Tomorrow, on February 21, is the International Mother Language Day. Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism (modurmal.com), celebrates with a puppet show for children about friendship – Mjódd, Reykjavík, Iceland, at 3 pm.
#fjöltyngdurfebrúar #multilingualfebruary is the idea of Kristin R. Vilhjalmsdottir, a passionate educator who also created #menningarmót and works with the ideas of linguistic and cultural identity of children and youth.
On the occasion of the International Mother Language Day 2026,
FOHLC Europe and Heritage Language Global Think Tank have published a blog post on their joint Heritage Language Blog: What are the linguistic rights of heritage language learners? Reflections on International Mother Language Day 2026.
This post has been translated into Icelandic and republished also on the website of Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism:
New publications about heritage language education by Renata, the Chair of Móðurmál, discuss the work of Community-Based Heritage Language Schools in Iceland, Czechia, Switzerland, France, the US, Canada, Australia, and globally.
Cruickshank, K., Emilsson Peskova, R., Peyton, J. K., Barth, I., Douglas, M., Lu, T., & Ludanyi, R. (2026). Hidden in plain sight: the global heritage language education sector. International Journal of Multilingualism, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2026.2615141
– This article discusses association and umbrella organizations that support community-based HL schools locally, providing service to multiple language groups, or associations in one language that work across geographical contexts. The publication argues that HL schools that often work as non-formal educational spaces must be seen as important providers of language education.
Emilsson Peskova, E., Boccou Kestřánková, M., Vaněčková, L., & Chlostová, M. (2026). Streamlining Heritage Language Education in Europe: From European Policies to State Support Measures. In: J. F. Ross & F. Jaumont (Eds.). Bridging Worlds: The Power of Heritage Languages in Social Cohesion (pp. 61–86). The Center for the Advancement of Languages, Education, and Communities.
– This article compares how countries of origin support HL schools that teach their national languages across Europe and globally; the article argues that the countries of origin have a responsibility towards their citizens – children living abroad, and it is in their interest to support HL schools. The full publication takes the lens of social cohesion, arguing that HL education contributes to integration, intercultural dialogue, and functional, inclusive societies.
Paulovicova, N., Emilsson Peskova, R., & McCabe, M. (2026). Transformation of Heritage Language Schools during the Pandemic: Connectivity, Community, and Identity. In: J. F. Ross & F. Jaumont (Eds.). Bridging Worlds: The Power of Heritage Languages in Social Cohesion (pp. 243–268). The Center for the Advancement of Languages, Education, and Communities.
– This article shows how community-based HL schools in Canada and worldwide transformed in Covid, moving online, reacting rapidly to new challenges, and creating online international collaborations that live on after Covid.
Honkowicz Bukowska, D., Jónsdóttir, F. B., Gunnþórsdóttir, H., & Emilsson Peskova, R. (2025, 16. Nóvember). Má (ég) banna börnum að nota móðurmál í skólanum? Vísir. https://www.visir.is/…/ma-eg-banna-bornum-ad-nota…
– This article discusses the realities in schools in which children are forbidden to speak their mother tongues, albeit with good intentions, and explains what would be the appropriate language policies that respect children´s linguistic rights
Aberdeen, T., Cannizzaro, G., Douglas, M., Emilsson Peskova, R., Lu, T., Ludanyi, R., McCabe, M., Paulovicova, N., Peyton, J.K., & Sobrevía, S. (2025). International Guidelines for Professional Practices in Community-Based Heritage Language Schools: Review Rubric. https://heritagelanguageschools.org/coalition/resources
– This document provides practical guidelines for good practice in community-based HL schools; it is suitable both for starting schools as a quality checklist, and for well-established HL schools that want to check the quality of their ongoing work
Emilsson Peskova, R., Boccou Kestřánková, M., & Gollifer, S. E. (2025). Language Education Policies in Europe. In International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (3rd ed.). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.01034-6
– This encyclopedia entry discusses streams and developments in language and education policies across Europe, zooming into examples from several geographical contexts; it includes a discussion of sign languages, linguistic human rights, and Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Emilsson Peskova, R., Peyton, J. K., Cannizzaro, G., & Boccou Kestřánková, M. (2025). The heritage language global think tank: Collaboration across countries. Educational Role of Language Journal, 2025-1(13, Actions in Language Education), 141–145. https://doi.org/10.36534/erlj.2025.01.18
– This short article describes the work of the HL Global Think Tank, which is a collaboration of professionals in HL education that was established during Covid-19 and has grown since then.
#fjöltyngdurfebrúar