Show me your wor(l)ds: the pedagogical potential of a multilingual picture storybook for promoting multicultural awareness

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Pokažite mi svoje riječi i svjetove: pedagoški potencijal višejezične slikovnice za promicanje svijesti o multikulturalnosti
• Author: Marija Košutić
• Mentor: Stela Letica Krevelj (mentor)
• Committee member: Renata Geld (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Anđel Starčević (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2022-07-01, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies; Teaching Methods in the Humanistic Sciences
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

In today’s multicultural world, it is important to promote multicultural awareness and solidarity from the earliest possible age. One of the ways to achieve that is to approach children through the world of imagination. Multilingual picture storybooks representing a number of different cultures might interest young learners in foreign languages and cultures, as well as familiarize them with their own cultural and linguistic background and heritage. The aim of this study was to explore the pedagogical potential of a multilingual and multicultural picture storybook called Mixter and Mixus Mic: Europe adventure, created by the author of this paper, and of students’ projects inspired by Cummins’ (2006) concept of identity texts in promoting multicultural awareness among Croatian primary school students. The study was supposed to find out which aspects of multicultural awareness would be the easiest to grasp for young learners, which aspects of the storybook would be most helpful in promoting multicultural awareness, which aspects of their own culture would the students include in their identity text projects and if the storybook and the identity text projects would spark students’ interest in learning about their own language and culture and other languages and cultures. The students grasped all of the important aspects of multilingual awareness: accepting and respecting differences and similarities between different countries and languages, the importance of tolerance and appreciation, acknowledging and overcoming foreign language anxiety in order to communicate and form friendships with people from different countries. Most helpful in promoting multicultural awareness were the features most prominently represented in the storybook: flags, languages, famous buildings/sights, local food, traditional clothes, local music, songs, instruments, and dance. The aspects that the largest number of students included in their identity texts were food, famous people, the flag and the coat of arms, nature and different regions and cities. All of the students showed excitement and enthusiasm when reading and listening to the storybook and when doing their identity text projects in which they represented their countries and languages, and most of them showed interest in learning more about different countries and languages. We believe that the use of similar storybooks is a good step towards raising their multilingual and multicultural awareness.

Abstract (croatian)

U današnjem multikulturalnom svijetu važno je promicati svijest o multikulturalnosti i solidarnost od najranije moguće dobi. Jedan od načina za to jest pristupiti djeci kroz svijet mašte. Višejezične slikovnice koje predstavljaju niz različitih kultura mogle bi zainteresirati mlade učenike za učenje o stranim jezicima i kulturama, kao i upoznati ih s njihovim vlastitim kulturnim i jezičnim podrijetlom i baštinom. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je istražiti pedagoški potencijal višejezične i multikulturalne slikovnice pod nazivom Mixter and Mixus Mic: Europe adventure, koju je napisala i ilustrirala autorica ovog diplomskog rada, te učeničkih projekata inspiriranih Cumminsovim konceptom uvedenim 2006. godine - tzv. identity tekstovima u promicanju svijesti o multikulturalnosti među hrvatskim osnovnoškolskim učenicima. Istraživanje je trebalo otkriti koje će aspekte svijesti o multikulturalnosti mladi učenici najlakše pojmiti, koji će aspekti u slikovnici bili najkorisniji u promicanju svijesti o multikulturalnosti, koje će aspekte vlastite kulture učenici uključiti u svoje identity tekstove, i hoće li slikovnica i identity tekstovi potaknuti interes učenika za učenje o vlastitom jeziku i kulturi te drugim jezicima i kulturama. Učenici su pojmili sve važne aspekte svijesti o multikulturalnosti: prihvaćanje i poštovanje razlika i sličnosti između različitih zemalja i jezika, važnost tolerancije i uvažavanja, prepoznavanje i prevladavanje tjeskobe oko korištenja stranih jezika u svrhu poboljšanja komunikacije i sklapanja prijateljstava s ljudima iz različitih zemalja. Najkorisnije u promicanju svijesti o multikulturalnosti bile su značajke koje su najistaknutije u slikovnici: zastave, jezici, poznate građevine/znamenitosti, lokalna hrana, tradicionalna odjeća, lokalna glazba, pjesme, instrumenti i ples. Aspekti koje je najveći broj učenika uključio u svoje identity tekstove bili su hrana, poznate osobe, zastava i grb, priroda i različite regije i gradovi. Svi su učenici pokazali uzbuđenje i entuzijazam čitajući i slušajući slikovnicu i izrađujući svoje identity tekstove u kojima su predstavili svoje države i jezike, a većina ih je pokazala interes za dodatnim učenjem o različitim zemljama i jezicima, stoga bi ova slikovnica mogla biti tek prvi korak u promicanju svijesti o višejezičnosti i multikulturalnosti.

• Keywords: multicultural awareness; multiculturalism; multilingualism; multilingual storybooks; multicultural storybooks; children’s books; identity texts
• Keywords (croatian): svijest o multikulturalnosti; multikulturalizam; višejezičnost; višejezične slikovnice; multikulturalne slikovnice; dječje knjige; identity tekstovi
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:219933
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: TEFL; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2022-07-08 05:33:22