Differentiation of ‘multilingual children’ in early education through knowledge of family language practices

Abstract

In this study, the notion of ‘multilingual children’ is differentiated by problematizing overgeneralizations or homogenizing of children with potentially different experiences of language(s). The aim is to generate knowledge of how minority language–speaking children use their language(s) outside the education system through teacher–parent dialogue. The terms family language(s) and minority/majority language(s) are argued to capture the situated character of language(s) and to avoid labelling children’s languages from an outside perspective. The analysis conceived as abductive is based on 33 dialogues. The findings imply the children participating in multilingual practices including English as an additional language, and the opposite: the children are rather monolingual in their language use. A conclusion drawn is that being a multilingual child/parent in early childhood education in a monolingual society can be understood in terms of how the space for participation is facilitated and countered.