This thesis is about a language-stimulating activity, called the Book Teddy, which take placein Markaryd, a small municipality in southern Sweden. The activity is described and someexamples given of the Book Teddy's visits to the homes of parents and their preschool children.Similar activities in VÀrnamo, Kumla and BorÄs, which have been inspired by the BookTeddy are also described.Facts about children's psychology, language development and child language illustrate theimportance of stimulating language acquisition in the early years. An important example is"The Bristol Study", a longitudinal study of preschool children.A questionnaire was sent to 93 parents, whose children were bom in 1991. 53 parents or57% answered. The analysis was made out of these 53 questionnaires.

The purpose of this study was to explore preschool- and primary school teachers? perceptions of fairytales, why they use fairytales and what thoughts they have about the impact of fairytales on children?s reading and writing development. We interviewed seven teachers and three preschool teachers in northern Sweden to find out how work with fairytales is carried out in preschool and primary school. We also interviewed twelve pupils who were seven and eight years old to find out what they thought of fairytales in primary school. The result showed that preschool- and primary school teachers had a positive attitude towards fairytales and the opportunities provided by fairytales.

As Sweden has become a multicultural society the need for developing new educational approaches rises. The preschool is a crucial piece in this as it is the one of the first institutions where the children start to develop the language skills. The aim of this study is to investigate the language development approach as practiced by teachers, in their preschool programs, and determine if the teachers work methods can be considered intercultural. This is done to gain a deep understanding on several language development methods and analyze the teachers' approach within the framework of intercultural pedagogy perspective. The theoretical framework used in the study is the intercultural perspective.

The purpose of this essay is to describe how preschool teachers think about language stimulation and how they work with it when it comes to small children in preschool. My research questions were:? What kind of methods do the preschool teachers use? And what kind of work procedure do they have?? Is there any difference in the work procedure when it comes to daily routines and playtime?? How do the preschool teachers describe their work procedure with language stimulation?To be able to reach my purpose and answer my questions, I decided to make a case study. I have made observations of the preschool teachers and how they work and I have made interviews. The material that I have used, beside observations and interviews, is literature that is about earlier research about this matter.The result of the study shows that the preschool teachers considers their work with language stimulation as part of everything they do.

Abstract The purpose of this essay is to compare in what way pedagogues in pre-school in comparison to pedagogues in school use music as an implement to stimulate children?s language development. The essay is built on qualitative written interviews on four pedagogues, two pre-school teachers and two class teachers, along with relevant literature concerning music in relation to language development.In the interviews it was shown that music is used in a greater extent by the pre-school teachers, compared to the class teachers. Activities containing elements of music is situated on a daily basis in preschool, where the two interviewed pre-school teacher?s works.

The studyÂŽs purpose is to investigate the underlying norms of how the concepts of language development and learning, used in the preschool curriculum. Knowledge of the concepts underlying norms can help to make visible what approach preschool teacher is expected to have to children's language, in relation to development and learning. The results of the study may in turn provide a picture of societal norms on children in preschool and a deeper understanding of the importance of preschool to review and analyze the content of the curriculum, then it is not a foregone conclusion.Theoretical basis is curriculum theory, which involves studying curricula in order to create a knowledge of a society and its cultural, social and economic demands. Norman Faircloughs critical discourse analysis is used as a method, in order to achieve the studyÂŽs intention and answer the questions at issues in the study. The critical discourse analysis considers that the discourse is creating the social world through language.The results of the study show that there is a language in the curriculum as normatively may influence preschool teacher.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the special education, for children with language impairment in preschool, was organised in a municipality in Sweden. The study was based on interviews and field studies as the primary research tools in qualitative and ethnographic method. The result showed that special education teachers were localised in different geographic areas of school and that there were preschools that lacked special educational expertise in language impairment. Literature and the importance of playing for language development were emphasised as well as the use of signs and visual aids as augmentative and alternative communication. In the preschool for children with language impairment, the teachers carried their knowledge into practical and pedagogical work.

The purpose of the study was to examine how teachers currently working with students who have a mother tongue other than Swedish. The investigation has been carried out using three qualitative research interviews. It has been shown that some educators believe that inclusion in the regular classroom instruction has been giving the best results for students' language development. It has provided great opportunities for discussion and group work. Teachers have given tips on how to work with these students so that they develop in the Swedish language.

