February 21^st marks the International Mother Tongue Day, a day celebrated worldwide to highlight the importance of linguistic diversity and the right to use and preserve one’s mother tongue. In connection with this day, Móðurmál invites everyone to take part and celebrate Multilingual February and help raise awareness of the value of all languages.

Multilingual February grew out of the Menningarmót project and is organized in collaboration with the Coordination Team menntun, móttaka, menning (MEMM), Móðurmál—the association on bilingualism, and Heimili og Skóli. Everyone is welcome to participate.

Heritage language schools and compulsory schools are encouraged to join in on their own terms. Participation can take many forms, such as organizing a theme day, booking courses, or working on creative projects with students that celebrate linguistic diversity. To connect your activities to the wider initiative, use the hashtag #fjöltyngdurfebruar in your discussions and sharing.

The overall goal of Multilingual February is to strengthen positive attitudes toward multilingualism and to increase awareness of the fact that multilingualism is a valuable resource—for individuals, for schools, and for society as a whole.

Ideas for Projects and Activities

Schools and educators can choose from a variety of inspiring activities, including:

• Exploring the role of languages in students’ lives through the conversation game “Our Languages”
• Creating a language rainbow to visualize linguistic diversity
• Mapping and examining the languages spoken in the immediate community
• Using teaching materials from the MEMM website, such as the “Magic Box of Languages”

Together, these initiatives foster harmony, visibility, and meaningful conversations about multilingualism and cultural diversity.

Course on “Cultural Encounters and the Magic Chest of Languages”

As part of Multilingual February, it is possible throughout the month of February to book free on-site and online courses on Cultural Encounters and the Magic Chest of Languages. See more details here.

How to Participate

• Connect your projects to #fjöltyngdurfebrúar
• Share fun and inspiring projects by posting them in the shared event space

Photos and project examples will be collected and displayed on this Padlet.

Let’s work together to build a shared understanding of the importance of all languages in the lives of children and young people—while remembering that Icelandic is a language we all have in common.

📅 February 2026
📍 Nationwide
🏷️ #fjöltyngdurfebrúar

#fjöltyngdurfebrúar – fjöltyngi er auðlind

21. febrúar er Alþjóðadagur móðurmála og er honum fagnað um allan heim. Af því er boðið til vitundarvakningar um mikilvægi þess að gera öllum tungumálum hátt undir höfði.

Fjöltyngdur febrúar sprettur úr verkefninu Menningarmót og er haldinn í samstarfi við samhæfingarteymi Menntun, móttaka, menning (MEMM), Móðurmál – samtök um tvítyngi og Heimili og skóla – öllum er opið að taka þátt.

Móðurmálsskólar og skólar geta tekið þátt á sínum forsendum t.d. með því að vera með þemadag, bóka námskeið eða vinna önnur skapandi verkefni með nemendum sem felast í því að fagna fjölbreytileika tungumála. Notum #fjöltyngdurfebrúar í umfjöllun.

Markmiðið er að styrkja jákvætt viðhorf til fjöltyngis og auka vitund okkar allra um að fjöltyngi er auðlind fyrir einstaklinga, skóla og samfélagið.

Sem dæmi um verkefni er hægt:

• Að vinna með mikilvægi tungumála í lífi nemenda með því að spila Samræðuspilið tungumálin okkar

•Að gera tungumálaregnboga

• Að kortleggja og skoða tungumálin í nærumhverfinu

• Að nýta kennsluefni á vef MEMM á borð við Töfrakistu tungumálanna

Saman skapar þetta samhljóm, sýnileika og samtal um fjöltyngi og menningarlegan margbreytileika.

Námskeið  um „Menningarmót og Töfrakistu tungumálanna“

Sem hluti af Fjöltyngdum febrúar er allan febrúar hægt að panta gjaldfrjáls  stað- og fjarnámskeið  um Menningarmót og Töfrakistu tungumálanna. Sjá nánar hér

Takið þátt:

• Tengið ykkar verkefni við #fjöltyngdurfebrúar

• Deilið skemmtilegum verkefnum með því að setja þau inn hér í viðburðinn

Myndir og ýmis verkefni birtast á þessum Padlet.

