Dinosaurier i Kurdistan pratar kurdiska
En studie i hur barn i förskolan tänker om och uttrycker sin flerspråkighet
PedagogyPreschoolEthnographyChildhood sociologySociology of languageMultilingualismBilingualismPedagogikFörskolaEtnografiBarndomssociologiSpråksociologiFlerspråkighetTvåspråkighet
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. However children had the capacity to talk about language and did so at several occasions. Knowledge about language was used, but reinterpreted by the children which was seen as a form of interpretive reproduction. Within the peer culture the children shared knowledge and taught each other words and phrases. Themes common in the interaction was counting, food and drinks, and forms of greeting. It showed that the language that was most current for the children was English and they engaged in that language at several occasion and expressed a will to learn more. However, several children did not identify Swedish as a spoken language, and it seemed taken for granted that everybody knew how to speak Swedish. By large, the children expressed great confidence in their linguistic abilities and many children were also able to put into words the value of their multilingual abilities. A conclusion was drawn that the children had been, to use Cummins terminology, empowered, through interaction with educators and peers.