iTEO, a learning and teaching tool that valorises and promotes language diverity

Luxembourg’s multilingualism and multiculturalism are reflected both in its trilingual education system and its diverse school population. However, despite the official policy of trilingualism, language learning programmes tend to be underpinned by a monoglossic view that sees languages as autonomous skills that need to be developed separately. Statistics have repeatedly shown that ethnic minority children, 48% of the school population, underachieve. In response, the ministry of Education has developed approaches to further the development of multiple languages. However, these are neither sufficiently specific nor systematic.

Our project addresses the need for the development of appropriate didactics and of innovative strategies to cope with the diversity and heterogeneity in Luxembourg’s schools. We believe in working with rather than against the diversity of the school population and base our understanding of language learning on sociocultural theories. We investigate how young children of ethnic minority background learn Luxembourgish, German and French through collaborative storytelling on the iPAD App iTEO and how teachers support their learning with this new technology. The App iTEO is a learning-and-teaching tool that records and edits language. It structures the learning process, mediates language learning and promotes metalinguistic awareness. Findings of the pilot study have shown that the tool facilitates children’s collaborative, exploratory and open-ended language learning and allows children to draw on their diverse language repertoires and to deploy a range of strategies.