Early Language Education in Luxembourg

This chapter examines recent language education laws in Luxembourg as well as the ways in which early years practitioners appropriated the new policies and put them into practice. The chapter begins with a brief introduction of the linguistic landscape in Luxembourg and a summary of the dynamic development of the country’s early childhood education system. Special emphasis is put on recent changes in language education policies, which call for a more inclusive and multilingual early language education. Monolingual practices now need to open up to flexible language use and offer children opportunities to capitalize on their entire semiotic repertoire for communicating, meaning-making, and learning. The central concerns of this chapter are the ways in which policy changes influence educational practices in formal and non-formal settings and how professional development shapes this process. In order to address these questions, the authors review literature on language education policy, translanguaging and professional development and examine studies on early language education in Luxembourg. Next, they discuss recent initiatives of professional development in formal and non-formal early years settings as well as their outcomes. Finally, they present critical issues such as the practitioners’ reflexivity and responsibility and the sustainability of professional development. Future research directions include family language policies, partnerships between families and early childhood institutions and children’s languaging practices inside and across these institutions.