Analogue and digital literacy practices to promote multilingual literacies in preschool in Luxembourg

Abstract Early childhood education (ECE) is a constantly evolving field with frequent policy changes such as the recent calls for multilingual approaches and digitalization. Digital multilingual literacy materials could help ECE teachers implement these policies and develop their practices. Shared reading is a well-established practice because it promotes language learning, and digital storytelling is engaging and supports vocabulary growth. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of suitable multilingual materials in both analogue and digital formats. Drawing on interviews and a survey, this study examines both analogue and digital storytelling activities of six preschool teachers in Luxembourg and the influence of digital materials on children’s participation. Findings show that all teachers offered multilingual literacy practices across analogue and digital modalities although the activities varied with their expertise and understanding of multilingualism. The translingual conversations, the digital recordings and the meaningful story content supported children’s participation and learning. Using multilingual digital materials was transformative for the less experienced teachers who came to understand the powerful effect of home languages on children’s participation, well-being and identity. These findings have implications for teacher education and policy-makers who prepare the ECE workforce and regulate access to multilingual approaches and digital resources in preschools.