Thirty-nine professionals in early years’ education from 30 ECML member states, Belgium, Canada, and the United Kingdom are discussing principles and approaches which contribute to inspiring language learning and teaching in the early years and how these can be applied to the individual context of the different ECML member states.

Under the guidance of the ECML project team – Flore SCHANK (Luxembourg), Déirdre KIRWAN (Ireland), Dana MUSILOVA (Czech Republic), Ingeborg BIRNIE (United Kingdom), and Jakob PATEKAR (Croatia), participants will work towards a shared understanding of the concept of plurilingualism and what this means for the teaching and learning of language(s) in the early years.

The project is designed to help professionals harness opportunities inherent in linguistically diverse classrooms and use them for the benefit of all pupils. Those involved in early-years education, at whatever level, can in particular find evidence here of good practice and a variety of teaching and learning tools to develop learners’ language competence. 

Details and developments can be found on the project website: www.ecml.at/inspiringearlylearning.