Notes from European experience on multilingual talking books for young school children learning creativity

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NOTES FROM EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE ON MULTILINGUAL TALKING BOOKS FOR YOUNG SCHOOL CHILDREN LEARNING CREATIVITY

Pershukova O.

According to European Commission data 700 million people live in European Union. They belong to different ethnic, cultural and language groups. Besides the 23 official languages of the Union, more than 200 other languages are used for everyday communication including regional languages and languages of national minorities [4]. This means that many children live in families and environments where more than one language is used. Children from monolingual families communicate in kindergartens with their peers speaking other languages and are accustomed to other languages and cultures. Multilingualism in European countries has turned from an exception to a norm in the classroom, which must be taken into consideration by educators as a factor in educational process and one part of the aims of education [2].

In order to solve this complicated problem two main concepts plurilingualism and multilingualism have been introduced by Council of Europe. In the terminology of the Council of Europe plurilingualism refers to the individual use of more than one language, and is related to the psycholinguistic aspect, while multilingualism is a coexistence of several languages in a given region or country, and a sociolinguistic dimension of the phenomenon. In the document entitled `From Linguistic Diversity to Plurilingual Education: Guide for the Development Language Education Policies in Europe' a variety of strategies have been recommended by the Council of Europe to promote both plurilingualism and multilingualism at individual, national, and supranational levels [6]. At the school level a whole language policy is promoted, which is based on the assumption that every teacher is a language teacher. Cooperation is needed not only between mother tongue teachers and teachers of other languages, but also between language teachers and teachers of all other subjects. According to the Recommendations of the Council of Europe, young Europeans have to be given opportunities to learn two modern European languages beside their own and understand the value of European language diversity [2].

In this modern European multilingual context, educators have to consider multilingualism as a resource and a means of mutual understanding, tolerance and promotion of respect. At the same time multilingualism is a rather difficult problem. In some European classrooms, children with different ethnic backgrounds and mother tongues are unknown to the teachers. Therefore those languages are not used in the educational process, and a very rich language potential is ignored. `European school systems rather pursue linguistic homogeneity than language diversity through plurilingual education says Professor Daniela Elsner of Frankfurt on Main University [3]. Schools need to react adequately to language and cultural changes in European society. One of the ways of doing so is plurilingual education, a complex and multifunctional pedagogical phenomenon, which means using several languages in the school educational process, learning them as a subject as well as using them as a means of learning.

At the same time linguistic diversity goes hand in hand with the rapid development of new information technology, and many surveys stress great number of children at primary level using computers at home on a daily basis. The new generation of pupils - the so-called `Google Generation' is constantly connected with friends at any time from any location in any country in our world via telephone or computer. Most students are motivated to read multimodal texts from a computer screen more than texts on paper; they feel far more comfortable working on a keyboard than writing in a notebook [3]. As a consequence, European educators need to rethink the concept of literacy from a traditional perspective to a multi-literacy one. Furthermore, methods and materials that support pupils in their multilingual and multi-literacy development need to be developed.

The aim of the article is to inform readers about European experience with the creation of Multilingual Virtual Talking Books for young readers, which give them opportunities to learn some languages autonomously and simultaneously as well as develop other competencies.

The problems of textbook production are widely discussed in the works of Ukrainian and Russian researchers: A. Arutiunov (А. Арутюнов), B. Bespalko (В. Беспалько), I. Bym (І. Бім), M. Viatyutnev (М. Вятютнєв), F. Dudnikov (А. Дудніков), D. Zuev (Д. Зуєв), V. Kraevskiy (В. Краєв- ський), I. Lerner (І. Лернер), V. Plachotnyck (В. Плахотник), V. Red'ko (В. Редько), N. Samujlov (Н. Самуйлов), M. Skatkin (М. Скаткін), M. Shach (М. Шах). Their writings are however mostly dedicated to monolingual textbooks creation. The Professor Christine Helot of Strasbourg University mentions developments in the production of bilingual and trilingual books for little children in France [7, 42-65]. However, in general the problem of producing multilingual textbooks and manuals is not widely investigated in Europe nor in the wider world. In this context the practice in an international group of investigators is interesting for Ukrainian researchers and the authors of text books.

The project named Multilingual Virtual Talking Books (MuViT) aims to implement the concept of pedagogy of multiliteracies. This concept was developed by an international group of scientists which consisted of ten academics from the USA and Australia and called `New London Group' in 1996. They produced a theoretical overview of the connections between the changing social environment facing schoolchildren and teachers and a new approach to literacy pedagogy that they call `multiliteracies'[9]. The authors of the approach argue that the multiplicity of communications channels and increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in the world today call for a much broader view of literacy than that portrayed by traditional language-based approaches. The authors maintain that the use of multiliteracies approaches to pedagogy will enable schoolchildren to achieve the twin goals of literacy learning: creating access to the evolving language of work, power, and community, and fostering the critical engagement necessary for them to design their social futures and achieve success [3]. The members of the New London Group underlined that education in the 21st century must consider and develop the intercultural, multilingual and technological experience which schoolchildren already have [9].

Before the start of the MuViT project, 8 researchers in the field of first, second and foreign language acquisition, teachers and teacher educators, IT-specialists from Germany, Spain, Turkey, Latvia and Russia searched for a simple-to-use tool which could enhance multilingual learning through the use of new media. The questions to be answered were: How could different languages enter classrooms all over the world and motivate children to learn their own and other languages, including minority languages, school languages and foreign languages, without requesting teachers to be able to speak all these different languages? How could, at the same time, children's technological understanding and media literacy be developed? [3; 8]

The work of the project under the leadership of professor D. Elsner began from the analyses of the textbook market in different European countries. They came to the following conclusions: 1) the products available for multilingual learning are basically paper books in two languages; 2) sometimes accompanied by CD which are often restricted to two languages (English/Spanish); 3) do not come with appropriate methodological guidelines for their integration into the language classroom; and 4) are aimed at the development of traditional functional literacy, namely reading [8].

Multiliteracy, in the view of MuViT members, implies the development of functional, visual, and multimodal literacy, plurilingual awareness, critical thinking and digital competencies through the active use of media. Against this background MuViT members and their partners are working on the development, promotion and exploitation of multilingual virtual talking books. These are computer-based storybooks in five different languages (English, German, Russian, Spanish, Turkish developed for children at primary level) integrating different activities for the development of language and cross-linguistic awareness, alongside a concept for an authoring tool enabling children from 8 to 10 years to produce and share their own multilingual storybooks within the MuVit web-community. Children can choose the language or languages in which they want to access the books, and switching languages while reading is possible at any time. Motivation is an integral part of children's learning, and MuViT wants to motivate children to read and listen to texts in different languages, to explore and compare different languages with their own in order to raise language awareness and plurilingual sensitivity, to develop tolerance and understanding for other languages and cultures. Children are given opportunities to use computers for meaningful purposes and even design their own multilingual books on the computer. Being multiliterate is being able not only to read textual messages, but also to be competent in interpreting symbols and images, and in using multimedia and other technological tools, such as the internet, all of which allow us to construct meaning, learn and interact with others. Being multiliterate also embraces understanding multiculturalism and showing respect for diversity, which reflects in effective interaction [3; 8].

Six stories were written by a team of authors of the MuViT group in five languages published as Easy Reader Books and digitalized. Three of them are in modern European languages learned at the elementary level (English, German, Spanish) and two other languages (Russian and Turkish) which are the main migrant languages in Germany. The stories are: a story about a boy who wants to become a magician and accidentally changes his sister into a cat (Magic Maddox); a traditional tale about a turnip that doesn't come up out of the ground until a little mouse comes to help (The enormous turnip); a story about a boy who doesn't like school and wishes to work on different jobs, but soon changes his mind (Rubin and the magic stone); a story about the playground (At the playground); the story about Mr. Miller who is afraid of anything but his own wild-looking dog (Mister Miller); a story about a product that children like all over the world (Ice Cream). There are translations in English, Spanish, German, Turkish and Russian made by professionals and printed in Latin and Cyrillic script. Each story is available in five (+ Cyrillic) languages. The learner can listen to the text and read it on the screen. The function of colour marking on the screen is very helpful for understanding, and promotes pronunciation. Illustrations to the texts are culturally adopted in advance. All of the digitalized stories are combined with special pre- and post storytelling tasks. In the pre-reading phase, key vocabulary is introduced on the first screen. Pupils first get information on the story and are introduced to the key vocabulary necessary to ensure text comprehension. For the post reading phase the software includes different tasks concerning three aspects: text comprehension activities, intralinguistic activities, cross- linguistic comparisons. The post-reading tasks ask the learner to listen to and read the story he/she has read in one or more languages. Different other tasks are focused on checking understanding. All of the tasks have been developed, agreed upon and translated by all partners.

The MuVit Authoring tool is an instrument with which pupils together with their teachers can upload their own narratives in different languages, add pictures and recordings and thus create their own multilingual virtual storybooks for other children all over the world. This tool can be accessed in conjunction with the MuVit web community.

The second part of the project deals with teachers and teacher trainers, since development of plurilingual awareness and multiple literacies (function, media, multi-modal, visual etc.) starts with the development of such competencies of the teachers. All of the MuVit tools are supplied with a teacher handbook, an Easy Readers short teachers' guide offering ways for language learning with readers. The guide comprises different tasks for the pre-, during- and post-reading phases. Another teachers' guide was prepared to accompany the MuVit player (CD) helping teachers to integrate the player and the authoring tool successfully into the teaching process, because it is only if teachers themselves know how to operate the MuVit products appropriately, that they will offer such tools to their pupils. Workshops for teachers and teacher trainees are provided.

