Teaching Multilingual Learners: Whole School and Community-Based Initiatives for Academic Success

In this webinar, Jim Cummins will describe the evolution of educators’ perspectives towards multilingualism in general, and the languages of immigrant-background students in particular, over the past 45 years in both Europe and North America. Schools (and preschools) are increasingly positioning the languages that immigrant-background students bring to school as a cognitive and educational asset, rather than as a liability. We now have many case studies documenting instructional initiatives undertaken by educators that have transformed their schools into language-friendly environments where all students are encouraged to develop a curiosity about languages and the motivation to develop literacy in multiple languages. The presentation will explore how these multilingual initiatives might be extended in both the Swedish context and elsewhere to involve parents and the wider community as partners in their children’s education.

Jim Cummins is Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Toronto, Canada. Cummins is a pioneer among pioneers in the field of education for students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. He has contributed to the development of qualitative research in the field, the content of teacher education programs, and basic education in multilingual settings. He is a highly respected researcher in the international research arena.

Reference
Cummins, J. (2017). Flerspråkiga elever: Effektiv undervisning i en utmanande tid. (Multilingual learners: Effective instruction in challenging times). Stockholm: Natur & Kultur.

The presentation will be in English. The event is open to all, but requires registration, on February 6th at the latest.

Registration

Welcome! Tervetuloa! Välkommen!

This talk is part of a webinar series by the Section for Finnish focusing on revitalisation of a language. The aim of the webinar series is to provide inspiration to people working with, or in general interested in, languages in need of revitalisation.