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Singing in multilingual early childhood centers in Luxembourg

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Singing activities are a staple in early childhood settings. Beyond offering moments of relaxation, singing has potential benefits for children’s development and promotes language learning. Nonetheless, educators seem to value singing more as entertainment than as a learning tool. Furthermore, few studies have examined either the functions of songs in multilingual settings or the manners in which teachers scaffold children’s learning. This study, based on three early childhood centers serving children aged 2 to 4 in multilingual Luxembourg, analyzes the purposes of songs and the young children’s participation in singing with a qualitative methodology. The three centers were selected on account of their different locations, dominant languages, and prior experiences with either literacy or collaboration. The authors selected adult-initiated and child-initiated singing episodes to investigate the purposes of singing throughout the day, identify potential benefits in relation to valuing and encountering institutional languages and home languages and examining children’s engagement. Findings indicated four main areas for the use of songs: structuring the day and helping understand routine activities, enhancing socialization, entertaining children, and valuing home languages. Furthermore, children’s participation varied across centers and educators and depended on the pedagogical practices, the opportunities offered by the educators, and the ways the educators scaffolded learning. We conclude with research and policy recommendations, highlighting the need for professional development training that expands the educators’ knowledge and skills necessary to maximize the benefits of songs in multilingual settings.
DOI: 10.1080/10901027.2025.2499820
Language: English
Open Access status: hybrid
Award: G616616703
OpenAlex ID: W4410236189
FWCI: 7.035
Cites: 50
Cited by: 2
Related to: 10