“English in the Kindergarten: Towards Multilingual Education”

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.