On November 20 and 21, Mother Tongues in Dublin, Ireland, and Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism in Reykjavík, Iceland, co-organized an annual conference for their mother tongue / heritage language teachers. Both organizations connect small and big heritage language schools, offer heritage language teachers professional training and assistance, organize events that promote heritage languages and plurilingualism, and advocate positive views towards diverse languages. Representatives of these two organizations first met in 2017, continued to exchange expertise, and followed with each other´s activities, until this year when they decided to join forces to organize an annual conference together. This conference was the third annual conference of Mother Tongues and the eighths of Móðurmál.

This year has been coloured by Covid and by online teaching which both had negative and positive impact on the work of our organizations. The positive outcome is the increased familiarity with online environments which allowed us to think further and bigger about our events. This year´s “2020 Heritage Language Education Conference” took place entirely online, on Zoom, and it had speakers and participants from Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Italy and Greece. A total of more than 70 participants took part on both days of the conference. The program was as follows: 

The conference was started by the founder and director of Mother Tongues Francesca LaMorgia and by the president of Móðurmál Maria Sastre. The keynote speakers, as well as discussants, are introduced here. On Friday evening, Dr Małgosia Machowska-Kościak introduced her new publication “The Multilingual Adolescent Experience: Young Poles growing up in an English-speaking school – Small stories of integration”. Dr. Siobhan Hannan spoke about a bilingual Italian preschool. On Saturday, representatives of two mother tongue schools from Dublin and one from Reykjavík introduced their schools, and two umbrella organizations from Eindhoven in the Netherlands and from Edmonton in Alberta were presented. In the virtual coffee break, all participants were divided into groups of 3-4 in breakout rooms and had a chance to network. That time was far too short and passed quickly, and then the conference was concluded by a lively moderate discussion of two speakers from Dublin heritage language schools and two from Reykjavík heritage language schools. They discussed questions about best ways to teach online, what qualities does a good heritage language teacher need, how to engage students online, what are suitable applications and online platforms for teaching, or how to celebrate events online. A complementary program was in the form of pre-recorded presentations about heritage language schools, umbrella organizations, and projects, saved on the website of Móðurmál. 

The atmosphere of the conference was wonderful, very friendly, in a spirit of sharing and learning. It was obvious that heritage language teachers in any country have similar questions, challenges and joys, and that they teach because they find it important for children and they enjoy teaching  their language, even if their work conditions may be far from ideal. 

Everybody learned from this event, organizers, guests, and presenters, and there is hope that this fruitful cooperation of heritage language schools and umbrella organizations will continue. What a small organization in one country finds difficult, two, three or four similar organizations can achieve. Together we can go further. 

Welcome to the 2020 edition of the Heritage Language Education Conference is organised jointly by Mother Tongues (Ireland) & Móðurmál (Iceland).

About this Event

The conference is free to Mother Tongues and Móðurmál members. If you are a member, contact your organisation to register.

This year more than ever, community based language schools need to stand together and learn from each other. Our 2020 edition of the Heritage Language Education Conference creates a unique opportunity for teachers, researchers and all professionals involved in heritage language schooling to get familiar with the newest research, share experience and explore ideas to support heritage language education. This year’s main goal is to promote the value of international collaboration among professionals interested in community languages teaching and learning. Together we can go further.

Find the program and more information here or on check out our Facebook event.

Or download the full program here:

Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism has contributed to the making of new Guidelines for the Support of Mother Tongues and Active Plurilingualism in School and Afterschool Programs, together with other specialists within the field. These guidelines are based on laws, policies, and research as well as on the experience and ideas provided by professionals and practitioners. The guidelines discuss the importance of supporting the active plurilingualism of children and youth in preschools, compulsory schools, afterschool programs and in upper secondary schools, developing co-operation with parents and strengthening communication with children in their daily work. Most importantly, the guidelines  contain advice, instruction and useful information for parents, schools and afterschool program providers.

See the guidelines here in Icelandic, English and Polish.

