Visibility of language diversity in the educational settings of 4 to 6-year-old multilingual children

Abstract

An important way to value and support language diversity and multilingualism is to include children’s languages and related cultural artefacts in their linguistic landscapes. Languages visible in both the physical and digital environments can reflect the formal and informal policies and practices and can influence how languages are perceived and used. This research describes the linguistic landscapes of seven early childhood centres and five primary schools across a year to understand the language and digital technology policies and practices in the physical and digital environments of multilingual children, with a focus on educational services and their links with whānau