The third part of the project is dedicated to researching the effectiveness of MuVit. Researchers involved in the MuVit project want to find out to what extent the products can contribute to a change of attitudes towards pupils' and teachers' own plurilingualism and aspects of multilingualism in European society.

The concept of the multilingual virtual book (Easy Readers) in combination with the supplement (Authoring Tool) and communication in the web community MuViT, provides students with stimulation in different activities in learning languages, thus developing cross linguistic awareness. It is an instrument for the development of creativity because it gives opportunities to write stories in several languages, make collections and share in the the MuVit web community. The authors consider this manual as a means of forming different competencies:

multilingual functional competence in reading, listening, pronunciation and writing in some languages;

multimodal competence, promoting integrated application of illustrations, texts, sound and colour marking on the screen;

visual competence which is formed through perception and interpretation of illustrations to the texts;

media competence as an ability to submit one's own text to a public;

digital competence which means specific knowledge and skills of using computers;

critical thinking development while checking and making analysis of some facts and ideas, using possibilities of mutual discussion;

multilingual awareness as a competence to receive information about different languages, and sensitiveness in learning, using and teaching them [5].

The modern European context is multilingual, culturally and socially divergent and dictates the need to find new solutions in reforming school education. Ukrainian researcher V. Red'ko points to the necessity of re-orienting educational aims and content as well as technologies and means of their implementation. The situation needs revision of established views on the content of school textbooks in order to identify the students' potential and creativity [1, 209].

In our view the question how well such multilingual virtual books can be used in Ukrainian elementary school and schools other countries remains unanswered. When the project is finished copies of the virtual books will be distributed in the partner countries, but we feel regret because Ukrainian children won't receive them and Ukrainian is not learned among the other languages. But this manual is a powerful means of motivation to learn languages, positive attitudes to different people's cultural peculiarities, creating tolerance and empathy, the recognition of cultural equality and equivalence, and the awareness of the existence of common human values. Multilingual virtual books must be considered as a source of teaching children to learn independently and willingly, to create their own stories and share them with friends, and to communicate safely. We would add that the MuViT project contributes to the development of modern multilingual education theory and practice, and opens prospects for various investigations in different areas of knowledge.

Literature

1. Редько Валерій. Засоби формування комунікативної компетентності у змісті шкільних підручників з іноземних мов. Теорія і практика: монографія [Текст] / Валерій Редько. К.: Ґенеза, 2012. 224 с.

2. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessment. Council of Europe, 2001. 274 p.

3. Elsner, Daniela. Developing Multiliteracies, Plurilingual Awareness and Critical Thinking in the primary Language Classroom with Multilingual Virtual Talking books [Internet resource] / Daniela Elsner // Encuentro, 20. 2011. Pp. 22-38. URL: http://www.encuentrojournal.org/ textos/Elsner.pdf.

4. European Commission, 2008 [Internet resource]. URL: http://ec.europa.eu/languages/languages- of-europe/index_en.htm.

5. Garcia, Ofelia. Multilingual Language Awareness and Teacher Education [Text] / Ofelia Garcia / [eds J. Cenoz and N.H. Hornberger] // Encyclopedia of Language and Education 2^nd Edition, Volume 6: Knowledge about Language. Springer Science +Business Media LLC, 2008. P. 385-400.

6. From Linguistic Diversity to Plurilingual Education: Guide for Development of Language Education Policies in Europe Main Version. [Text] / Jean - Claude Beacco. Council of Europe. Language Policy Division. 2007.119 p.

7. Language policy for the Multilingual Classroom [Text] // Pedagogy of the Possible / [edited by Ch. Helot and M.O Laoire]. Multilingual Matters, 2011. 209 p.

8. MuVit - Multilingual Virtual Talking Books. Progress Report. Public Part [Internet ressourse] / Comenius: Goethe Universitat Frankfurt am Main, 2008. 28 p. URL: http://eacea.ec.europa. eu/llp/projects/public_parts/documents/comenius/com_mp_510277_muvit.pdf.

9. The New London Group. A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures [Internet resource] // Harvard Educational Review. Volume 66. № 1, Spring 1996. URL: http:// wwwstatic.kern.org/filer/blogWrite44ManilaWebsite/paul/articles/A_Pedagogy_of_Multilitera- cies_Designing_Social_Futures.htm.

Анотація

Стаття присвячена одній із актуальних проблем багатомовної освіти вивченню досвіду міжнародного Коменіус - проекта «MuViT» зі створення електронного посібника для навчання школярів п'яти мов (англійської, німецької, іспанської, турецької, російської).

Ключові слова: багатомовна освіта, електронний посібник, європейський досвід.

Annotation

The article deals with one of the actual problems of multilingual education - review of the international Comenius - project «MuViT» experience on producing electronic manual for school children learning five languages (English, German, Spanish, Turkish, Russian).

Key words: multilingual education, electronic manual, European experience.