AbstractThe Swedish society has always been monolingual, but has for the past decades transformed into a multicultural and multilingual society. The aim of this study is to investigate if and in that case how preschool teachers work with language development in bilingual and multicultural preschools. The concept of linguistic and cultural diversity includes several different components, not least the social interactions that are of great importance to every individual's development, learning and participation in the world. By understanding the importance of language, language development and the role of mother tongue in second language acquisition, we look into various researches done concerning the effects of the preschool teachers? opinions, methods used to language developmental primarily for children who are multilingual and how the physical environment is shaped to promote language in multicultural and multilingual preschools.The method used in this study is semi-structured interviews with preschool teacher working in multicultural or bilingual preschool settings.

AbstractThe GovernmentÂŽs guidelines found in the curriculum for pre-schools, recommend that music should be an important resource for children. To stimulate childrenÂŽs language is also an important part of this curriculum. It is every teacher`s proffessional duty to ensure that these guidelines are followed. Language is of unparallel importance in assisting an individual to grow and to function within a society. In my work about music and languages in pre-school the purpose is to investigate how the studied teachers use music to stimulate of children`s developmt in language.

This is an ethnographically inspired study focusing on multilingualism in a Swedish preschool setting. The purpose of the study was to find out how the children perceived their multilingualism and how it was expressed by the children in the interaction with teachers and peers. The research questions were as follows: How is the multilingualism expressed in the day to day interaction in preschool? What significance does the daily interaction with peers and educators have for the children?s perceptions of their multilingualism? How do the children perceive their multilingualism and the value in their multilingual abilities?  To answer these question methods inspired by ethnographical studies were used, namely participant observation and semi-structured interviews with the children.   Theory was used from two areas; childhood sociology as theorized by Corsaro with the ideas of peer cultures and interpretive reproduction, and the sociology of language with the theory of collaborative empowerment as introduced and developed by Cummins. The children in the study were seen as social actors who are important here and now and who contribute to the development of society.   The study showed that the multiple languages were visible in the preschool, but that the Swedish language was upheld as the norm and the language of communication; no children were recorded playing in their ?home language? during interaction with other children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate into the praxis based sociocultural tools that are utilized to enhance language development in early childhood education. Four pre-school teachers were involved in this study. Two were recruited from an independent pre-school "Maria Montessori", practicing the pedagogical philosophy developed by Maria Montessori. Two were from a public pre-school herein named "Kvasten", which has no official philosophy but where the teachers (like in many Swedish pre-schools) work in a general alignment with the principles of Reggio Emilia pedagogics. The theoretical fundament of the study lies in the general theories of language development and education of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotskij, and the comparative element mainly concerns the variations in pedagogical praxis between the two pre-schools, and the way the teachers reason about language development.

The Swedish school reflects the society that we have today, a society with many different ethnical and cultural backgrounds. The purpose of this investigation is to study how the school is working with children that recently immigrated to Sweden. What kind of methods are they using at school, to get the best development as possible? Do the teachers manage to be concerned of the students in the school? What kind of reception do these children get in the school? What methods are the teachers using? And are these methods really the best to use to enhance the language and cognitive development of these students?The methods I have been using to examine these questions have been qualitative. I have interviewed three teachers about their everyday work in a multiethnic school south of Stockholm.

Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language -3 is an American picturebasedtest developed to examine children?s auditory comprehension of language.The aim of the study was to create a translation and to examine if the test wouldcontribute to the information about a childÂŽs language comprehension received bysimilar tests that are used today. In the present study the test items were translatedinto Swedish. The translation was evaluated with 32 children in three different agegroups at a school in central Gothenburg. A linguistic examination of thetranslation and a list of the grammatical structures that are tested were made.

The purpose of this study is to examine how two educators at a preschool that is located in a neighborhood south of Stockholm works with TAKK with children who has Down syndrome in a language promotion purposes. The aim is also to investigate what teachers think about using TAKK with children without special needs and children with Down syndrome.In this study, I used qualitative research methods. I've used both observations and interviews to get answers to my questions. The theories which I have used in this thesis is, socio-cultural perspective, including integration and segregated integration.In order to find out how the educators work with TAKK I have asked these questions:How do the educators work with TAKK with children with Down syndrome from a language development perspective?What do the educators express about using TAKK with children without special needs and with children who has Down syndrome?My conclusions to these questions are that the literatures I have read in many ways are consistent with how they work.