i.e. preschool and English language teachers, to jointly plan and implement activities in class thus building on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to form relationships based on trust, active listening, and a willingness to learn from each other.
Published in Chapter:
“English in the Kindergarten: Towards Multilingual Education”: Good Practices From a Teacher Training Program in Greece
Anastasia Gkaintartzi (University of Thessaly, Greece), Achilleas Kostoulas (University of Thessaly, Greece), and Magda Vitsou (University of Thessaly, Greece)
Copyright: © 2023
|Pages: 23
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-6179-2.ch004
Abstract
This chapter presents a teacher education program that aimed to prepare early childhood educators and English language teachers to collaboratively introduce multilingual learning opportunities in pre-school education in Greece using English as a bridge-language among students' languages and cultures. The program, which was designed to support education policy that introduced the English language into the curriculum of Greek state preschools, had four goals. Firstly, it aimed to approach English as a bridge-language that can help promote multilingual meaning-making. Secondly, it encouraged the use of pedagogical translanguaging in order to support teachers to challenge prevalent monolingual instruction patterns and build upon the children's entire linguistic repertoires. Teachers were also trained in experimenting with and employing arts-based learning and creativity. These learning outcomes are illustrated in the chapter by drawing on teacher training materials and participant output, which provide useful data on the implementation and overall impact of the program.