Environments for imitation: second-language use and development through embodied participation in preschool routine activities.

The study investigates how the kindergarten's environment and daily routines can help children learn and use a new language. The researcher looks at how regular activities and play can help children participate more. The research questions are: 1) How do routines in the kindergarten environment provide structure for children's participation and emerging language use? 2) How can play promote children's participation? Does children's play adopt the cultural routines they encounter?

The day-to-day activities of the kindergarten have specific patterns that children can imitate, which helps them learn a new language through both actions and words. These activities make it easy for children to participate and learn the language. When children play, they use the same patterns and language that they see in the daily activities. This makes play a good opportunity for children to practice both culture and language.

The study is a qualitative synthesis of data from two ethnographic case studies previously conducted by the author. The first study followed a kindergarten with 21 children aged four to five years over eight weeks and collected data from both planned activities and spontaneous play. The second study focused on two newly arrived children who were followed closely (‘shadowed’) for three days in kindergarten. Several methods of data collection were used, including video, photography, audio recordings from mobile devices, and field notes.

Samuelsson, R. (2021). "Environments for imitation: second-language use and development through embodied participation in preschool routine activities". Journal of research in Childhood Education, 35(1):22-40.