Educa 2018 was once again a fun and lively event. At the Lekolar stand, there was a nice buzz around Moomin Language School as we met old acquaintances and new faces. On Friday evening, we gave a lecture on the topic "Language skills are the currency of the future and can be accumulated even before school age."
In the lecture, we spoke about the importance of language skills, early language learning and teaching, and using Moomin Language School as part of daycare and school routines. The topic is very timely and interested many attendees. As our guests, we had S2 (Finnish as a Second Language) teacher Lena, childcare worker Teija, and Petra, mother of a child participating in the service, sharing their experiences with the platform. The lecture can be viewed on YouTube, and the first part is found at the end of this text!
Our interview guests Teija, Petra, and Lena participated enthusiastically.
Lena Fågel, S2 teacher from Touhula, shared that the beginning was a bit nerve-wracking because they had not used tablets before. Thanks to good training, however, deployment went smoothly. Additionally, Lena talked about a restless immigrant child who did not speak a word of Finnish and with whom traditional S2 teaching had failed completely. Introducing the service with this child was particularly uncertain, but the final result has been surprisingly positive. Lena found it incredible how committed the child has been to the service. The children's parents have also shared that the children have started using the words they learned at home and during play.
Childcare worker Teija Malk from Tenava-Taapero daycare center mentioned that fitting the service into daily daycare routines was initially a challenge, but through experimentation, a solution was found. Teija was also very surprised by how the children developed. All the children were native Finnish speakers starting English completely from scratch. According to Teija, it was mind-blowing to notice how quickly the children began repeating words and even teaching other children. Teija has also hosted play sessions with the children featuring singing and games. At the children's request, they even performed Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in English at the Christmas party.
Petra Karasti shared in the interview about her daughter, who has had learning difficulties. Initially, she was hesitant about starting English due to learning difficulties, but they ultimately decided to give it a try because her daughter really wanted to. The effects have been positive for her native language as well – vocabulary has expanded and confidence has grown.
Juha Telkkinen spoke about the importance of language skills and Moomin Language School.
Below is the first part of the lecture; the next three can be found on Moomin Language School's YouTube channel!
