Preschool, Multilingualism and Translanguaging : Linguistic Diversity, Language Strategies and Participation

This text focuses on multilingual children’s education and language development in the Swedish preschool contextdiscussing linguistic strategies, language diversity, native language, and native language support. Speaking Swedishin the Swedish preschool is the norm; it is the major language in Sweden and it is also the native language of themajority of the children. However, speaking about native language in the Swedish school context, it is often aboutnative languages other than Swedish. We are speaking about the children with a native language other than Swedish,the multilingual children. Research shows that interaction between the children and the teachers is crucial for thechildren’s learning, language acquisition, and identity development. The interaction, expectations, and attitudes thatthe child, the teacher, and others in the surroundings have both to the language or languages that should be learnedand to the child who should learn, are also critical for success in language development. When a child in thepreschool pedagogical practice develops the native language, the child becomes less subordinate, can play togetherin many settings, and get access to the world in the preschool and in the society that is expressed and understoodthrough language