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Supporting bilingualism during early childhood

By Dr Ruth Nicholls

Info

Ratings

National Quality Standard
QA1Educational program and practice
QA6Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
1Know students and how they learn
6Engage in professional learning

Presenter

Dr Ruth Nicholls
Dr Ruth Nicholls is a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist and a member of Speech Pathology Australia. Ruth has a special interest in child language development, particularly children who are learning to communicate in more than one language during the early years.

Description

Australia’s population is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse in the world, which presents a range of challenges and opportunities for early childhood educators who care for diverse groups of young children and their families. An increasing number of children are growing up in homes where more than one language is spoken. These children may also transition into early childhood education and care services where many languages may be present.

This course explores the topic of childhood bilingualism and how Early Childhood Educators can support bilingual children to develop their language and communication skills during the early years. This course also looks at supporting the bilingual educator, as well as sharing language and culture with young children and their families.

 

Learning outcomes:

  • Understanding of the different terms and types of bilingualism during childhood.
  • Knowledge of various factors (individual, sociocultural and environmental) that influence language development among children learning more than one language during the early years.
  • Awareness of the benefits and advantages of bilingualism for children and their families.
  • Ability to identify and promote factors which support bilingualism during early childhood.

 

Duration: 2 hours