Support for inter-generational language transmission

Our online presentation steaming here is part of the Fourth International Symposium on the Intergenerational Transmission of Minority Languages: Language and Identity (ITML4).

Niki Davis and Leona Harris presentation, “Supporting intergenerational language transmission through the physical and digital landscapes of early childhood centres; a necessity for equity today.” It begins with a brief video summarising the linguistic landscapes we have researched.

Abstract: Today, landscapes that we inhabit blend the physical and digital. Linguistic landscapes are expressions of formal and informal language policy and may influence whānau (family) language practices. Our research illustrates the ways in which linguistic landscapes of early childhood education (ECE) centres evolve, and explores the related co-evolution with digital technologies (Davis 2018). Around a decade ago ECE centres rapidly adopted digital tools such as iPads and ePortfolios to support children’s learning and since then teachers’ work has evolved so that children may access a healthy blend of their physical and digital worlds. Our National Science Challenges research, E Tipu e Rea, A Better Start, has uncovered opportunities and challenges of the digital world for all learners, focusing on emergent bilinguals. Bilingualism brings lifelong benefits that are particularly valuable to challenged learners, their whānau and communities. Multilingualism is embedded within our exemplary Te Whāriki ECE curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand. We have evidence from six participating ECE centres of the visibility of home languages within the children’s physical and digital environments and how visibility was enhanced over time, indicating a significant impact of our research. Our recommendations include improvements to policy at local and national levels.