Better catch them young, but how? A multilingual approach to dialects in education in North Brabant

TY - JOUR

T1 - Better catch them young, but how?

T2 - A multilingual approach to dialects in education in North Brabant

AU - Doreleijers, Kristel

PY - 2022/12/12

Y1 - 2022/12/12

N2 - This paper discusses the state of affairs of dialect education in the southern Dutch province of North Brabant. The dialects spoken here lack formal recognition. Therefore, the province pursues a heritage policy that protects and promotes the dialects as cultural capital. However, a recent questionnaire among teachers and material developers has revealed that local and provincial initiatives for dialect education have not yet been implemented in a sustainable way in primary and secondary education (Doreleijers, 2021). Although teachers indicate willingness to implement dialect in education, there is a lack of knowledge of existing materials and a discrepancy between demand and the quality of supply. The aim of this paper is to look for ways to implement non-recognized dialects in the curriculum. It argues that the current situation in North Brabant can be improved by integrating dialects into the holistic model for multilingualism in education (Duarte & Günther-van der Meij, 2018).

AB - This paper discusses the state of affairs of dialect education in the southern Dutch province of North Brabant. The dialects spoken here lack formal recognition. Therefore, the province pursues a heritage policy that protects and promotes the dialects as cultural capital. However, a recent questionnaire among teachers and material developers has revealed that local and provincial initiatives for dialect education have not yet been implemented in a sustainable way in primary and secondary education (Doreleijers, 2021). Although teachers indicate willingness to implement dialect in education, there is a lack of knowledge of existing materials and a discrepancy between demand and the quality of supply. The aim of this paper is to look for ways to implement non-recognized dialects in the curriculum. It argues that the current situation in North Brabant can be improved by integrating dialects into the holistic model for multilingualism in education (Duarte & Günther-van der Meij, 2018).

KW - dialect education

KW - multilingual education

KW - language awareness

KW - language reflection

KW - dialects and regional languages

KW - language curriculum

U2 - 10.51751/dujal11407

DO - 10.51751/dujal11407

M3 - Article

SN - 2211-7245

VL - 11

JO - Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics

JF - Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics

ER -