Sweden has a growing proportion of children living in a multilingual environment. It is thus highly important that caretakers as well as professionals who meet these children have knowledge of multilingualism and its impact on language development. Also, an increase of referrals of multilingual children with suspected language impairment to speech and language pathology clinics is seen.The objective of this study was to investigate the linguistic ability in both Swedish and Arabic in a four year old child with suspected language impairment. A further aim was to implement an intensive intervention and evaluate the efficacy of it. Language testing in both languages showed that the boy?s greatest need was in the lexical domain.

The present study deals with the importance of play for children's learning in preschool. The purpose is to investigate the importance of play for children's learning in preschool from a pedagogue?s perspective. The study is based on two issues: How does the pedagogue´s who were interviewed reason about the impact the play has on children's development? How does the pedagogue´s approach to make play a learning situation? The empirical data is based on semi-structured interviews with four preschool pedagogue´s.

The present project is a first step towards a new Swedish assessment tool to examine phonological ability in preschool-aged children. The work consisted of developing a word list with words that was considered to reveal a child?s phonological ability and to try out the word list on pre-school children. The reason was to make sure that the words existed in the vocabulary of the children in the chosen ages. A word list consisting of 109 words, which convey relevant phonological information, was created.

AbstractThe signification of the eyesight for children?s development and learning- how do pedagogues support and stimulate children with defective vision in their development and learning in pre-school?These issues are based on my purpose of the field survey investigations, where I have interviewed three pedagogues and also performed an observation.My main conclusion and results describe that the vision is the high-powered engine in children?s development and learning. It also tells us that those around the children are very important for optimum development and learning, especially when it comes to supporting and stimulating children with defective vision in their necessities. Our other senses are a compensation to make it easier for children with defective visions in their lives. But all our senses are equally important for children with defective vision as they are for seeing children in their development and learning with their whole body in pre-school.Keywords:Eyesight, children with defective vision, development and learning in pre-school, pedagogues, pedagogical support and stimulation.

Speech intervention for children with language impairment aims to both strengthen specific language skills and to reinforce the ability to participate in interactional contexts. Children with language impairment often have problems in interaction; therefore the contributions of the conversational partner are of great importance. Thus, the demands are high on the speech and language pathologist (SLP) for sense and cohesion in intervention. The aim of the present study was to examine how SLPs and children with language impairment interact in language intervention. An approach influenced by Conversation Analysis was used in order to identify various phenomena that occurred, and their effect on the structure of the interaction was analyzed.Four SLPs, two men and two women, were enrolled in the study.  They participated in intervention with two children with language impairment each, i.e.

According to the Läroplan för förskolan, Lpfö 98, are pre-schools suppose to introduce the written language and embrace childrens curiosity about the ability to communicate with the written language. The purpose with this research is therefor to study the attitudes of pre-school teachers towards three- to five years olds writing and also to shred some light over which role teachers and other adults have when children learn to write. The earlier research contains different theories about how children in pre-schools conquer the written language and the teachers role in this process. Teachers attitudes towards and thoughts about childrens early writing could be made visible through interviews with teachers who all currently work at pre-schools. The results indicate that pre-school teachers have different attitudes towards childrens early attempts to write.

The purpose of my study is to examine how four preschool teachers go about using the term play in children's early mathematical development. In order to fulfill the purpose of this study, I have the following questions:How the preschool teachers visualize mathematics in children?s play?What reflections have the preschool teachers about the importance of play for children's mathematical learning in preschool?How do the preschool teachers see on their own role in the children's play?In this study, I have conducted a semi-structured qualitative interviews based on the interviews with four preschool teachers from various departments in a preschool. I have also conducted some observations to complete my study. Whereas in my analysis of the researched material, I have used Vygotsky's theory.The survey shows that the preschool teachers are aware of the use of mathematical language and concepts in children?s different activities which were conducted daily in the preschool.

