Bilingual and multilingual children, literacy and ICT

Bilingual and multilingual children, literacy and ICT

It is argued that the needs of young bilingual and multilingual learners are not always fully recognised in literacy frameworks. Gregory (1996) and Minns (1997) draw attention to the cultural mismatch that can occur between home and school literacy experiences, which can disadvantage emergent bilingual readers and writers. However, there are possibilities for new technology to support children from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds. Castellani and Tsantis (2002) suggest that the use of appropriate software can allow children to engage in self-exploration and meet their individual needs in a way that traditional print-based material is unable to match, thus, affording teachers opportunities to structure the learning environment in culturally inclusive ways.

Gregory (1996) showed that opportunities to explicitly build on the rhythms and patterns of spoken language are especially beneficial with bilingual children. Castellani and Tsantis (2002) discuss a project, based in the USA, where bilingual children were given regular access to software that explored basic concepts such as colour, numbers and shapes in their native language, as well as offering the English language equivalent of these concepts. Brooker and Siraj-Blatchford (2002) reported the experi- ences of three and four year-old bilingual children who were at an early stage of English acquisition, in an urban nursery school. They argued that the children’s language around the computer was clearly supported by the ‘structured but accessible format and vocabulary of the software’ (2002: 263). For example, the researchers regularly noted instances of language learning, and children repeating words and phrases in response to computer-spoken prompts. For Brooker and Siraj-Blatchford, computer use by bilingual children is therefore seen as ‘especially valuable’. They point out that: ‘The computer often provided a shared focus and experi- ence for children who didn’t share the same spoken language, and this undoubtedly contributed towards the development of the very positive,

LITERACY AND ICT IN THE EARLY YEARS

collaborative, and language enriched multicultural learning environment that we observed’ (Brooker and Siraj-Blatchford 2002: 269).

Bolstad (2004) discusses a number of examples of ICT used to support early literacy in both English and Maori in New Zealand. Several early childhood centres have used ICT to produce multimedia learning stories co-authored between children, educators and, sometimes, parents (Lee et al. 2002; Wilson et al. 2003).

Also, Ferguson and Mellow (2004) describe a resource, available online and as a CD-ROM, which they developed to support young children’s development of Maori. The resource includes a number of activities that use a mixture of images, recorded sounds, numbers, written words and letters, with mouse-based drag-and-drop and roll-over interactions. Practi- tioners are encouraged to work through activities with children, and to read out positive reinforcement messages in English and Maori.

Van Scoter and Boss (2002) describe an early years setting in Oregon where teachers often send home digital photos of children’s activities and out of school visits. Working with children to put captions on these pho- tos offers an opportunity to develop children’s written language skills as children use their own words to describe what the photos show. This strat- egy is considered a particularly useful one to support children’s oral lan- guage development in their native language. Shepherd (2002) reports on

a project in Scotland involving the creation of software to support the transition from home to nursery, particularly for children whose first lan- guage is not English. A digital camera was used to take photographs of children following nursery routines. ‘Clicker’ software was used to present these, together with spoken commentary in English and other relevant languages.

The above examples demonstrate that new technology has signi- ficant potential to support young bilingual learners, but much further research in this area is a priority for informing practice in the early years.