Analysing preschoolers’ awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity through the DivCon model

Abstract

The article focuses on developing the awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity at the pre-school level. We first present the DivCon model (Diversity in Context) which promotes systematic exposure to linguistic and cultural diversity and is based on a framework which integrates six basic aspects: the journey metaphor, exposure to linguistic diversity, exposure to cultural diversity, progression from concrete to symbolic level, effective second language teaching approaches and children participation. In the second part of the paper we present the results of a qualitative study conducted in three kindergarten groups (n=40) to evaluate the model in the Slovenian context. The main aim of the study was to analyse pre-school children’s responses to the different dimensions in the model and the ways they perceive different languages and cultures. The results indicate that the participants responded positively to the activities carried out in order to evaluate the proposed model and showed that they are aware of linguistic and cultural diversity in a variety of ways. We argue that the model offers effective strategies for developing linguistic awareness and positive attitudes towards linguistic and cultural diversity at an early age.