Búum til sameiginlega vitundarvakningu um mikilvægi allra tungumála í lífi barna og ungmenn—ogg munum að við eigum öll Íslenskuna sameiginlega.

📅 Febrúar 2026

📍 Um allt land

🏷️ #fjöltyngdurfebrúar

The “From Words to Wonders” project was launched on Saturday, December 6th, in Húsavík. This project, coordinated by STEM Húsavík and Móðurmál á Norðurlandi, aims to enhance STEM education in schools from kindergarten to high school.

Graenuvellir, the kindergarten in Húsavik, has implemented a policy to improve children’s scientific vocabulary. This project, “From Words to Wonders,” enables multilingual children to learn these concepts and words in their heritage language, promoting their linguistic and cognitive development.

María Sastre from Móðurmál, the Association of Bilingualism in Iceland, and Elena Martínez from Móðurmál á Norðurlandi, spoke at the event about the importance of bilingualism and family language policy in children’s language development. Huld Hafliðadóttir from STEM Húsavík presented the STEM concept to the parents present.

Looking ahead, the organization will offer multilingual STEM-focused sessions throughout the winter. Móðurmál á Norðurlandi is coordinated by Elena Martínez and Marianne Rasmussen. To get in touch with them, you can contact modurmalnordurland@gmail.com.

Upphafsviðburðurinn fyrir verkefnið “Frá orðum til undra” fór fram á laugardaginn, 6. desember, á Húsavík.

Verkefnið, sem er samhæft af STEM Húsavík í samvinnu við Móðurmál á Norðurlandi, miðar að því að stuðla að STEM (Vísindi, Tækni, Verkfræði og Stærðfræði) menntun í samfélaginu, sérstaklega í skólum, frá leikskóla til framhaldsskóla.

Grænuvellir, leikskólinn á Húsavík, hefur þróað stefnu til að efla vísindalegan orðaforða barna. Þetta verkefni, “Frá orðum til undra”, gerir fjöltyngdum börnum kleift að læra þessi hugtök og orðaforða einnig á öðru móðurmáli þeirra, sem stuðlar að tungumála- og hugrænni þróun þeirra.

María Sastre frá Móðurmáli – samtökum um tvítyngi á Íslandi og Elena Martínez frá Móðurmál á Norðurlandi fluttu erindi á viðburðinum um mikilvægi tvítyngis og tungumálastefnu fjölskyldna fyrir börn. Að auki kynnti Huld Hafliðadóttir hugtakið STEM fyrir foreldrum sem mættu.

Í vetur mun verkefnið halda fleiri fundi á tungumálum foreldra með fókus á STEM. Móðurmál á Norðurlandi er samhæft af Elenua Martínez og Marianne Rasmussen. Til að hafa samband við þær er hægt að nota netfangið modurmalnordurland@gmail.com.

Renata Emilsson Peskova, the chair of the board of Móðurmáls, recently co-authored an article in the local newspaper visir.is highlighting that in recent years, Iceland’s schools have become increasingly multilingual: according to official statistics, about 16.2% of all compulsory‑school students have a mother tongue other than Icelandic.
This linguistic diversity reflects a broader trend in Icelandic society: many children speak one or more non‑Icelandic languages at home and Icelandic at school or in public life, and some speak Icelandic as their mother tongue alongside other mother tongues. The article discusses the question that all schools and teachers have to answer: May (I) forbid children to use their mother tongues in schools?

