Languages matter
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RESOURCES

IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO SUCCEED -
THEN HOLD ON TO YOUR HOME LANGUAGE

This short, eight-page, brightly colored brochure is prepared especially for teachers and parents. It is available in 30 languages, (Arabic, Bahasa Indonesian, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, Farsi, Filipino, French, German, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Urdu) and provides the following information in an easy-to-read format:

  • importance of home languages;
  • reasons for maintaining the home language;
  • the advantages for children who use two languages;
  • how two languages work together;
  • speaking the home language will not confuse children.

The image on the cover of the brochure, a hand holding a red balloon, is more than decorative. It is a reminder that home languages are as fragile as a balloon. If they are not maintained and protected, the hand will open, the balloon will fly away, and the home language will be lost.

Translations: The HOLD ON brochures found below were translated from the original (English) by both native- and non-native speakers (colleagues, students, families, community members). Click on the links below to download the translations. The English language brochure is also available in Power Point format.

LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE
A GUIDE FOR WORKING WITH YOUNG IMMIGRANT CHILDREN

University of Toronto Press 2012
Roma Chumak-Horbatsch
Foreword by Jim Cummins

University of Toronto Press: www.utorontopress.com

This widely used book looks at young newcomer children in a new way. Far more than learners of their new language these children are "bilinguals in the making" - who arrive in childcare centres and classrooms with unique language and literacy needs.

To meet these needs, a new three-part classroom practice, called Linguistically Appropriate Practice or LAP is introduced. The first part of LAP provides important background information about young newcomers' language circumstance. The second part focuses on preparing the classroom to launch LAP. It explores four tasks that are central to the adoption of LAP: transitioning newcomers from home to classroom; partnering with families; using home languages in the classroom; and recording classroom language and literacy behaviours. The final part of LAP addresses the following question: How do we work with young children who arrive without proficiency in the school language? The reader will find over fifty exciting classroom activities that can be adapted to match the developmental level of the children. The closing chapter looks to the future. It appeals to those working with young newcomers to turn their attention to this growing population, take their unique language and literacy needs into account and help them realize their bilingual potential.

Γλωσσικα καταλληλη πρακτικη
Εναζ οδηγοζ για εργασια με μικρα παιδια μεταναστων

Greek translation available from DiSIGMA Publications:
www.disigma.gr/products/glwssika-katallili-praktiki

For a summary of the ideas found in this book see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLod5d9mT98

USING LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE:
A GUIDE FOR TEACHING IN MULTILINGUAL CLASSROOMS

Multilingual Matters 2019
Roma Chumak-Horbatsch
Foreword by Kelleen Toohey

Multilingual Matters: www.multilingual-matters.com

The presence of learners for whom the school language is not their first language creates unique challenges and opportunities for teachers. This book provides an accessible guide to multilingual teaching using Linguistically Appropriate Practice (LAP) in diverse classrooms worldwide. It is firmly grounded in the latest learning and bilingual research and takes a realistic approach to teaching in language-rich schools today. The author argues that multilingual teaching has benefits for everyone, all learners, teachers as well as the wider school community.

Highlights of the book:

This book is an invaluable support and inspiration for practising teachers and trainee teachers. It will help them transform their classrooms into multilingual environments where all children have equal opportunity to participate, learn and grow.

For a review see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srhXHwrYqqA

TEACHING IN LANGUAGE-RICH CLASSROOMS

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuznjX7nkcDqDwUJpzlYWsw

The six videos in this YouTube channel provide summaries, highlights and examples of multilingual teaching. Teachers can view them individually or they can be used in meetings or workshops to generate discussion.

  1. Multilingual Teaching
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIiYMWW4kgQ
  2. Multilingual Teaching in Action
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARqzvwHcRcM
  3. Teaching in Multilingual Classrooms
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDCfW9DJoqY
  4. Linguistic Diversity: What Every Teacher Should Know
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIonDvLP6wo
  5. Linguistic Diversity: What Children Say
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IChJAlkm0q8
  6. Linguistic Diversity in Vantaa, Finland
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGZikeklCBQ