The Centre for Educators of BMLs is so pleased to share our latest global initiative, ‘BML SMART Nurseries.’ Aligned with our vision to spread expertise about bilingual and multilingual learners to educators around the world, this initiative provides special recognition to those nurseries who train at least 80% of their teachers in our 4-hour Nursery and Preschool Teachers course, ‘Bilingual & Multilingual Learners from the Inside-Out.’
This course fills a gap in training at a critical time when parents are thinking about raising their child with home languages, and often looking for the right advice and guidance. In many cases, nurseries (daycares, preschools, childcare centres) are the first places of support that parents turn to. However, most nursery or preschool teachers never receive any training to help them advise parents or understand the specific needs of bilingual children and families. Since there are so many myths and misunderstandings about raising a child bi/multilingually, it’s absolutely critical that parents receive the right information. Not having access to accurate information can mean that families’ home languages are not maintained. This can mean a child who had a natural opportunity to become bilingual, does not learn their home language and instead speaks only one language. Besides language loss, this can also mean loss of cultural information and connections to extended family.
Nursery educators can take our 4-hour, online course and with 80% or more of their staff trained, can become recognised as a nursery with enhanced expertise in bilingual and multilingual learners, a ‘BML SMART Nursery.’
