Multilingualism in the early years : extending the limits of our world / Sandra Smidt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smidt, Sandra, 1943- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Multilingual education.

Children of immigrants--Education.

Children of immigrants.

Early childhood education.

Physical Description:

xi, 149 pages ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2016.

Summary:

Multilingualism in the Early Years is a highly accessible text that examines the political, theoretical, ideological and practical issues involved in the education of children speaking two or more languages. Drawing on current research and thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of being multilingual, Smidt uses powerful case studies to reveal how language or languages are acquired. She explores language in terms of who shares it, its relationship to class, culture, power, identity and thinking, and its fascinating role as it moves from the personal to the public and political. More specifically the book studies: what it means to be bilingual through an analysis of the language histories submitted by a range of people; how language/s define people; a brief history of minority education in the UK;, how practitioners and teachers can best support all young children as learners whilst they continue to use their first languages and remain part of and partners in their communities and cultures;, being bilingual: an advantage or a disadvantage?, the impact of multilingualism on children's educational and life chances. Multilingualism in the Early Years is a really useful text for practitioners working with multilingual children, as well as any student undertaking courses in early childhood education. Book jacket.

Contents:

Section I The bilingual child in the home and family 1

1 My language/languages: Language histories 3

2 Being bilingual 18

3 How language can define you 28

4 How we acquire our first and subsequent languages 34

Section II From the home and local community to the classroom or setting 41

5 Language/languages in the school curriculum 43

6 Why young children should use their first language throughout their early years 49

7 A brief history of minority education in the UK 56

Section III Supporting children in classes and settings to learn and remain attached to their language and cultures 67

8 Making sense of a new world 69

9 Understanding multimodality and translanguaging in early education 79

10 The threat of a good example: Celebrating and supporting young bilingual learners 89

Section IV Moving from the personal to the public 99

11 Which children? Whose rights? 101

12 Performing culture 108

13 Language and identity 115

14 Preserving language and culture 122

15 Pedagogy, politics and poverty 127.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781138942448

1138942448

9781138942455

1138942456

OCLC:

929917941