Recognising students’ mother tongues can foster cultural identity and self‑esteem. Multilingualism can be an educational asset: strong proficiency in one language can support learning additional languages. The current linguistic landscape in Icelandic schools calls for careful reflection on how language policy and educational practice can best respond to diversity. The article was published under the title “Má (ég) banna börnum að nota móðurmál í skólanum?” and discusses the reality of linguistic diversity in Icelandic schools. The authors argue that a constructive approach with inclusive language policies that allow for the respectful use of mother tongues alongside instruction in Icelandic may be beneficial. This can support integration, learning, and cultural diversity. Blanket bans on mother‑tongue use in schools may lead to exclusion or marginalisation of multilingual students by disregarding their linguistic heritage. Mother tongues should be regarded not as obstacles but as valuable resources—not only for students’ personal identity and well‑being but also for fostering a more inclusive and culturally rich educational environment while balancing the role of Icelandic as a societal language and the rights and needs of multilingual students and families.

Honkowicz Bukowska, D., Jónsdóttir, F. B., Gunnþórsdóttir, H., & Emilsson Pesková, R. (2025, November 27). Má (ég) banna börnum að nota móðurmál í skólanum? Vísir. Má (ég) banna börnum að nota móður­mál í skólanum? – Vísir

In an earlier article, Renata discussed the educational role of heritage language / mother tongue schools and how this type of non-formal education contributes to children´s language education:

Emilsson Peskova, R. (May, 2022). Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism: Enriching language education in Iceland. Newsletter of International Federation of Language Teacher Associations, 1, 6–10. https://www.scribd.com/document/567890912/newsletter-1-2022-nordic-baltic-region

Katerina Blahutova, an architect and multifacted artist, presented a collaborative workshop for over 50 children enrolled in several Móðurmál groups. On September 27th, she organised an interactive experience called Saeskrímslabúrið (the sea monster aquarium) in Hólabrekkuskóli for children. Students from the Czech, Korean, Spanish, and Russian groups took part in a supervised session and were able to interact creatively with a sea monster that they created themselves during the workshop. The project’s central concept is based on externalisation in narrative therapy, in which children are encouraged to express their emotions artistically by creating a sea monster, which is then placed in a digital aquarium. Children can then engage with the sea monster, which reacts like a real fish when tapped, appearing alarmed and swimming away. The digital interface also resembled real-world water elements, such as ripples when touched. The first part of the workshop consists of storytelling and inventing sea monsters, with children encouraged to use their imagination and empathy to create their own sea monster. They are then asked to design the monster on colored paper and name it. The monsters are then scanned and used in a digital projection, allowing the children to interact and play with their own creations. Móðurmál is grateful for the invitation and partnership, and the participating children had a fun class. The project has been funded by Barnamenningarsjóður until June 2027.

The Ukrainian group has been an active part of Móðurmál, the association for bilingualism, for over three years. The group has become an important center of support, development, and unity for children of Ukrainian origin. The group includes both children who were born and raised in Iceland and those who arrived after the war in Ukraine began.

Learning and Activities:

Lessons are organized by experienced and dedicated teachers who create an engaging, meaningful, and diverse learning environment. The program includes:

• Thematic lessons in Ukrainian language, culture, and history
• Celebrations of traditional Ukrainian holidays
• Excursions and educational trips
• Outdoor breaks and games
• Creative workshops and interactive activities

Support and community:

The group plays a vital role in providing emotional support to children, helping them adapt to a new environment while maintaining a connection to their native culture. It also:

• Promotes the preservation of Ukrainian traditions and identity
• Provides opportunities to communicate in their native language
• Brings families together and fosters a sense of community
• Supports the emotional well-being of the children

We regularly document our activities through photos and videos that showcase the children’s active participation, joy, and engagement. These materials also help parents stay connected to their children’s school life.

Two information evenings for parents of foreign origin were co-organized by the Home and School Association of Parents (Heimili og skóli – landssamtök foreldra).
They took part in Icelandic with interpretation in Reykjanesbær, school Háteigsskóli in Ásbrú on 1 April, and in Akranes, Þorpið, on 2 April.

