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Date: Tuesday 16 JulyTime: 9.30am – 2.30pm
Location: KU Waratah Room, Level 1, 129 York Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000
Australia is one of the most diverse multicultural/multilingual countries in the world with more than 250 ancestries and 350 languages spoken in the community (ABS, 2021). In NSW alone, 323 languages are spoken by young children aged from birth to six years, with 25% of these children speaking languages other than English (AEDC, 2018).
Due to this, it is not surprising that there are large numbers of children from multilingual backgrounds attending early childhood settings. Therefore, it is essential that educators, families, communities, and policy makers appreciate the importance of providing opportunities for supporting and extending children’s home languages in the early years.
Overview
First part of the day:
We will explore ways in which educators can “recognise that diversity contributes to the richness of our society and provides a valid evidence base about ways of knowing.” (EYLFv2.0, 2022. p. 16). Educators will have opportunities to build on and make connections to the principles, practices and learning outcomes outlined in the Framework highlighting how they can create a sense of belonging that welcomes children and families from diverse of cultures, traditions, languages, and ways of being.
Second part of the day:
We will explore the role of children’s home languages in building sociocultural, intellectual, and linguistic capacity and the benefits of multilingualism for children, families, and communities. A range of educational strategies and implications will be discussed that assist in supporting and extending children’s home languages and languages learning. Links will be made to the principles, practices and learning outcomes outlined in the EYLFv2.0 that support and extend children home languages and multilingualism throughout the day.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers:
- Standard 1: Know children and how they learn.
National Quality Standards:
- Quality Area 1: Educational program and practice
- Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
Presenter: Dr Criss Jones Diaz
Criss Jones Diaz is Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at Western Sydney University and a Researcher in the Centre for Educational Research. She has been a teacher educator for over twenty years. Prior to her commencement at the University of Western Sydney, she taught English as an additional language in Central America and the Caribbean where she learnt Spanish as an additional language. Her professional background is grounded in education and community contexts where she has collaborated with educators providing professional development on early literacies, bi/multilingualism, languages learning and diversity issues. Her research and publications focus on languages, literacies, and identity negotiation in contexts of diversity and difference. Recent prominent co-authored and co-edited texts include ‘Diversity and Difference in Childhoods: Issues for Theory and Practice’ (2016, 2nd Ed); ‘Understanding sociological theory and pedagogical practices’ (2015, 2018, 3nd Ed forthcoming (2024).
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
129 York Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia, New South Wales 2000
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