Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Inclusion And Belonging In Irish Higher Education For Black And Minority Ethnic Students, Fionnuala Darby

Articles

Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as an analytical prism, this study interrogates the sense of belonging and inclusion experienced by Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students on one higher education campus in Ireland. The most important story told within the study is as simple as it is complicated. The simple part is that the BME students felt that the campus was inclusive and that they experienced a sense of belonging. The complicated part is that the findings are premised in a normative assumption of whiteness as evidenced by numerous and incremental moments of exclusion in the daily experience of microaggressions, …

Early Childhood Education And Care Provision Through The Medium Of The Irish Language, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Mairéad Mac Con Iomaire

Books/Book Chapters

This chapter will give an overview of the history of naíonraí or Irish-medium preschool settings in Gaeltacht1 and non-Gaeltacht areas from their beginnings in the 1960s to date. The material for this chapter is based on desk research, interviews with the founding member of the naíonra movement and the personal involvement of the chapter authors. The rationale for establishing naíonraí will be described and the role of the pioneers who led the movement in the 1970s and 1980s will be analysed in light of their principles and philosophy. These principles are visible in the structures they set up to manage …

Building Multistories: A Framework To Diversify The Curriculum In Higher Education, Fionnuala Darby, Lindsay Dowling

Other

Building MultiStories is a collaborative process by academic staff, library staff and students to identify changes to curricula, to resources and to assessments that consider alternative epistemologies and diverse knowledge sources.

Please find the Interactive Version here: https://view.genial.ly/618a80bf90bb540dcc7849d3/presentation-building-multistoriesa-framework

Why Parents Chose To Send Their Children To Irish-Medium Immersion Preschools: Learning From Parental Choice Strategies In Celtic Countries, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Fiona Nic Fhionnlaoich

Articles

This study investigated the reasons Irish parents chose to send their children to Irish-medium preschools settings over other forms of early childhood education. The international literature on parental decision making regarding childcare and relevant studies on immersion education in Celtic countries were reviewed. A parental questionnaire, informed by this literature, was distributed through selected immersion settings in Ireland. Social and cognitive development were the main reasons parents cited in regard to early childhood education and an interest in the Irish language and bilingualism along with the good reputation of the immersion preschool were the reasons they chose immersion preschooling. Comparisons …

Parents' Experiences Of A Language-Focused Home Visiting Scheme In Ireland, Aisling Ni Dhiorbhain Dr, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Padraig Ó Duibhir Dr

Articles

This article reports parents’ experiences of the Tús Maith (Good Start) home visiting scheme in South-West Ireland. The goal of Tús Maith is to support parents who wish to speak Irish to their children at home in the Kerry Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking heartland area. Home visitors spend an hour a week, over a period of six weeks, interacting with children and parents with varying levels of competency in Irish. Home visitors who are native speakers of Irish, offer individualised guidance on how to promote the use of Irish as a home language, while encouraging families to engage in activities …

Interactions For Language Learning In And Around Virtual World, Ciara R. Wigham, Luisa Panichi, Susanna Nocchi, Randall Sandler

Articles

“… the new forms of interaction made possible by virtual worlds remain, to a significant degree, unexplored.” (Peterson, 2011: 78) “… immersion and interaction are necessary conditions of worldhood. Without them, virtual worlds would not be worlds at all.” (Zabel, 2014: 417) Since the mid-1990s, the pedagogical opportunities offered by three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds (VWs) have generated a considerable amount of interest and dialogue among educators and educational researchers across a variety of disciplines. The potential of VWs for language learning and teaching did not go unnoticed by the CALL community: language educators and researchers began to explore and to …

Reflections On A Language Planning Project In Context, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Cathy Kelleher

Articles

The aim of this paper is to reflect in broad terms on issues which arose in the context of an early years language planning project in Irish-medium preschools (naíonraí) in the Irish-speaking (Gaeltacht) areas of the west of Ireland. Borradh Language Planning Project was commissioned in 2009 to provide guidance and planning templates for early years educators to develop the Irish language competency of children in their early years groups. Due to the changing language ecology of the Gaeltacht areas, many families now raise their children through both Irish and English and children enter the early years services with differing …