Program:
Collaboration between Parents and Schools (Samstarf foreldra og skóla)
Prosperity & importance of the Mother Tongue and Icelandic (Farsæld & mikilvægi móðurmáls og íslensku)
Parents & Leisure Time – The importance of Participation in Leisure Programs (Foreldrar & frítími – Mikilvægi þátttöku í frístundastarfi)

The project was funded from the grant of the Ministry of Education and Children aimed at the prosperity of children.

Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism is a partner in the project Studio 25: Iceland. Studio 25: Iceland is a cultural education initiative designed to strengthen ties between Slovakia and Iceland by engaging young people under 25 in learning about and co-creating content on Icelandic culture. Instead of simply receiving information (Cultural Education 2.0), participants will actively contribute to the creation of cultural reports and a short documentary (Cultural Education 3.0). This approach aims to foster a deeper understanding of Icelandic culture while encouraging a shift in young people’s perspectives, measured through a sociological survey. The initiative’s findings will help refine and expand the program across Slovakia and other European countries.

Nationwide Impact & Key Activities

The initiative reaches across Slovakia and Iceland through:

• Workshops on Icelandic culture – held in-person at the Slovak Television and Radio´s Creative Centers in Kosice, Banska Bystrica, and Bratislava, as well as the compulsory school Fellaskóli in Reykjavik. The sessions are free, interpreted, and available online. (March and April 2025).
• Hands-on cultural education in Košice—where young participants will collaborate with experts in audiovisual production and Icelandic culture, applying a “learning by doing” method. (April 2025)
• Mobility to Iceland—offering young people firsthand experience and enabling the production of six cultural reports and a documentary, which will be broadcast nationwide on Slovak Television and Radio. (March 2025)
• Hybrid accessibility—events, recordings, and educational materials will be available online for a broader audience.
• Sociological research—tracking changes in young people’s attitudes toward cultural engagement.

Potential for Positive Change

Studio 25: Iceland aims to:

• Shift young people from passive consumers to active creators in cultural education.
• Redefine the role of media by using positive, inspiring content to foster cross-cultural understanding.
• Expand the initiative beyond Slovakia and Iceland, creating a scalable model for other European countries.

Strategic Collaboration & Long-Term Goals

The initiative is expected to establish lasting partnerships between Slovak and Icelandic institutions, including public broadcasters, universities, and research centers. These collaborations will strengthen educational and cultural exchanges, laying the foundation for future joint projects.

Through its innovative approach, Studio 25: Iceland is not only educating but also empowering young people, redefining cultural education, and fostering long-term international cooperation.

Links:

Presentations by the young creators

The Project on Instagram

The Project on Facebook

The Project YouTube channel

Workshop about Icelandic culture and audiovisual creation in Košice, Slovakia, 10. 4. 2025 (in Slovak language)

Workshop about Icelandic culture and audiovisual creation in Bánská Bystrica, Slovakia, 11. 4. 2025 (in Slovak language)

Workshop about Icelandic culture and audiovisual creation in Bratislava, Slovakia, 14. 4. 2025 (in Slovak language)

Documentary film about Iceland premiered in the Slovak television on 20. 4. 2025 “Island – krajina ohňa, ľadu a príbehov” (in Slovak language)

Documentary film on YouTube with Icelandic and English subtitles: “Island – krajina ohňa, ľadu a príbehov” (Iceland – the country of fire, ice, and stories)

Since the fall of 2023, Heiðrún Kristín Guðvarðardóttir has welcomed immigrant children to the Gerðuberg library and read Icelandic children’s literature with them. This initiative helps improve reading comprehension and Icelandic skills.

