Multilingual Early Language Transmission (MELT) - Mercator ...

agreed with each other, they are telling stories, singing songs and playing games with the
children in the minority language.
5.2 Results of implementing the MELT Guide into pre-schools
5.2.1 Process of implementing the MELT Guide
During the school year 2010-2011, several practitioners (about 40 practitioners per region,
120 in total) of 40 different provisions in the four regions implemented the first draft version
of the MELT toolkit within their settings to improve their skills and help them to be more
aware of creating a language strategy within their day care. This toolkit offers guidelines,
practical examples, lesson plans and theory that is aimed at language development of
children aged 0-4 years.
The MELT project tutors visited the participating pre-school settings 5 times, in order to
guide and assist the practitioners. During the MELT project the use and content of the toolkit
was evaluated on a block by block basis. Several evaluation periods were organised;
discussion groups during expert seminars, monthly Skype Meetings, contact through
electronic mail and evaluation forms.
Following feedback received from the final evaluation period between all four tutors during
a Skype meeting in May 2011, the MELT partners agreed on updating and editing the toolkit
into a Guide. The original draft consisted of five sections, with the final version including nine
sections. The Guide is written as a common tool for all practitioners within a pre-school
setting, with the aim of assisting them to work towards a focused language strategy within
their day care. However, the Guide can also serve as a practical tool for beginners. These
changes included presenting the Guide as a binding folder with all sections presented
bilingually on each page. It became evident during the tutor visits that many practitioners
are learning the minority language themselves. Due to this, it was decided that the two
languages (the minority and majority language) would appear on the same side. This will
enable practitioners to see both languages at the same time, hopefully assisting them in the
learning process. By restructuring the MELT Guide, pre-school teachers will feel encouraged
to use these sections in their own way, and in any order which they deem appropriate to
their actual setting of learning and teaching. The final Guide will be translated into eight
languages which will be available online and in hard copy from October 2011.
5.2.2 Results of implementing the MELT Guide
According to the four tutors 108 within the MELT project, the most important and challenging
tasks was promoting the benefits of bilingualism and raising awareness of minority language
108 The four tutors of the MELT project are: Johanna Sallinen (Swedish community in Finland); Margaret Francis (Wales); Virginie Pronost
(Brittany) and Sytske de Boer (Fryslân). Further descriptions of the tutors and organisations are at the MELT website: www.meltproject.eu
[Accessed August 2011].
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