Expert voices
Statement by Prof. Dr Åsa Palviainen, University of Jyväskylä, Department of Languages
Finland and Luxembourg have many similarities, being officially bi- and multilingual and having educational systems encouraging individual as well as societal multilingualism. Both nations also have well-developed ECEC systems and policies guiding the work of ECEC institutions. As a researcher within the same field, I have followed the work conducted by the COMPARE project team for some time now as it is obvious that we learn from each other. The COMPARE team has learned from the Finnish situation and experiences with policy and practice, which is noticeable because of their focus on school-home partnership. I and my colleagues learn from COMPARE about how to integrate multilingual literacy in the daily ECEC work. Furthermore, Luxembourg is at the moment more multilingually diverse than Finland, but the number of children speaking other languages than Finnish and Swedish now increases fast. The results and the know-how that the COMPARE team has produced are, therefore, very important not only nationally, but also from an international perspective.
Statement by Prof. Dr Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen, University of Bath, Department of Education
COMPARE is one of the most exciting projects I have followed. It is closely related to the UK Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded project, Family Language Policy (FLP), which I have led. One of our project’s pathways to impact was the conducting of interventions for parents to engage in dialogical reading-aloud strategies and discourse strategies in order to develop children’s home language(s). COMPARE has successfully demonstrated that dialogical reading can develop children’s multiple languages and literacy knowledge when educators and parents work together. The outcomes of the project have made a significant contribution to the field of FLP, highlighting the importance of home-school relationships. By showing how children can develop and learn multiple languages, the COMPARE team has worked with crèches to create collaborative and conducive environments, in which educators work with parents to tap into the children’s linguistic and cultural resources. This collaboration has not only provided more learning opportunities for children to develop their multiliteracy skills, but also provided a platform for children to build their confidence and pride as multilinguals. The project has important implications for policymakers, educators, and parents, because an effective collaboration can have a strong impact on children’s well-being as well as their linguistic, social, and future academic development.
Statement by Prof. Dr Drorit Lengyel, University of Hamburg, Faculty of Educational Sciences
Statement by Prof. Dr Annick De Houwer, Director, Harmonious Bilingualism Network, HaBilNet
Statement by Martina Pfohl, Charlotte-Bühler Institut
Ich habe einige der Filmclips im Rahmen von Fortbildungen zum Thema Sprachförderung und Bedeutung des Erzählens im Elementarbereich gezeigt. Auch wenn die Teilnehmerinnen ein bisschen an die Grenzen ihrer Mehrsprachigkeit stießen – als Österreicherin muss man sich ins « Luxemburgische » halt erst « reinhören » – konnte das Anliegen der Filmsequenz = die vorbildhafte Interaktionen zwischen Pädagoginnen und Kindern, gut verstanden werden. Besonders jene Szenen die die Verbindung zwischen den Erzählungen der Kinder und der Verschriftlichung durch die Pädagoginnen zeigen, finde ich besonders gut gelungen und als sehr gutes Beispiel für viele Bereiche der Sprach- und Literacyförderung bei Fortbildungen sowie bei Teamsitzungen einsetzbar. Habe diesen Link mittlerweile auch an Kolleginnen weitergeleitet und durchwegs positive Rückmeldungen erhalten. Gratulation zu diesen kurzen aber äußerst aussagekräftigen Praxisbeispielen!
Statement by Prof. Dr. Sascha Neumann, Universität Tübingen
The findings of the project illustrate not only the enormous linguistic diversity in Luxembourg, but above all how children at a young age can come into contact with this diversity casually, almost playfully. The everyday realities in the families and in the institutions obviously influence each other, which in the best case may result in a continuous social space of experience for the children.