This initiative is a pilot project in partnership with the municipality run service center Suðurmiðstöð Reykjavíkur, titled Heiðrún’s Vinalestur – Lesþjálfun til framtíðar (Heiðrún´s Reading Friends – Reading Training for the Future). The children are met at the City Library in Gerðuberg. Heiðrún explains: “One child approaches me individually, and I start reading with them. Immediately after, I encourage them to illustrate a scene from the story they just read. They have the opportunity to select from a variety of books, and we take turns reading them, allowing everyone to hear the correct pronunciation in Icelandic. Since the end of winter, I have encouraged them also to create larger pictures together, allowing each child to illustrate a scene from one of the stories they have read. In the end, I ask each child to compose a story in Icelandic inspired by the scene they illustrated on the large pictures. This process involves discussing essential elements required for a story and then writing down their responses”, explains Heiðrún.

At the end of each semester, an exhibition featuring the children’s drawings takes place, an important event that reinforces pride in their work. In the spring semester, the stories will also be part of the exhibition. Heiðrún also organizes cultural excursions for the children around the capital area twice each semester. They have since visited Harpa to attend a performance of Maximús Músíkus. They also took part in mask making at the library, watched the play Fíasól at the Borgarleikhúsið theatre, and visited the Árbaejarsafn Museum on the first day of summer. There have been other cultural visits, such as a Halloween party at the Whale Museum, the Symphony Orchestra’s pajama party at Harpa, a Christmas craft event in Gerðuberg, and most recently a visit to the House of Collections on Hverfisgata, where the National Gallery of Iceland hosts a kids’ club called Krumma.

More information can be found here (in Icelandic).

A shorter version of the article in Icelandic can be found here.

In celebration of International Mother Language Day on February 21, the search for children’s linguistic resources in Iceland was launched for the third time. Staff in preschools, primary schools, and secondary schools across the country were encouraged to talk with children and ask them about their languages. The goal was to map all the languages spoken by children and young people in Icelandic preschools and primary schools—and for the first time, also in secondary schools. The purpose was to foster positive discussions about languages and multilingualism and to highlight how having multiple languages can enhance the quality of life and emotional well-being. Increased language awareness in the society boosts children’s and young people’s confidence and positive self-image and can also support schools in implementing plurilingualism and strengthening language skills among all students.

The project was a collaboration between the Center for Education and School Services (Icel. MIðstöð menntunar og skólaþjónustu), the School of Education at the University of Iceland, the coordination team for Education, Reception, and Culture (Icel. Menntun, móttaka og menning, MEMM), Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism, Menningarmót – Flying Carpet project, and the Association of Language Teachers in Iceland (STÍL). The initiative is rooted, among others, in the speech by Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Languages from 2014.

The project builds on previous language mapping efforts in Icelandic preschools and primary schools from 2014 when 93 languages were recorded, and 2021, when 95 languages were found. The analysis of the submitted data was conducted using the well-known Ethnologue website, which provides accessible information about the world’s languages. Additionally, the perspective of language users was considered in cases where it was unclear whether a variety was a dialect or a distinct language. Information about the previous searches can be found here.

In February 2025, 242 responses were received from 79 preschools, 78 primary schools, and 19 secondary, along with a few other institutions and individuals. There are in total 253 preschools, 174 primary schools, and 36 secondary schools Iceland, meaning that slightly more than one-third of all schools in the country took part in the project. Specifically, at least one department, class, or group from each participating school contributed.

This year, 102 languages were recorded. Additionally, 16 languages found in 2014 and 2021 were not recorded this year (Abi, Benga, Berber, Chichewa, Dagbani, Fijian, Ga, Cambodian, Konkani, Krio, Namibian, Nyiha, Susu, Tajik, Tigrinya, Uzbek), meaning that at least 118 have been present in Iceland over the past ten years. It is also noteworthy that children in Iceland speak five different sign languages: Icelandic, Irish, Lithuanian, Spanish and Ukrainian sign languages.

