Developing language skills in 3-year-olds in multilingual Luxembourg: a case study

Scientific Conference (2017, August 24)

Developing language skills through collaborative storytelling on iTEO

in Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal (2016), 2(June), 10

Mobile-assisted language learning and iPads in particular, offer opportunities for enhanced language learning. Many MALL studies including studying iPads have focused on collaboration but few on language ... [more ▼]

Mobile-assisted language learning and iPads in particular, offer opportunities for enhanced language learning. Many MALL studies including studying iPads have focused on collaboration but few on language learning as such. For collaboration to lead to learning, particular conditions need to be met, among these those relating to the task. A goal-oriented task such as collaborative storytelling, can language learning. Opportunities where children use exploratory talk similarly have been shown to stimulate learning. The present qualitative longitudinal study examines, first, the process of collaboration and learning of primary school children in Luxembourg who collaboratively produce oral texts on the iPad app iTEO, and second, the role and function of the tool within this process. Developed in trilingual Luxembourg to further language learning, iTEO allows users to record and edit oral texts. The automatic playback materialises the language and allows for reflection. The study’s multi-method approach includes observations, video-recordings, interviews and the collection of audio and visual material. Findings show that the children’s talk includes features of exploratory and instructional talk and that iTEO is used in a variety of functions. The findings contribute to our understanding of the ways in which children develop language skills in autonomous, collaborative and computer-assisted activities. [less ▲]

Developing Languages in a Multilingual Context

Scientific Conference (2015)

Developing languages through the iPad App iTEO

Scientific Conference (2015, May 16)

Developing literacy in language-minority children: a pre-literacy intervention study in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2018)

Developing Multilingual Literacies – Views from four countries

Scientific Conference (2021, September)

This paper reports on progress from an EERA-funded Network Grant (Network 31) at a European level across the EERA Network, which compares and contrasts policy contexts and ongoing research around ... [more ▼]

This paper reports on progress from an EERA-funded Network Grant (Network 31) at a European level across the EERA Network, which compares and contrasts policy contexts and ongoing research around multilingualism and literacy across four nations, specifically Germany, England, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Children with ethnic minority background and low socio-economic status are more likely to have poor literacy skills and poorer academic outcomes (Farver et al., 2013). It is therefore essential to develop their preliteracy skills early because they are strong predictors of both their literacy development (e.g. Skibbe et al., 2011) and general educational attainment (Bialystok, 2013; Gogolin, 2014). Being biliterate has also been found to be a good predictor of successful additional language learning (Sanz, 2000). In multilingual contexts, students develop (multi)literacy skills in complex, ever changing contexts and through rich and heterogeneous experiences (Hammer et al., 2014). However, the linguistic resources of students with migrant background and lower socioeconomic status are often neglected throughout their school years, even though the languages in their repertoires provide valuable and mutually enriching resources. For example, bilinguals may strategically apply the acquired literacy skills in one language to write in another (Cenoz & Gorter, 2011). The omission to draw on the entire repertoire of multilinguals leads to inequality, which results in lower literacy outcomes and in discrepancies in competences in the various languages of bilinguals (Dworin, 2003). The quality of the home environment and institutions (e.g. early childhood and care) influences children’s language and literacy outcomes and predicts school success (NICHHD, 1998). Books remain the most favoured resource of multilingual families to engage children in literacy activities both in societal and the heritage languages, especially in the early years and early stages of education (Little, 2019). Studies in the field of home literacies have shown that parents, grandparents and children who engaged in book reading and in related activities such as telling and retelling stories, drew on their cultural funds of knowledge, made connections between the knowledge and skills gained in different learning contexts (e.g. home, school, community school), and blended the diverse literacy practices (Gregory, 2001). Engaging children in multilingual literacies does not only further their development of cognitive skills related to language and literacy but it also contributes to identity development. Projects where teachers and parents engage together with children in multilingual literacy activities, including multimodal digital ones, have shown that children are more motivated, engage deeper in their own learning and develop cognitive, language, and social skills, that teachers can work in more culturally and linguistically and inclusive way, and that parents feel more included in the school (Kirsch, 2018). [less ▲]

Developing multilingual pedagogies in early childhood. Ergebnisse des Projekts MuLiPEC: Perspektiven der Fachkräfte und pädagogische Praxis

Presentation (2019, January 15)

Developing multilingual pedagogies in the early years in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2018, June 02)

Dynamic theories of bilingualism acknowledge that language learning is fluid and flexible and that learners activate the entire linguistic repertoire when languaging. Pedagogies that foster ... [more ▼]

Dynamic theories of bilingualism acknowledge that language learning is fluid and flexible and that learners activate the entire linguistic repertoire when languaging. Pedagogies that foster multilingualism are promising in our globalised, heterogeneous and fast developing world, as they call for transglossic spaces and are inclusive (García 2017, Cenoz 2017). The call for the development of multilingual education has been taken up by the Ministry of Education responsible for the formal and non-formal early years education in Luxembourg. Professional standards for practitioners in early years are very high (Wiff 2011) and, therefore, it may be a paradox that poor linguistic knowledge and inadequate pedagogical skills have been reported (Gogolin et al. 2011, Thoma & Tracy 2012). Research findings on professional development indicate that the most effective training is long-term and collaborative, involves more than one person of the same institution, encourages active involvement and reflection, and offers opportunities for transfer (Gogolin et al. 2011, WIFF 2011). The model of professional learning communities where participants collaboratively research their own practice through action-research seems particularly promising (Kincheloe 2012). The professional development that Kirsch, Andersen, Mortini and Günnewig carried out within the research project MuLiPEC takes account of these research findings. The research team offered a 15-hour course to a group of 50 teachers and care-takers, as well as mentoring and coaching sessions to seven participants over the course of one academic year. Topics included language development, multilingualism and activities to promote emergent literacy. A survey of all participants and two interviews with the seven long-term participants demonstrated that the training contributed to changing beliefs and practices. [less ▲]

Developing multilingualism in nursery schools in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2015, May 29)

Developing multiliteracies in early years education in Luxembourg

Poster (2021, August 17)