Improving Child's Language through Multimodal Learning Environment in Nursery Schools

This article discusses the importance of a multimodal learning environment in nursery schools and how it can improve a child's language and literacy skills. It explores practical approaches and methods like Reggio Emilia and Play and Learning to create a supportive and productive learning environment for children.

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Early Childhood Education and Care
<University>
Improving child’s language
by
<Your Name>
<Date>
<Lecturer’s Name and Course Number>

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Introduction
To,
The manager,
Nursery School,
__________________
Sir,
As the nursery manager, I am sure you are aware of creating the right environment for the
children at school, whether it is the indoor environment, the outdoor environment or the
emotional environment. It is essential to design and plan an environment for children that can
inspire and guide their imagination and behavior when they attend the school. Sometimes even
very small changes can leave a significant impact on the experiences of the children and mark a
higher job satisfaction for the practitioners. A multi-modal environment in a nursery school can
encourage many forms of literacy in early childhood education. Before that one ends to
understand the content of multimodality and highly multimodal environments.
So, what is the multi-modal environment and why is it essential for the children’s
learning and development? As the early years leave a strong influence on the child’s future
cognitive and social performance, there should be special efforts on the learning environment he
is placed in. A well-structured learning environment can help improve his social and cognitive
skills (Theodotou 2015). The activities and interactions carry an important role in children’s
development. Multimodal environment and literacies are based on the use of various modes such
as visual, auditory and kinaesthetic within the classroom (Thompson 2008, p.144). The students
are encouraged to engage with classroom-based literacies to develop their learning. Multimodal
literacy refers to interacting with multimedia and digital texts to give information and share
knowledge. The mode can be listening, talking, writing or dramatizing with the help of image,

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words, sounds, and movements. (Walsh 2010, p. 213). So, the language and literacy practices
within the nursery schools need to keep pace with the changing dimensions of knowledge
dissemination. The multimodal learning environment in nursery classrooms can help support the
evolving capacities of the young growing minds and motivate their learning and development.
Nursery school environment must encourage a rich multimodal text culture through drawings,
paintings, and photographs. Text-based activities in the kindergartens can be created by the
teachers and the children (Granly & Maagerø 2012, p.384). A multimodal approach in the
nursery classrooms can be a source of creativity and motivation for both teachers and students.
The mode and media chosen in schools for instructions are very important. What is to be learned
and how it is to be learned are essential questions in the modal environment as asserted by Jewitt
(2008, p. 33).
The educational and communicational landscape in the 21st century has been changed
and affected by the evolving societal and technological forces tremendously (Jewitt 2008, p. 33).
The changing terrain of communication can be experienced in everyday life and has already
found its way in the schools. It is against this backdrop that one must review the multi-modal
literacy options in schools. The new technologies are reshaping the knowledge as well as
curriculum. Today, the 3 and 4 year old children are encountering literacy and information‐ ‐ ‐
through a wide range of printed and digital technologies both at home and in the nursery school.
These children are aware of the multiple communicative modes available in different media
(Wolfe & Flewitt 2010, p. 1). It means the nursery schools should take advantage of the new
technologies and add them as new dimensions into the literacy learning in the early years of a
child in nursery school. Art activities like drama, art and music can help develop a multimodal

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environment within the nursery classroom. Moreover, these activities are favorite among the
young children and provide learning as well as personal amusement (Theodotou 2015).
Play and Learning (PLA) or play-based learning is another important practice in early
childhood education. When teachers facilitate or create learning opportunities through play for
the children, they learn easily and naturally. The kindergartens have been established for more
than 100 years’ now, and the concept of pedagogical play or use of play in early childhood
education emerged during the early 1900s (Cutter-Mackenzie 2014, p. 11). Even today, play-
based learning holds vital importance in early childhood education. The early play theorists, such
as Rousseau and Dewey were strong advocates for play based learnings they strongly believed
that “children learned best when they were allowed to observe and interact with nature and life’’
(Cutter-Mackenzie 2014, p. 11). Children love to play, and the experience gives them the
opportunities to explore their immediate environment and develop physical competence as well
as learn about the world around them. They learn to express and control emotions as they interact
with others and develop new skills and capabilities. The philosophy and aims of PLA remain
relevant even today in the different kindergartens across the world, and pedagogical education is
practiced in early childhood education. The early years of a child are the most significant for his
learning and development. It is essential for the schools and teachers to create the right learning
environment that can support early childhood development.
Practical approaches in multimodal learning
Kindergarten rooms should be colourful and spacious enough for furniture and
educational material. Placing colourful verbal and visual texts as non-verbal signs related to daily
life information for the children can help them realize the meaning of the texts (Granly &
Maagerø 2012, p.371). The use of the multimodal texts on the walls and floors can help develop

