of Education. During her job as a teacher she studied Pedagogics at the University of Groningen. The title of her Master thesis (2009) was: “Language Attitude of students of monolingual, bilingual and trilingual primary schools in Fryslân”. Presentation: “Multilingual Early Language Transmission” Between 2009 and 2011, pre-school practitioners implemented a practical Guide, developed jointly as part of the MELT (, EU‟s Lifelong Learning Programme/Comenius) project for the promotion of multilingual early language transmission and the identification of best practices of immersion. The Guide for practitioners identifies and presents best practices, treating relevant themes and activities in day care centres and pre-school provisions. In addition the project has resulted in a Brochure for parents, exploring the best way to support their child‟s linguistic development in a minority language. The research paper “Multilingual Early Language Transmission (MELT) Summary of relevant literature on early multilingual learning, related to European smaller state and regional & minority language communities (Bangma, I. & Riemersma, A.M.J., 2011)” tried to link theory and practice. This research paper presents theoretical backgrounds and models and practical descriptions of good practices of multilingual early language learning and transmission to children aged 0- 4 years in the four regions. The paper (130 pages) describes the implementing process of the toolkit, the first version of the Guide for pre-school practitioners. The publication is augmented by three contributions on special themes regarding language learning and training of practitioners, written by international experts (Dr. A. de Houwer- Germany, Dr. G. Holm- Finland and Dr. T. Hickey- Ireland).

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Documents

Expert Seminar on Early Language Learning, 9th€¦ · Early Language Learning is part of the Poliglotti4.eu project, co-funded by the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme