Transcript Dia 1 - Mercator Research

Language Strategy for
Day Care Centres
Swedish Cultural Foundation in
Finland
2004-2005
Lillemor Gammelgård
Why develop a language strategy for
young children?
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Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish.
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The majority speak Finnish. However, 5,6 per cent of the
Finnish population have Swedish as their mother tongue.
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Day care and education are provided at both languages.
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Bilingual Families tend to choose Swedish Day Care and Swedish
Schools for their children.
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Bilingual children in day care in some
cities (in the spring of year 2005)
ESBO
KARIS
NÄRPES
SIBBO
TAMMERFORS
VASA
ÅBO
67,75 %
31,09 %
15,10 %
55,26 %
97,37 %
54,17 %
69,16 %
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The Language Strategy
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This strategy was made in cooperation with staff in
seven day care centres.
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Their questions, problems and reflections formed the
guidelines for the strategy.
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The strategy was built on the daily work with children
as well as on modern research of young children's
education and language development.
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How do staff in Finland, Sweden work to
develop children's language?
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Read books
Rhymes and nursery rhymes
Language assemblies
Always speak Swedish (Finnish)
Plays and games
Tongue training
Tuomela says that these are targeted efforts. Working specially
with “language training” takes about 20 minutes per day, but
there is still many hours left of the day
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Language contains much more...
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Thinking
Language
Knowledge
The development of thinking, language and
knowledge goes hand in hand.
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Two or more languages is positive!
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Bilingual children have better cognitive development
(Sundman 1999)
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Learning languages:
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It is easier to learn one language than two, but it is not twice
as hard (Østern).
Probably easiest to learn two languages simultaneously.
Children with two languages will mix them until two separate
lexicons are built.
How you learn languages depends on your personality.
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Space for talking, experiences and the
teacher’s language level
Listening
Input
Reading
Talking
space
Output
Talking
Writing
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Give children a lot of possibilities to output. Then your thoughts are
made in to language.
Mostly talk to those children who talks the least.
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Adults use 70% of the talking space....
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Assemblies
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”Anton. Anton vilken är din bästa leksak?” frågar Hanna.
”Beibleid” svarar Anton.
”Beibleid. Jaa… De är dom där snurrorna va?” säger Hanna
”Och sen…” fortsätter hon.
”Hanna sen sku lycka Anni” säger någon.
”Men Anni hon är inte nån räv. Hon är inte i rävgruppen!” förklarar Hanna.
”Sen har vi en räv som börjar på ttt….” fortsätter Hanna.
”Tilda” svarar barnen.
”Å de är Tilda! Ska vi fråga Tilda att vilken är din bästa leksak?” frågar Hanna.
”Beibis” svarar Tilda.
”Bebisen ja. De är roligt att leka med bebisar.” bekräftar Hanna.
”Och sen har vi sista här …” fortsätter hon.
”Wenni” säger barnen.
”Wenni, ja. De är Wenni och vi frågar Wenni att vilken är din bästa leksak?” säger
Hanna.
”Hästar” svarar Wenni. ”Hästarna jaa! Dom är dom roligaste.” säger Hanna.
Lillemor Gammelgård
In school
Teacher´s language level can be too high
pupils
Language level
In day care
children
staff’s
langue level can be too low –
then there will be no development
of thinking or language.
Most optimal is when the adult’s language level stays
just above the child's language level!
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Experiences
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Fill the talking space with experiences
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Day care centres often lack experiences
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Have conversations about what is happening at home – outside
the day care centre
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Do not forget to take advantage of the surroundings
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Monologue – give children a chance to tell stories
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Conversations, monologues and books
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Language contents of many different
dimensions (Tuomela)
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WORDS
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PRONUNCIATION
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GRAMMAR
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ABILITY TO CONVERSATE AND EXPLAIN
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SOCIOLINGVISTIC COMPETENCE
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LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS (to inform, express feelings and
to influence other peoples behaviour)
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You need to give children experiences and
possibilities to use different language dimensions
in order to develop their language
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Many words
Pronunciation
To listen and discover grammar
To explain with many sentences
To be engaged in conversation (listen, wait, remember)
To talk to different persons
To inform
To talk about feelings
To influence other people – forbid, entice (locka), bribe (muta),
warn
Then tools for thinking and learning is provided
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REMEMBER!
It takes about two years to learn a language.
(you can TALK fluently)
It takes five to eight years to learn a language
completely (to be able to READ and WRITE)
Lillemor Gammelgård
Staff as
Children's
language models conversations and
accounts
Environment for
language
development
Educators
collaborations
A. Everyday language
accounts
M. Day care environment
for language development
U. Conversations on
children's language
G. Daily routines
N. Surroundings
V. Discussions on
language issues
H. Work in small groups
O. Varying texts
F. Conversations and
B. Children's talk time
C. Adult conversations
D. Conversations with
children
P. Books with and without
pictures
I. Small and large
assemblies
E. Verbal accounts
J. Listening to children
Q. Children discover texts
K. Story-telling tasks
R. Reading with feeling
L. Documentation
S. Games and playtime
T. Making children's
thoughts visible for
discussions
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W. Documentation as
bases for discussions
X. Parents and children in
dialogue
Y. Recommended
reading for parents
and children
Z. The day care centre's
language at home
A strong mother tongue
(Gunilla Holm, USA)
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There are differences in children's language levels
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These differences appear before children go to school.
(Socioeconomic status – in USA labourers children have a
vocabulary that is 50% of children who's parents come from a
higher class).
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Our duty is to work consciously to help children get a good start
in school and to enlighten parents about the importance of
language.
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Important to develop language so that children become readers
who read with pleasure.
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Children's active vocabulary (3 years)
have heard over 30 million words
have heard 20 million
words
1100
words
750
words
450
words
professor
work
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welfare
have heard
10 million
words
Passive and active language
vocabulary
Passive
Passive
Active
Active
Children's language development is rapid and understanding always lays ahead (H.Harju)
(42% of immigrants in high school and 50% of immigrant boys cannot manage the
national tests in Swedish language in Sweden)
Lillemor Gammelgård
A word is much more than its
sounds or letters
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A word is tied to culture, life, history, experiences,
feelings…
For example CHRISTMAS or JOM KIPPUR gives you
different associations.
One of them give you feelings, associations, memories,
tastes and scents. The other may not give any reactions.
Music, TV-channels, books, houses, clothes, things everything around you either brings you together or
separates you from others.
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We don´t have much time for
conversation
Parents have conversations with their children
3,5 min per day. (Children watch TV 120 min/day…)
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Adults have to give children talking time
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Children need time to find words to describe their
complicated thougts (Hagtvet)
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TTT – Thinking Takes Time (Bodil Jönson)
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Summary
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Children in every part of the world learn languages in the same
way.
If you want to give children a better start, give them the best
possible opportunities to develop
their language(s).
These opportunities are given by adults
What you do or not do makes a difference!
Lillemor Gammelgård
Thank you
Lillemor Gammelgård
Lillemor Gammelgård
Cooperating with the
day care centres
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Taped interviews
Video filming (staff, children)
Discussions in groups
Questionnaires to parents
Observations
Seminars
Texts to read
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Initial questions
What does it mean to be able to speak a language?
Does it mean that you know many words?
1000 - 2500 words at the age of 3 years?
Passive vocabulary 8000 – 10.000 at the age of 7?
Is awareness of the language the most important part?
Lillemor Gammelgård
Veli Tuomela, Sweden
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To be able too read and write you need to have an awareness about the
language
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There is a difference between development of language and speaking
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Awareness of written language
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The Bornholm method, Språkplantan (Language plant)
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Bags consisting language material
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Tuomela says that these are targeted efforts. Working specially with “language
training” takes about 20 minutes per day, but there is still many hours left of
the day
Lillemor Gammelgård
1976
Swedish day care centre
New research
Ingrid Pramling
Bente Hagtvet
Margit Söderberg
et al.
1985
50% bilingual children
Support is needed
1993
Reading-writing
Ria Heilä Ylikallio
Bornholm´s method
Structured work
with the language
1996
Storytelling
Enterprise education
2004
Language Strategy in
Day care centres
Lillemor Gammelgård
2. Interference
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When the stronger language is heard trough the weaker.
For example:
 With accent
 Word order
 Inflection
 Intonation
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Negative communication strategies
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When topics are avoided
When words are avoided
When you quit in the middle
When you give up
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In these cases adult support is needed!
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Lillemor Gammelgård
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All children who learn two languages make the same
mistakes as they learn – their language is at start a
interim language.
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Characteristics for a interim language:
Communication strategies
 Code changing
 Interference
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1.
Positive communication strategies
Østern
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Change words, rewrite – church = the priest's house
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Make up new words - put together with a clothes-peg = ”putter” (knipsu)
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In a roughly way described – yes, I was…
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To replace one word with another - I saw a big, big dog…
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Guessing
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To mime or make gestures - it's (this) big.
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To ask for help – ”What is this called?”
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To use the word from the stronger language – ”Yesterday a saw a HEVONEN”
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To make it simpler - ”like Willie”
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Support for the Swedish language
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Swedish is an official language in Finland
Language law in 2003
Svenska språknämndens förslag till
handlingsprogram för svenskan i Finland (Marika
Tandefelt) - municipalities
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På god grund. Idébok för skolan (Eivor Sommardahl)
- school
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…but no support for young children…
Lillemor Gammelgård
The adult’s language level
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In school the teacher’s language level can be too high

In day care centres the adult’s langue level can be too
low – then there will be no development of thinking or
language.

Most optimal is when the adult’s language level stays
just above the child's language level.
Lillemor Gammelgård
Veli Tuomela, Sweden

To be able too read and write you need to have an awareness about the
language

There is a difference between development of language and speaking

Awareness of written language

The Bornholm method, Språkplantan (Language plant)

Bags consisting language material

Tuomela says that these are targeted efforts. Working specially with “language
training” takes about 20 minutes per day, but there is still many hours left of
the day
Lillemor Gammelgård