Mind the gap: Community language teachers’ perspectives on working with under 5’s in community language schools

Australia is arguably one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse nation in the world, which is reflected in the 323 languages spoken by children in 2015 (AEDC, 2022). However, despite this level of linguistic diversity and well-established research documenting the multiple benefits of multilingualism in the early years, there are significant gaps in policy, curriculum and pedagogy for languages education for children under 5 years of age. This is evidenced by the absence of a national policy and curriculum frameworks that inform early multilingual education in Australia, and the relatively limited attention given to research on the role of community language (CL) schools and early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings in supporting and extending children’s home languages. Informed by Bourdieu’s theory of social practice (1990 1991), this paper reports on the findings of research conducted in 2024. Drawing on data from a national survey and focus groups, this paper critically examines the experiences, perspectives and issues facing CL teachers in terms of the resources, skills, qualifications and pedagogical approaches to teaching HLs to preschool children. In highlighting the institutional and pedagogical constraints facing these teachers, this paper also underscores the significant role that CL teachers and schools play in early languages education. It also highlights the tenacity, creativity, innovation and commitment of CL teachers despite the institutional and funding constraints.  Conclusions drawn in this paper highlight how the gaps in policy and curriculum for early languages teaching and learning undermines the effectiveness of early multilingual education. This has broader implications for languages education both in the CL and ECEC sector.  



Keywords

Multilingualism, community language schools, community language teachers, early languages education, home languages.



Reference

Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice. Policy Press.

Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and Symbolic Power. Policy Press.

Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). (2022). Language diversity and the AEDC 2015

https://www.aedc.gov.au/resources/resources-accessible/language-diversity-and-the-aedc--2012