Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-29681
Publication type: Article in scientific journal
Type of review: Peer review (publication)
Title: Children’s agency in interactions : how children use language(s) and contribute to the language ecology in Swiss bilingual German-English daycare centres
Authors: Knoll, Alex
Becker, Anna
et. al: No
DOI: 10.1080/14790718.2023.2225857
10.21256/zhaw-29681
Published in: International Journal of Multilingualism
Volume(Issue): 20
Issue: 4
Page(s): 1304
Pages to: 1318
Issue Date: 2023
Publisher / Ed. Institution: Taylor & Francis
ISSN: 1479-0718
1747-7530
Language: English
Subjects: Children’s agency; Multilingualism; Early childhood education and care; Language policy; Language ecology
Subject (DDC): 371: Schools and their activities
404.2: Bilingualism and multilingualism
Abstract: Although Switzerland is a plurilingual country, most early education and care (ECEC) institutions are monolingual. Yet, new institutions have recently established English as a second language of instruction, addressing economically advantaged families. Despite the growing body of international research on language policy and practice in multilingual ECEC, only few have addressed such ‘privileged’ institutions, and the role children play in dealing with multiple languages. We investigate the language policies and practices in daycare centres with a bilingual language policy, and particularly the children’s agency in dealing with German, English, and other languages in interactions with each other, and with teachers. We draw on the concept of children’s agency and view children as actors who contribute to the construction of the social and cultural world in which they live together with adults. We ask how children use languages in daycare centres, how they contribute to the centres’ language practices, and how thereby different forms of agency manifest. We draw on data from a focused ethnography conducted in three daycare centres in German-speaking Switzerland. The results show that children’s multilingual agency is not only enabled and limited in ECEC settings, but also actively developed in concert with language learning by children themselves.
URI: https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/29681
Fulltext version: Published version
License (according to publishing contract): CC BY-NC-ND 4.0: Attribution - Non commercial - No derivatives 4.0 International
Departement: Social Work
Organisational Unit: Institute of Childhood, Youth and Family (IKJF)
Appears in collections:Publikationen Soziale Arbeit

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
2023_Knoll-Becker_Childrens-agency-in-interactions.pdf1.29 MBAdobe PDFThumbnail
View/Open
Show full item record
Knoll, A., & Becker, A. (2023). Children’s agency in interactions : how children use language(s) and contribute to the language ecology in Swiss bilingual German-English daycare centres. International Journal of Multilingualism, 20(4), 1304–1318. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2023.2225857
Knoll, A. and Becker, A. (2023) ‘Children’s agency in interactions : how children use language(s) and contribute to the language ecology in Swiss bilingual German-English daycare centres’, International Journal of Multilingualism, 20(4), pp. 1304–1318. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2023.2225857.
A. Knoll and A. Becker, “Children’s agency in interactions : how children use language(s) and contribute to the language ecology in Swiss bilingual German-English daycare centres,” International Journal of Multilingualism, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 1304–1318, 2023, doi: 10.1080/14790718.2023.2225857.
KNOLL, Alex und Anna BECKER, 2023. Children’s agency in interactions : how children use language(s) and contribute to the language ecology in Swiss bilingual German-English daycare centres. International Journal of Multilingualism. 2023. Bd. 20, Nr. 4, S. 1304–1318. DOI 10.1080/14790718.2023.2225857
Knoll, Alex, and Anna Becker. 2023. “Children’s Agency in Interactions : How Children Use Language(s) and Contribute to the Language Ecology in Swiss Bilingual German-English Daycare Centres.” International Journal of Multilingualism 20 (4): 1304–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2023.2225857.
Knoll, Alex, and Anna Becker. “Children’s Agency in Interactions : How Children Use Language(s) and Contribute to the Language Ecology in Swiss Bilingual German-English Daycare Centres.” International Journal of Multilingualism, vol. 20, no. 4, 2023, pp. 1304–18, https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2023.2225857.


Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.