Pre-school and school education plays an important role in early language learning. In the working package on the subject of Early Language Learning, which is managed by the Council of the Carinthian Slovenes, the main objective is to use the minority language as the bilingualism and multilingualism that is available in the region by nature in order to reach the European goal of multilingualism from early childhood on.
The objective is to find new ways to offer each child the opportunity to grow up in three languages. It is important in this regard to create awareness for linguistic diversity and for the languages that exist in the region as well as in neighbouring regions anyhow. It will help later in picking up other European and world-languages.
This pursuit is supported by the exchange of proven methods and techniques, by meetings and exchange of experiences, having working group meetings and discussions, visits to the regions and by compiling guidelines, which all will take place within the working package.
An important aspect of the working package is the development of a network of language teachers and other pedagogical professionals and their institutions, that they exchange views and that a didactics of multilingualism is developed.
Based on an analysis of the needs amongst minorities it is also required to find the answers to some other specific questions, like on didactics, methodology and learning materials.
The experiences in Carinthia, in the border region between Austria, Slovenia and Italy, and the projects that were implemented in schools and daycare centres in regard to bilingual, trilingual and quadrilingual language transmission offer a basis for reflection.