The objective of the present study was to highlight preschool children?s encounters with children?s literature, in a heterogeneous language context.  The idea was to identify significant features in the linkages between the reading of children?s literature, didactic activities and children?s learning, language development and emergent literacy activities.  Our interest was directed towards the activities connected with read-alouds, as well as the preschool teacher?s perceptions of those activities.  The empiric material was collected by use of participant observations of four read-aloud sessions. After the observations the preschool teacher in charge of the observed read-aloud was in-depth interviewed. In addition, the physical print environment in the actual preschool was observed. The results indicate that the physical and social reading environment interact with each other.  Furthermore, the preschool  teachers? approaches and ways of working with literature does not always optimize the language, literacy and content area  learning opportunities for the children.

The overall aim of this study is to clarify the situation in school for children with language disorder from the parents? perspective.Data were collected through five interviews with parents who have children of different ages and with various diagnosis within the language disorder spectra. A qualitative method based on a narrative inquiry was used and each interview was based on a interview guide with the following themes: the child?s difficulties, starting school, the school?s pedagogy, homework, action plans, participation and the future.Each story has its own themes, but there are also themes that are common in all interviews. One common theme in the parents? stories is that school has a lack of knowledge when it comes to language disorder.

The present study deals with the importance of play for children's learning in preschool. The purpose is to investigate the importance of play for children's learning in preschool from a pedagogue?s perspective. The study is based on two issues: How does the pedagogue´s who were interviewed reason about the impact the play has on children's development? How does the pedagogue´s approach to make play a learning situation? The empirical data is based on semi-structured interviews with four preschool pedagogue´s.

In this essay, I have examined what has been studied and presented in the theory of ICT in schools. I have based my theory on Arne Trageton?s book Att skriva sig till läsning ? IKT i förskoleklass och skola (2005) and theories on children?s reading and writing development.The purpose of this study is to determine how teachers and children experience teaching with Trageton?s ICT-based model Att skriva sig till läsning and whether the model is beneficial for children's first reading and writing.Through qualitative interviews with two pedagogues from the same school and some children from first grade, I have received answers to my two questions:How do pedagogues and children experience ICT-based teaching in the context of children's first reading and writing?How do pedagogues experience the reading and writing development in first- and second-language students when using ICT-based teaching?The results showed that both pedagogues and children were positive about the model in which the computer was used as a writing tool in learning to read and write. The teachers felt that the model was suitable for all children according to their conditions.The children saw the writing as very enjoyable. For the ICT-based teaching to work properly, the technology has great significance.

The main focus of this study is to describe how, and for what reasons teachers use literature and fiction as a pedagogic tool. A qualitative study was made by interviewing four teachers about their language teaching. Working with fiction as a teaching-aid in school can in many ways be favorable to both teachers and pupils. In terms of children?s language development, research shows that using fiction as an educational tool can stimulate pupils? well-being as well as their linguistic improvement.

The aim with this thesis, based on five childrens librarians statements, is to highlight their view of their work, and what they deem to be of importance when working with small children within the library sphere. My main question is as follows: What motive compels childrens librarians in their work with small children, and will Vygotskys theories be recognised in their statements. I have two questions as a base for this main question: How do childrens librarians work with small children, and do they utilise any special methods in their work? How do childrens librarians view their work tasks, and what do they deem to be of importance regarding small children and libraries? The thesis is based on qualitative interviews. As a theory I have decided to concentrate on Vygotskys thoughts on imagination and creativity, the Zone of Proximal Development, and childrens language development.

The purpose of my study is to investigate teacher?s perceptions of their mission in the preschool class, and how they work to promote children?s written language development. What methods and working methods they use to awaken curiosity and motivate children to read and write. I am using the qualitative research method to get answers to my questions. I have made four qualitative interviews with four teachers in preschool classes from different schools.My questions are:What conceptions does teachers have about their mission in a preschool class?What different methods and approaches does teachers use to stimulate and wake children?s curiosity for reading and writing development?The theoretical basis for my study is the socio-cultural perspective, where learning occurs in interaction.

 The aim of this essay was to examine the way preschool teachers and children converse during school meals, and also the way preschool teachers start and develop conversations during meals. The conversations were analyzed from the topic of conversation and the teachers' ways of using language acts such as questions, remarks, exhortations. The study was based on observations, tape recording and contact schedule. The result shows that the topic of conversation is significant for how involved teachers are in conversations during meals. The result also shows how conversations develop or end depending on what language acts teachers use.