Multilingual Early Language Transmission

MELT Project Project number: 504186-LLP-1-2009-1-NL-COMENIUS-CMP /2009-3894

Idske Bangma MSc

Klagenfurt, 25-27 September, 2011

Presentation overview:

• Explanation of the MELT project• Project partners• Goals• Target groups• Products:

• Research paper • Brochure for parents• Guide for pre-school practitioners• Local awareness raising events • Closing conference

• Future challenges

• Project is funded by the EU’s Lifelong Learning Programme (Comenius).

• Project is a result of the cooperation between NPLD partners.

• November 2009 – November 2011• Closing conference (Brussels, 6 October, 2011)

MELT project:

Multilingual Early Language Transmission

MELT project partners:• Mercator Research Centre on

Multilingualism and Language Learning/Fryske Akademy

(Fryslân, Netherlands)

• Folkhälsen (Swedish community, Finland)

• Welsh Language Board (Wales, UK)

• Conseil Régional de Bretagne and Divskouarn (Brittany, France)

MELT project partners: Pre-school Primary-school

• 1) Development of pre-school teaching methodology. • 2) Encouraging practitioners on how to immerse

children in the minority language. • 3) Increase of parents’ awareness about

multilingualism.• 4) Raise awareness of policymakers across Europe.

MELT goals:

MELT target groups:

• Parents, families and peers

• Pre-school practitioners

• Policymakers, local and regional authorities

MELT Products:

• Products:

• Research paper • Brochure for parents• Guide for pre-school practitioners• Local awareness raising events • Closing conference

MELT product: Research paper

• Descriptions of the different pre-school provisions in the four regions

• Definitions of mutlingualism, early language learning, and pre-school education

• Contributions of the experts: Dr. Annick De Houwer, Dr. Tina Hickey , Dr. Gunilla Holm

• Best and worst practices of immersion

• Conditions for a continuous multilingual development

www.meltproject.eu

Best practices of the four regions• Necessary to draft a conscious language policy about

multilingualism and immersion into the minority language.

• Requires good skills of the pre-school practitioners, coached by mentors.

• To offer a rich language environment, including enough input in the minority language.

– Thematic and project manner (Fryslân/Wales)– Collaboration with grandparents (Brittany) – Parent and toddler groups (Wales) – Bachelor’s degree (Finland)

Model: Conditions for a continuous multilingual development (based on the models from De Houwer (2009), Grosjean (2010), and MELT experiences).

A natural development,in a playful and conscious way, during thedifferent developmental stages becomingan adult.

The strategyof multilingual raising appropriate to the

family situation and the language community.

The need for language:- to communicate with family andrelatives;- to take part in pre-school activities;- to interact with others in the social environment;- to watch television, playing, hobbies etc.

The factors:- quality and varied language input;- role of the family in the multilingual setting;- role of the school and community;- positive attitudes towards minority language;

A multilingual person

Conditions for a continuous multilingual development:

MELT product: Brochure for parents

• “Multilingualism in everyday life”

Bilingual brochures translated in eight languages: • Frisian-Dutch• Welsh-English• Swedish-Finnish• Breton-French

MELT product: Guide for pre-school practitioners

• “Multilingualism for children’s everyday life. A guide for practitioners working with

young children.”

The content of the guide:

- Introduction - Section 1: Adults as linguistic role models - Section 2: Collaboration with parents on linguistic matters- Section 3: Everyday situations and the physical environment - Section 4: Suggestions for observing and recording children’s language- Section 5: Working with themes, and emphasis on linguistic factors- Section 6: How to stimulate children’s language use- Section 7: Playtime to stimulate language- Section 8: Reflection- Section 9: Examples of exercises and activities- References- Suggestions for further reading - Websites and useful links

MELT product: Guide for pre-school practitioners

Story box- telling;For example, the book: ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’

Using a ‘minority charachter’

Goals of those activities:• Identification• Methodology of story telling • Immersion • Interaction• Increase vocubulary

MELT product: Guide for pre-school practitioners

MELT products: local events and closing conference

International conference on early language transmission Thursday, October 6, Brussels, Belgium

- Expert speakers- Discussions - Workshops:A) Continuity pre-schooling - primary schools B) Competencies and trainingC) ParentsD) Language Policy

• Continuity from pre-school to primary education.

• Training of pre-school practitioners.

• Dissemination: Best practices of the four MELT regions applied in different minority regions in Europe.

Future challenges:

• Eskerrik asko

• Mange Takk

• Diolch

Tige tank

• Trugarez

• Grazia

• Graciis

• Dankscheen • Mercé plan

• Kiitos

• Dźakuju so

Köszönöm

• Hvala • Multumesc• Spassi Ba

Nvala lepaThank you

www.meltproject.eu For further information:

The period from 0 until compulsory primary school, during which children attend pre-primary school provisions outside the home. A public provision where children must feel secure in order to be able to benefit from their experiences and to develop in their best natural way. This holds for all kinds of development, including (multilingual and minority) language acquisition. The pedagogic approaches applied in pre-school education are always offered in a playful and natural way. Language topics are offered in conscious planned activities in a thematic and project-type manner. The pre-school teacher observes the development of the children and reports the offered vocubalary. Based on these data, a well-documented portfolio can be transferred to primary school and a continuous line from pre-school to primary school with regard to multilingual development of the child can be enhanced, and the position of the actual minority language can be strengthened.

MELT product: Research paper MELT defines ‘pre-school’ as: