Teachers Voyaging in Pluralingual Seas

This book is about young children who learn through more than one language in Aotearoa New Zealand. A considerable body of knowledge exists on second language learning but this work charts new territory in its focus on the experience of young children who learn in a home or heritage language other than English. This includes children learning in te reo Maori, as well as children with Pasifika and immigrant community languages. A central theme of the book is that early childhood educators can foster and validate the multiple languages children and their families bring, through thoughtful planning, pedagogy and practice. The book is based on research done through the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) and draws on the experiences of four very different early childhood education centres. It offers innovative strategies for representing and incorporating the languages and cultural practices of children and their families into the curriculum.