The title of her postdoc is "Improving Outcomes of Multilingual Children in Icelandic Preschools" and she will be working with Dr. Þóra Másdóttir (Thora Masdottir) and others in the speech therapy department. Here is her abstract.
Modern Iceland welcomes newcomers from many countries around the world, especially Poland and Lithuania. Consequently, an increasing percentage of children enrol in pre-primary education in Iceland with limited knowledge of Icelandic, experiencing delays in their Icelandic language skills compared to their monolingual peers. The impact of these delays can be seen in these children’s pre-primary education, formal schooling, and beyond. This postdoctoral study will conduct an efficacy cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate a promising educator-delivered intervention to improve the Icelandic vocabulary and language skills of 2- to 6-year-old-children in Iceland who come from homes where exposure to Icelandic is limited. The intervention will focus on the high-fidelity implementation of a researcher-developed curriculum involving interactive reading and language activity experiences using evidence-based techniques. This approach is anticipated to positively impact not only on the Icelandic skills of children who speak another language at home, but also on monolingual Icelandic-speaking children and children with speech and language delay/disorder. In the longer term, improving the linguistic and Icelandic skills of children in Iceland should provide cultural, economic, and social benefits for Iceland including increased multilingualism, social cohesion, and enhanced capacity to participate in a globalised economy.Congratulations Kate!
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| Jóhanna Thelma Einarsdóttir, Ewita Czap (University of Gdansk), Þóra Másdóttir, Þóra Sæunn Úlfsdóttir, Kathryn Crowe, and Kristelle Lou Suson Jónsdóttir at The University of Iceland |
