Monolingual and Translingual Dialogic Reading Practices in Early Childhood Education

The positive effects of dialogic reading on children’s language and early literacy
skills are well-known. While many researchers have designed intervention
studies at home or at school, predominantly in English-speaking or in monolingual
settings, there is a dearth of naturalistic studies and those that provide
insights into the process of dialogic reading in multilingual contexts. The present
qualitative paper investigates the case of Luxembourg where a multilingual
program has been implemented over the last years that requires educators to
familiarize children with Luxembourgish and French and value their home languages,
for example when engaging in literacy activities. The paper draws on
interviews and video recordings over a period of ten months and examines the
ways in which educators in two private day care centers read dialogically with
children aged two to four. The findings show that the dialogic reading practices
differed in length and frequency, with the educators in one center initiating
more talk in more languages, giving more feedback, and modelling language
more than those in the second center. Furthermore, the educators in one center
frequently translanguaged to facilitate communication and comprehension.
The practices were influenced by the educators’ beliefs and understanding of
the purpose of reading. These results highlight the need for professional development
on the purposes of literacy and the effective use of language and strategies
to engage children in dialogic reading.