Online Bilingual Maintenance for Young Russian Learners Through Digital Fairy Tales

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 22
  In Roundtable Session: Access and Voice: Multimodal and Digital Learning

Abstract

This project examines the design, implementation and evaluation processes involved in the development of online multimedia for very young bilingual and biliterate Russian children. A framework grounded in child and language development as human, tool-mediated activity serves to situate the three major phases of the project as well as shape our research focus on interactions between teacher, child and machine using triadic scaffolds (Meskill, 2005). Results indicate that kindergarten teachers and teachers’ aids are adept at using multimedia material aimed to engage target language, literacy and cultural development to achieve those purposes. The most salient and pervasive of these scaffolds is that of play, including language play with and around multimedia.

Authors

• Carla Meskill, University at Albany - SUNY

• Gulnara Sadykova, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University

• Natasha Anthony, Hudson Valley Community College

• Albina Kayumova, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University

• Gulnara Gimaletdinova, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University

• Liliya Khalitova, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University