At Forestview, we are passionate about helping children connect with culture and become active global citizens. One of the main resources we use for this and we feel very privileged to have access to is the ELLA language program. ELLA is a fun and easy digital language program for kindergarten. The program is an Australian Government initiative aimed at encouraging more students to study language. ELLA introduces children to learning a new language via interactive tablet apps, which have been developed in consultation with experts in languages, early childhood and technology. The Polyglots are a cast of characters who – through play-based learning – introduce the children to words, sentences and songs in another language. The apps draw on the interests and activities of young children, such as celebrations, cooking experiences, art activities, building and role-play. At Forestview our focus language is Japanese.
At Forestview, however, we go above and beyond just providing the ELLA App for children to independently explore and hear the language on IPads. We employ an assistant educator who is passionate to share her Japanese heritage and Japanese culture with the children, educators and families and budgeted funds are allocated for her to ensure that children extend on from experiences they explore in the App and to enable her culture to be embedded daily within our program.
Our passion for inclusiveness is a bit part of what we do each and every day and from the Ella Language Program children and families are passionate to share other home languages and are curious about other cultures.
We believe that becoming a global citizen is about creating a passion to learn about other cultures. We are aware that we can’t possibly learn about every culture present in our country and there isn’t a presence of every culture in our community…but by exploring other languages and culture through the ELLA Language program families are more comfortable to share their home language and the momentum builds from there. We are planting the seed and creating an interest in the fact that while people, places, languages and cultures in our world have similarities there are also lots of differences and that learning about these deepens our knowledge of people, places, languages and cultures and that everyone has the right to be proud of their culture and who they are in our world. In turn this creates understanding and an increasing desire to explore and be passionate about everything in our world including the cultural experiences of those around us in our community.
The skills that our children are developing to embrace culture through our approach to the ELLA Language Program are transferrable to any culture children may encounter in their future lives and will support them greatly in their journey to exploring other cultural presences in our community and foster inclusiveness and greater understanding for all.