An Examination Of Concepts Of School Readiness Among Parents And Educators In Ireland, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Emer Ring, Noirin Hayes, Patsy Stafford, Siobhan Keegan, Cathy Kelleher, Martina Ozonyia, Mary Moloney, Deirdre Breathnach, Des Carswell, Des Mccafferty, Anne O'Keefe, Aisling Leavy, Ruth Madden

Reports

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs commissioned research through the Irish Research Council (IRC) to examine concepts of school readiness as they are understood by early years educators and managers, primary school principals, junior infant teachers and parents of children participating in the first Free Preschool Year in Ireland. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, involving interviews, an online survey and “draw and tell” sessions with children. Representative samples of FPSY settings and primary schools were selected and an online survey based on the findings of the qualitative phase was sent to 500 pre-primary settings and 500 primary schools. In …

The Effects Of High Literacy Demands In Mathematics On International Students, Fiona Faulkner, Clare O'Hara, Mark Prendergast

Articles

Project Maths is an ambitious reform of Irish post-primary education. It involves changes to what students learn in mathematics, how they learn it and how they will be assessed. There is a much greater emphasis placed on student understanding of mathematical concepts, with increased use of contexts and applications that will enable students to relate mathematics to their everyday experiences. The assessment reflects the different emphasis on problem solving and applications in the teaching and learning of mathematics and there is a much greater emphasis on reading and understanding the problems. Hence there is a greater emphasis on student’s English …

Pleanail Curaclam Agus Teanga Sa Naionra, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Jacqui De Siun

Books/Book chapters

Is gá don bhainisteoir cur chuige oiriúnach a aimsiú agus tabhairt faoi go tuisceanach eolasach chun bunaidhmeanna an naíonra, is iad sin forbairt iomlán an linbh agus sealbhú na Gaeilge, a bhaint amach. Is dlúthchuid den chur chuige sin an phleanáil teanga. Éireoidh níos fearr le sealbhú na Gaeilge má bhíonn sé pleanáilte roimh ré, ar bhonn atá céimithe ach atá scaoilte ag an am céanna. Beidh an stiúrthóir in ann an phleanáil a bhunú ar an aithne atá aici ar na páistí agus ar a gcuid spéiseanna, ar a cuid eolas ar na réimsí gníomhaíochtaí atá oiriúnach do pháistí …

Ag Aistriú Ón Naíonra Chun Na Gaelscoile: Beartas Oideachais Teanga, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Fiona Nic Fhionnlaoich

Conference papers

Díreofar sa pháipéar seo ar na bunchoincheapanna a bhaineann le haistriú ó shuíomh luath-óige go dtí an bhunscoil agus ar tionscnamh, “An Traein: Ag Aistriú ón Naíonra go dtí an Ghaelscoil”. Tabharfar breac-chuntas ar an méid a foghlaimíodh ón tionscnamh. Léireofar roinnt de na rudaí a d'aithin na rannpháirtithe mar shampla an tábhacht a bhaineann le cumarsáid agus aistriú eolais i dtaobh na bpáistí féin (le cead na dtuismitheoirí/caomhnóirí) agus i dtaobh an tsaghais Gaeilge a bhí á sealbhú ag na páistí. An méid a foghlaimíodh ón taighde seo agus na himpleachtaí a bhaineann léi, cuirfear sin i gcomparáid …

Litriocht Na Nog Sna Naionrai: Na Luathbhlianta, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Mairead Mac Con Iomaire

Books/Book chapters

Déanfar cur síos san aiste seo ar bhunú agus ar fhorbairt samhail nua luathoideachais, mar atá na naíonraí, a chuireann oideachas luathóige ar fáil do pháistí óga trí Ghaeilge. Rianófar na cúiseanna a bhain le bunú na naíonraí, cúlra agus ról na gceannródaithe a bhí páirteach sa ghluaiseacht le linn na 1970í agus 1980í, an saghas litríochta do pháistí a bhí ar fáil ag an am agus na moltaí a bhí á gcur chun cinn faoi conas an litríocht sin a úsáid sna naíonraí.

