Att lära barn ett nytt språk. Förskolelärares upplevelse av sin kunskap avseende flyktingbarn och deras språkutveckling i svenska förskolor

Abstract Problem The recent large influx of refugees to Sweden has contributed to major societal challenges. One of these challenges is a refugee child's multicultural background and lack of Swedish language skills. Preschools in Sweden have during a short period of time received a large number of children coming to take part in the activities with an absence of the Swedish language. Whether there are preparations for this and if adequate methods are implemented will be the central focus of this study, based on nine preschool teacher’s perceptions of their knowledge of handling the challenges faced, when dealing with the language development of refugee children. Theory My hypothesis is that the preschool teacher’s perceives it difficult to create sufficient conditions for refugee children to acquire the Swedish language. These difficulties may involve lack of both teacher’s experience and knowledge of difficulties and obstacles during the refugee child’s initial period in a new country, as well as resources. In order to examine the relevance of this hypothesis, theories of language development and learning are used, along with previous research studies related to the area. As a theoretical base, Vygotskij’s theory of language, culture and learning is chosen. Method To acquire answers to my questions, I chose to distribute a questionnaire with eleven questions to ten preschool teachers in four kindergartens in southern Sweden, which was combined with a brief dialogue with each respondent answering the questionnaire