Exploring linguistic diversity and inclusivity through plurilingualism
Posted 22nd September 2025
by Dr Christina Egan Marnell, Early Childhood Ireland
Photo by Shelby Murphy Figueroa on Unsplash
Over the past 5 years, Early Childhood Ireland has been investigating how a culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy can be developed through a play and arts-based approach. Often co-constructed with educators, this journey has taken us into the realm of storytelling, folklore, lullabies and drawings. Our motivation to engage in research, and then share our learning, came from an awareness that educators can often feel fear when thinking about multiculturalism and plurilingualism. Fears that come from myths about how children learn languages. We wanted to support educators to conquer this fear and become confident early years professionals.
Language plays a critical role in how children develop their sense of self and identity (Little 2020; Tillet & Wong, 2018; Ager & Strang, 2008). The principles of Aistear (2024) the Irish early childhood curriculum framework, encourage us to view the child as part of a family unit and a member of a community. This means respecting the culture and language that forms part of this family and community, by linking it to the child’s learning and development. It is important that children have opportunities to practice and celebrate all the languages they know, as language is a key feature of their family and community, and to learn about the languages of their country and those different to their own. Utilizing opportunities to promote the child’s culture and home language shows them they are respected and accepted. As early years professionals, this also includes reassuring families that their home language is important and valuable to the child.
When children feel a sense of belonging and pride in their families, peers and communities, they can be emotionally strong, self-assured and able to deal with challenges and difficulties. When children receive positive messages about their own languages, they develop pride in who they are, giving them confidence to voice their opinions, to make choices and shape their learning.
A key takeaway from our research has highlighted that exposing all children to various languages and cultures can support an appreciation for linguistic diversity and cultural richness, promoting curiosity and understanding among young children. To develop a linguistically responsive pedagogy, we believe greater attention should be placed on the role of plurilingualism within early years settings.
Plurilingualism refers to an individual person and their competences in being able to use more than one language. It is how a person can use ALL of their linguistic resources to communicate and learn, without needing to be fluent in a language. Instead, what is important, is that they can effectively communicate and that the language is part of their lives. If multilingualism refers to the existence of multiple languages within an individual, society, or context, then plurilingualism shifts the focus from achieving separate fluency in multiple languages to fostering flexibility and interaction between them. This is important, as it supports a child’s identity development by validating the ways they naturally use language across contexts.
Plurilingualism as a pedagogical approach encourages the educators to engage in the use of multiple languages, with the aim of fostering children’s confidence in developing their own plurilingual repertoires (La Morgia, 2024).
Plurilingualism in practice means valuing the language repertoire of all children, which can, and will, change over time.
Children should be praised and encouraged to continue speaking in whichever language they feel comfortable, as all languages will be treated equally within the service. This requires educators to become aware of their own biases and avoid making assumptions about children and families based on the language they speak.
Children bring with them lots of languages and it is important for them to feel that this is a positive skill to have. Children deserve to feel accepted and celebrated. Educators can do this by developing an early childhood setting that is open and democratic; an inclusive learning environment where children are encouraged to explore their linguistic diversity.
Plurilingualism is not just a pedagogical approach—it’s a mindset that celebrates every child’s potential. I’d love to hear your thoughts, experiences, or questions.
Connect with Dr Christina Egan Marnell via LinkedIn or email.
The research referred to in this blog post was presented at EECERA 2025 in Bratislava Slovakia. For more information, please refer to symposium E15 in the EECERA 2025 Conference Proceedings: Book of Abstracts (p. 287). Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA.