TITLE:
Monolingual and Translingual Dialogic Reading Practices in Early Childhood Education
AUTHORS:
Claudine Kirsch
KEYWORDS:
Dialogic Reading, Multilingual Education, Translanguaging, Luxembourg, ECEC, Beliefs
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.15 No.11,
November
4,
2024
ABSTRACT: The positive effects of dialogic reading on children’s language and early literacy skills are well-known. While many researchers have designed intervention studies at home or at school, predominantly in English-speaking or in monolingual settings, there is a dearth of naturalistic studies and those that provide insights into the process of dialogic reading in multilingual contexts. The present qualitative paper investigates the case of Luxembourg where a multilingual program has been implemented over the last years that requires educators to familiarize children with Luxembourgish and French and value their home languages, for example when engaging in literacy activities. The paper draws on interviews and video recordings over a period of ten months and examines the ways in which educators in two private day care centers read dialogically with children aged two to four. The findings show that the dialogic reading practices differed in length and frequency, with the educators in one center initiating more talk in more languages, giving more feedback, and modelling language more than those in the second center. Furthermore, the educators in one center frequently translanguaged to facilitate communication and comprehension. The practices were influenced by the educators’ beliefs and understanding of the purpose of reading. These results highlight the need for professional development on the purposes of literacy and the effective use of language and strategies to engage children in dialogic reading.