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Perceptions and practices about oral language in the policy and delivery of early education in the Lebanese multilingual context

Kouba Hreich, Edith, Jack, Christine, Haddad Moussa, Nada, Bassaj Hamadi, Rana, Moitel Messarra, Camille, Trebacz, Anastasia, Floccia, Caroline, McKean, Cristina and Khattab, Ghada (2025) Perceptions and practices about oral language in the policy and delivery of early education in the Lebanese multilingual context. In: Multilingual Childhoods Conference 2025, 12-13 May 2025, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg. (Unpublished)

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)

Abstract

High quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is essential for all
children to reach their potential in the development of their language abilities,
and robust Oral Language (OL) provision is a core element of that (Reilly &
McKean, 2023). But perceptions of what constitutes rich OL provision in ECEC
and their implementation vary both due to diverse conceptualisations of OL and
how these are enacted in a multilingual context. Lebanon is host to people with
different religions, cultures, dialects, and languages. Arabic is the official
language, but Arabic use is diglossic and French and/or English are taught in
most schools from kindergarten. If ECEC is to prepare the currently highly
vulnerable population for a better future, then any policy, service or practice
initiatives to enable this must be contextually informed if they are to be
successful and sustainable (OECD, 2011).
Situated within the Bulbul research program this in-depth qualitative case study
conducted semi-structured interviews or focus groups with fifty-eight
participants representing key agents in ECEC policy, services and practice across
Lebanon (N = Government Ministries-8; Initial Teacher Training-7; Public and
Private Schools and Nurseries-25; NGO providers and policy-9; Speech and
Language Therapists-3; Paediatricians-2; and Parents-2) around the provision of
high quality ECEC and the role of OL within that. Results from thematic analysis
(Braun & Clarke, 2021) suggest that language policy and planning in such a
context need not only consider the ingredients of a rich oral language (OL)
environment, but how to factor in widely different home language experiences,
parental expectations and perception and practice around multilingualism.
Drawing on Hornberger’s (2006) integrative language policy and planning
framework, we identify the importance of developing such a framework in
Lebanon in a manner which both values home language(s) and prepares children
for their educational journey, where foreign languages are key.

Full text not available from this repository.

More Information

Depositing User: Anastasia Trebacz

Identifiers

Item ID: 19123
URI: http://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/19123
Official URL: https://multilingualchildhoods.wordpress.com/2024/...

Users with ORCIDS

ORCID for Anastasia Trebacz: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0528-6082
ORCID for Cristina McKean: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9058-9813

Catalogue record

Date Deposited: 07 Jul 2025 09:00
Last Modified: 07 Jul 2025 09:00

Contributors

Author: Anastasia Trebacz ORCID iD
Author: Cristina McKean ORCID iD
Author: Edith Kouba Hreich
Author: Christine Jack
Author: Nada Haddad Moussa
Author: Rana Bassaj Hamadi
Author: Camille Moitel Messarra
Author: Caroline Floccia
Author: Ghada Khattab

University Divisions

Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing > School of Medicine

Subjects

Sciences > Health Sciences

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