Reykjavík has for many years supported Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism by providing space for teaching on Saturdays, in Hagaskóli, Fellaskóli, and Hólabrekkuskóli, and in a few preschools. After the assembly ban was imposed due to the pandemic of Covid-19, Móðurmál groups stopped teaching temporarily. However, in April 2020 the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and the Ministry of Social Affairs approached the association and offered support. Móðurmál received support to offer online teaching in various mother tongues, as well as support with homework for compulsory schools and Icelandic as a second language, and to provide social support in the times of isolation. 

Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism has been run on a voluntary basis since 1994, and after it was formally established in 2001, it applied for various grants for projects, teaching materials, books and developing mother tongue education in Iceland. Over the years, it has provided teaching to thousands of children in around thirty languages. In the school year 2019-2020, twenty language groups are active. Thirteen groups took the challenge and the opportunity to provide online services to children, Arabic, Bisaya, Czech, Filipino, Icelandic as a second language, Japanese, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Spanish and Ukrainian, for all ages of children and youth. 

 For the first time, Móðurmál groups can provide service to multilingual families across Iceland, as well as develop new teaching methods. Many possibilities could open up through this welcome opportunity, for example finding new mother tongue teachers around Iceland and even beyond, offering services to families who cannot drive to Reykjavík on Saturday mornings, and starting new language groups.

The official news about the ministry support is here. In it, Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Education, says that Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism is in a key position to approach the group of immigrant children and that there is much trust towards the association in the society. Ásmundur Einar Daðason, Minister of Social and Children´s affairs, says that all children should enjoy equal opportunities and while the schools are providing limited service, it is important to secure the necessary support for children who need it. Móðurmál is in close contact with a number of children and parents of foreign origin and can offer an important support at this time. 

From May 4, schools will start operating fully and the school in Breiðholt will also open for Móðurmál groups. However, some groups decided to continue providing online support til June 15, when the school year is over. All children and families are welcome to contact the association at modurmalsamtok@gmail.com for information, registering children for the coming weeks, or for the next school year. We also welcome new teachers in our groups and in particular courageous parents and individuals who want to establish new language groups.

Preschools and schools in Iceland start working as usual on May 4.

We encourage families to read available information on why the authorities took this decision and why it is important that children attend preschools and schools.

Móðurmál and all its groups are doing well in the spring! Five big projects are running smoothly, each led by a devoted project manager:

• Allir með! tölum saman um skólamenningu á Íslandi (coordinated by Samfok)
• Listin Talar Tungum í listasafni Reykjavíkur →
• Heimsálfar í Borgarbókasafni →
• Mother Language Book of Móðurmál 2017–2018
• Library project of Móðurmál (Rósa Björg Jónsdóttir, bókasafnsfræðingur)

Individual mother tongue groups are teaching regularly on weekends, and occasionally they organize cultural events, welcome famous guests or take part in international projects. Thank you! ❤️ You are all doing a great job! for children, parents, communities and the whole society, in many ways.

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Móðurmál –the Association on Bilingualism– and mother tongue groups celebrate the international mother language day today, together with many in the world.

At the occasion of the day, the children who attend mother tongue classes in Móðurmál at this point were counted; the final number is 650 which means a decrease from the previous year. However, English, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Bulgarian and Indonesian will hopefully start. Also, a new Russian school is joining in the spring. Outside of Móðurmál, other languages are supported by playgroups and parent groups, i.e. Finish and Swedish in the Nordic house.

Móðurmál is celebrating the day on Saturday 24th February, in a collaborative project with the Reykjavík City Library, the School and Leisure Department of the City of Reykjavík, the Center of Language and Literacy, and the Cultural Center of Gerðuberg. Six choirs will sing songs in their mother tongues and then one Icelandic song together at the end, it will be possible to write a letter to friends and relatives in other countries and a language tree will be decorated with beautiful words in all world´s languages. There will be creative workshops and karaoke where languages will play the main role. Móðurmál will present its library project.

Vigdís World Language Centre held a symposium Dictionaries: Multilingualism, Translations and Terminology where the importance of dictionaries for linguistic diversity, multilingualism and the bridging of borders was discussed. Móðurmál was there, presenting various bottom-up dictionary projects!

Móðurmál is also taking part in the Finish initiative “Multilingual Month” which collects and highlight various language events and initiative in the Nordic countries. All Icelandic projects celebrating mother languages, registered at Multilingual Month, can be seen here

Happy Day and happy Multilingual Month! 🗣

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