Browsing by Author "Raatikainen, Minna"

This qualitative research aims to define the ways that kindergarten teachers in language immersion day care have to activate children to speak more in Swedish. This bachelor’s thesis also targets to answer the question, what kinds of experiences do the kindergarten teachers have of how they accomplish these increasable ways and how those ways function in practise. This research also reports where the kindergarten teachers find new working ideas from. Statistics shows that language immersion day care is a popular among families. Based on earlier test results the content of education and activity creates the core of the language immersion pedagogy. Earlier test results also shows that encouragement and doing things verbally are generally used in language immersion day care. Popularity and earlier test result have been motivating matters to this research. Five kindergarten teachers participated in this research, three of them are bachelors of Social Services and two are bachelors of Educational Science. Test subjects were interviewed by using a half-structured interview. All of the interviews were recorded and the recordings were transcribed. The transcriptions were analysed with the help of content analysis and by categorising them to certain themes. Result of this research shows that the ways that kindergarten teachers have to activate children to speak Swedish are creating positive and safe atmosphere, cheer, praise, encouragement and repeat in Swedish the expression of child. Also photos, reading books, songs, doing thins verbally, signs, features and slower speech are practical ways. Based on results of this research the used ways work well and the older children in language immersion day care help a lot the younger children to understand Swedish. Kindergarten teachers get new ideas to the activity for example from schooling, colleagues and professional literature.