Language, Culture and Identity in the Early Years

Tözün Issa is Senior Lecturer at London Metropolitan University, UK, where he is Director of the Centre for Multilingualism in Education.Alison Hatt was, until recently, Senior Lecturer at London Metropolitan University, UK.

• Introduction 1. The Early Years Foundation Stage: Historical Context and Recent Developments 2. Minority Education: Developments in Britain 3. Setting the Context: Historical Perspectives on Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Early Years Foundation Stage 4. Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Exploring Language, Culture and Identity 5. Multilingualism: Key Issues and Debates 6. First and Subsequent Language Acquisition: Key Issues and Debates 7. Home Languages and Supporting the Development of Purposeful Talk in Early Years Setting 8. Supporting Children's Language Development: The Role of Parents, Carers and Other Adults 9. The Development of Communication and Oracy 10. Making the Transition to Reception Classes in Primary Schools 11. Conclusions and Recommendations References Index

This book offers much-needed support to practitioners working with children from different language backgrounds in early years settings. The authors make theories on multilingual learning accessible to the reader, linking the ideas clearly with practice. The book contains many excellent suggestions for working with families to create a classroom environment that develops children's home languages as well as English and fosters educational success.