Here is the complete list of languages recorded in the 2025 language survey:
Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Bisaya, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Cebuano, Creole, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dutch, Edo, Estonian, English, Ewe, Fante-Akan, Farsi, Filipino, Finnish, Flemish-Dutch, French, Faroese, German, Georgian, Greenlandic, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi,  Belarusian, Igbo, Ilocano, Indonesian, Irish Sign Language, Icelandic, Icelandic Sign Language, Italian, Japanese, Chinese-Cantonese, Chinese-Mandarin, Kashubian, Korean, Kurdish, Kurdish-Behdini, Kurdish-Sorani, Latvian, Lithuanian, Lithuanian Sign Language, Luganda, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Maltese, Malay, Malayalam, Moldovan, Mongolian, Moroccan, Nepali, Nigerian, Norwegian, Pampango-Kapampangan, Punjabi, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Rhaeto-Romance, Romani, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhalese, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Spanish Sign Language, Swahili, Syrian, Swedish, Thai, Taiwanese, Tagalog, Tamazight, Tamil, Telugu, Twi, Tunisian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Sign Language, Hungarian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Wolof, Yoruba.

Top 10 Most Common Languages (besides Icelandic):
Icelandic was the most recorded language, as expected, followed by, Polish (194 responses), English (168 responses), Spanish (154 responses), Russian (110 responses), Ukrainian (110 responses), Arabic (106 responses), Lithuanian (106 responses), German (98 responses), Filipino (95 responses), and Danish (88 responses). The total number of languages in the country has slightly increased since 2021, and many preschools, primary schools, and secondary schools reported over 20 languages.

Several preschools, compulsory schools, and upper secondary schools reported over 30 languages: Among preschools were Álftaborg (30 languages), Miðborg (32), Vesturborg (31), Klömbrar (34), among compulsory schools were Álftamýraskóli (32), Álfhólsskóli (40), Breiðholtsskóli (33), Kárnesskóli (32), Laugarnesskóli (32), Melaskóli (35), Snælandsskóli (31), and Vallaskóli in Selfoss (33), and among upper-secondary schools were Kvennaskóli in Reykjavík (31), Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð (32), Tækniskólinn (38), and Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja (40)

Secondary schools have shown strong participation, and it is clear that linguistic diversity thrives in these institutions as much as in the younger school levels.

The languages were captured in the Language Map 2025 (also here) and individual schools can be found there along with the information about their languages spoken by the students. Here are some ideas (in Icelandic) how to use the interactive language map pedagogically in schools.

By participating in this project, schools work toward the goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Reykjavik’s Education Policy, and policies regarding the education of children and youth from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Guidelines on the support of mother tongues and active plurilingualism in schools and afterschool programs  provide various ideas for promoting multilingualism, which is used in preschools and primary schools for educational purposes. It includes useful links with information and projects, along with concise explanations of key concepts.

Additionally, the Icelandic Language Map 2025 includes new teaching guidelines for educators, The Magic Language Toolbox, helping them to positively highlight and integrate students’ diverse languages into learning and teaching. These teaching guidelines are available on the website of the Center for Education and School Services.

References:

Ethnologue | Languages of the world

Grunnskólar á Íslandi – Wikipedia, frjálsa alfræðiritið

Leikskólar 2017 – Hagstofa Íslands

Listi yfir íslenska framhaldsskóla – Wikipedia, frjálsa alfræðiritið

MÓÐURMÁL – mál málanna

Móðurmál – The Association on Bilingualism

Text by: Renata Emilsson Peskova

Happy International Mother Language Day 2025!

To celebrate the day,

1) Take the checklist challenge to see how you can support heritage language education

2) Guess how many languages are spoken by children and youth in Icelandic schools and the the new language map of Iceland 2025

3) Find your school on the new Language Map of Iceland 2025 , see what languages are spoken there, and learn how to use the map in the classroom

4) Donate and read new books in multiple languages at the Exchange Book Fair of Bókasafn Móðurmáls:

5) Learn how languages are linked to the Sustainable Development Goals and the work of the United Nations

For more information on the history and the purpose of the International Mother Language Day, please visit the homepage of the United Nations.