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Kindergarten Teachers Speak

其他書名	Working with Language Diversity in the Classroom
出版	Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 2010
ISBN	04947279779780494727973
URL	http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=fOZEAQAACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api

註釋In Belgium, language diversity in the classroom is often perceived as a problem. It is necessary, however, to recognize the importance of students' home languages in order to work with this wealth in a constructive manner. Teachers need to be prepared to work with linguistic diversity (and also cultural diversity) and be given possibilities to do this well. This thesis research project is set in the municipality of Heusden-Zolder, located in the Dutch-speaking north east of Flanders, Belgium. It studies the experiences, attitudes, and knowledge of kindergarten teachers regarding multilingualism in the classroom. 57 kindergarten teachers filled out a questionnaire and 15 teachers were interviewed. The findings show that the 'Dutch-only' policy of schools is hardly carried out by teachers. Schools' language policies should therefore be revised. Overall, teachers know how to support multilingual children (by scaffolding and differentiating/individualizing their lessons). However, offering these extra forms of support makes it difficult to meet all students' needs. Smaller classes would make it more doable for teachers to differentiate or individualize their lessons. The findings also show that teachers know how to work with children going through the silent or non-verbal period and children who show (language)interference, but that extraordinarily few teachers are aware of the importance of the home languages. It is therefore necessary to shift the focus from language (Dutch as L2) to a focus on "languaging" at home and in school. Instead of advising parents to speak Dutch at home, teachers should stimulate parents to talk more with their children and bring the act of languaging to the foreground, not replace the home language(s) by the second