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Två förskolor och två olika sätt att organisera måltiden. En studie av måltidssamtalen och pedagogernas tankar kring måltidens språkutvecklande möjligheter
The purpose of this study is to investigate the lunchtime from a language development perspective. It will compare two preschools with different ways of organizing mealtimes and observe the conversations between teachers and children. It will also study the ways in which a meal is served and how it affects the conversations. In one of the preschools the children eat in a proper dining room where the food is served as a buffet while in the other preschool the children eat in the preschoolarea and the food is served in bowls on the tables. I also want to investigate how two of these preschool teachers reflect on the mealtimes as part of the language development plan. I propose the following questions:Do the preschool teachers think that there are opportunities for language development during mealtimes and as to what is their role in these conversations?Does the manner in which the food is served, whether as buffet or at the tables, affect the conversations between teachers and children? What are the preschool teachers reflection on this?What kind of conversations were observed in both preschools?This study is based on a qualitative method with interviews, observations and audio recordings of mealtime conversations. My theoretical approach to this study is the socio-cultural perspective on learning and development. The result shows that the preschool teachers felt that conversation during mealtimes was a good opportunity to stimulate childrens language development. They also considered their role as role models and conversation leaders and that they were central to how the conversations were steared. When comparing both preschools, it turns out that the way the meals are served affects the character of the conversations and that conversations during the buffet meal contain more breaks and less adult support.