E-Xperience Erasmus: Online Journaling As A Tool To Enhance Students’ Learning Experience Of Their Study Visit Abroad, Odette Gabaudan

Conference Papers

Students on the BA International Business and Languages who spend a full academic year on a study visit abroad experience many new challenges such as a different culture, a new university, different academic practices, a foreign language, etc. The assessment methods for the year include the results of the modules taken in the partner universities, a language examination and the submission of a country notebook. This research is a pilot study that explores how the maintenance of an online journal via a blog/e-portfolio structure can support students in their new learning experiences, alert the home coordinator to any potential difficulty …

Child Language In The Early Years, Maire Mhic Mhathuna

Books/Book chapters

This chapter describes how children acquire their first language in the early years. Some children also acquire a second language in early years setting and the processes and adult supports that assist them are described. These include dynamic scaffolding and environmental supports. The main theories of first and second language acquisition are reviewed and the importance of supportive facilitation by nurturing adults is emphasised.

Cultural And Linguistic Capital In Early Years Education And Care, Maire Mhic Mhathuna

Conference papers

This paper discusses the concept of cultural and linguistic capital in relation to early years education and care (EECE) in Ireland. Bourdieu describes cultural capital as a form of symbolic capital or non-economic asset. Linguistic capital is a subset of cultural capital and refers to linguistic competence and control of linguistic resources. At a time of great change in ECCE it is appropriate to consider the cultural references on which early childhood education and care in Ireland is premised. What is distinctly Irish about ECEC in Ireland? How do we develop an inclusive viewpoint that values the totality of our …

Supporting Children's Participation In Second Language Stories In An Irish Language Preschool, Maire Mhic Mhathuna

Articles

This paper considers how children learning a second language were supported as active participants during storytelling sessions in an Irish-language immersion preschool in Dublin. Audio-recordings and observations were made of the story sessions once a fortnight over a period of six months. The resulting transcripts were analysed from an interactionist perspective, recognising both the cognitive and social aspects of the process. The staff were also interviewed and a questionnaire was completed by the parents. The analysis showed that the practitioners provided support for the children through dynamic repeated readings of target books, scaffolded interactions, sufficient experience of storybook reading and …

Intercultural Books In Practice, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Una Hill

Articles

This paper examines the practical use of intercultural and multicultural books in Early Years settings in the Irish context. Questionnaires were sent to seventy early years’ settings in the Dublin region, focusing on the criteria they used for selecting such books. These responses indicated that staff viewed inclusion, the story, age appropriateness, illustrations and the language of the books as being important. The practitioners’ responses are compared with the views of authors on diversity issues and similarities and differences identified. Overall there was a greater emphasis on children in the practitioners’ survey while the authors focused on issues. A list …

Ditcall-Slow: Slowing Native Speech For Language Learners, Dermot Campbell, Ciaran Mcdonnell, Yi Wang, Marty Meinardi, Bunny Richardson, Charles Pritchard

Conference papers

It is a common experience of many learners of a foreign language that native speakers (NSs) of that language speak too quickly for them to understand or imitate. Slowing down a segment of speech with older technology results in the familiar deepening of the voice as the pitch drops as well. The result is unpleasant and not particularly instructive. The DITCall-Slow tool slows recorded speech without tonal distortion, so that the learner has – literally – more time to hear what was said by the NS and, especially at slower playback speeds, can attend to the manner in which the …

Shared And Mutual Knowledge In Language Learning, Marty Meinardi

Articles

This article discusses the matter of shared knowledge from the perspective of the different deictic centres of understanding. Difficulties, which may result from a possible lack of a shared knowledge between NSs and NNSs due to differences in language experiences and personal backgrounds, are identified.

Exchange Faculty Perspectives On International Collaborations, Donal Mchale

Conference Papers

The main purpose of the paper is to document key issues in developing successful transatlantic faculty exchanges and to document perspectives and key learnings’ emanating from the development and implementation of an international exchange process.

Don't Go There: When To Abandon Lesson Plans And Venture, Humbly, Into Ground Zero, Sue Norton

Articles

This paper discusses pedagogical styles that are appropriate in the classroom.