Educational Borders: Multilingualism or Not

“Educational borders: Multilingualism or not“ focusses on language practices in kindergartens on both sides of the German-Dutch border. The research project aims at understanding linguistic socialization in the area’s kindergartens, and its relation to the border. Thereby, it is of interest if and how children get prepared for the region’s linguistic diversity or, if and how a monolingual approach that puts emphasis on the nation state is favoured. By means of an integrated ethnographic discourse analytical approach, language ideologies and language policies as well as their enactment and negotiation in practice are explored. The objective is to find out: Is the German-Dutch border softened or hardened through linguistic practices in ‘Kindergärten’ and ‘peuterspeelzalen’ (kindergartens)?

Researcher: Marie Rickert (see profile)

Supervisors: Leonie Cornips, Christine Arnold, Gunther Devogelaer (see profiles)