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a special text culture in the kindergarten. The text-based verbal language comprises paper
decorations, drawings, photographs, illustrations from books and paintings (Granly & Maagerø
2012, p.375). Music in Kindergarten should be rich in multimodal experiences such as playing,
creating and reflecting. An activity-oriented musical experience with children can help enrich
literacy. Singing songs, using rhythms and repetition of musical notes and adding musical effects
to a story can with musical instruments can help develop the child’s vocabulary of movement
(Tomlinson 2013, p 7).
Reggio Emilia is a region in Italy has been funding public preschool education for
children ages 3 to 6 years (Hewett 2001, p. 95). The Reggio Emilia set of schools evolved in
Italy a couple of decades ago. The Reggio Emilia is seen as an innovative approach to early
childhood and is the result of the cooperative efforts of parents, teachers and the community.
Reggio Emilia Approach suggests a proactive role of the child in learning as a researcher. The
idea behind is that children are natural researchers and all they need is the right environment to
explore, observe and question to gain knowledge and education as asserted by Hewett (2001, p.
33). It is possible for the nursery schools and teachers to follow the Reggio Emilia approach
within the classroom based on the needs and interests of the children to motivate the children.
Reggio Emilia is looked upon as one of the leading education systems for the young growing
children. Children in Reggio settings are encouraged to be ‘researchers’ and explore, employing
different ways of thinking. Creative thinking develops as they come across a real-life problem
and make efforts to solve them (TSC 2018) The innovative and inspiring approach is based on
the innate curiosity of children and allows him to develop as a confident and resilient individual.
Children in Reggio settings are encouraged to be ‘researchers’ and explore, employing different
ways of thinking.

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One can base the Play and Learning method on Reggio Emilia approach to developing a
supportive and productive learning environment for the student based on his interests. The
teacher can design activities based on the individual interests of the child so that he can pursue
their own interests and explore. Teachers can observe children rather than guiding them and
motivate them to explore their environment, make mistakes and learn from their mistakes. The
role of the teacher is limited to creating a rich learning environment, observe them and ensure
that they are safe. For example, they can feel free to express through drawing, music, dance,
painting, and sculpting. The children can choose the project they are interested in and express
their creativity. Children can dance, create art or write, explore nature and learn from their
experiences.
When one looks at the different approaches and link them with multimodality, one can
observe several similarities. Multimodal literacy means making use of image, words, sounds, and
movements for different modes of listening, writing or dramatizing in the classroom. The
multimodal learning environment can be based on play and learning method and multi-modal
approaches. Each of those methods and approaches aim to facilitate learning opportunities that
can help the child to learn effortlessly. The objective behind is to make the classroom experience
an enjoyable and an inviting one for the child instead of forcing knowledge on him. When
children are allowed to engage in play based activities based on his liking, he likes to investigate
and explore in a clutter-free environment filled games and activities of his choice. He is
encouraged to ask questions, and the teacher offers the answers.
To conclude on the discussion, I strongly suggest integrating PLA within the curriculum
for nursery education. As sensory play and activity stimulates a child's senses and keeps him
motivated and interested, it can be used to promote learning and development in the early years

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of the children. These play-based activities based on the Reggio Emilia approach is engaging for
children and help to improve their concentration, coordination, and learning. As they experiment
and investigate, they develop their imagination and creativity. The choices and options for
integrating PLA within the nursery class activities are endless
Sincerely
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Bibliography
Cutter-Mackenzie, A. et al. (2014) Young Children’s Play and Environmental Education in Early
Childhood Education. Springer Briefs in Education, 11(1), pp. 9-24.
Granly, A. & Maagerø, E. 2012, "Multimodal texts in kindergarten rooms", Education Inquiry,
vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 371-386.
Hewett, V.M (2001) Examining the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education.
Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(2), pp. 95–100.
Jewitt, C. (2008) Multimodality and Literacy in School Classrooms, Review of Research in
Education, 32(1), pp. 241-267.
TSC (2018) What is the Reggio Emilia philosophy? The Scots Colleg [Online] available from:
https://www.tsc.nsw.edu.au/tscnews/what-is-the-reggio-emilia-philosophy [Accessed 25 Nov.
2018].
Theodotou, E. (2015) The Arts: An Interesting Approach in the Early Years Settings University
of East London [Online] available from: https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/the-arts-an-interesting-
approach-in-the-early-years-settings [Accessed 25 Nov. 2018].
Thompson, M (2008) Multimodal Teaching and Learning: Creating Spaces for Content
Teachers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(2), pp. 144–153.
Tomlinson, M.M. (2013) Literacy and Music in Early Childhood: Multimodal Learning and
Design, SAGE Open, 3(3), pp. 1-10.

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Wolfe, S. & Flewitt, R. (2010) New technologies, new multimodal literacy practices and young
children's metacognitive development, Cambridge Journal of Education, 40(4), pp. 387-399.
Walsh, M. 2010, "Multimodal literacy: what does it mean for classroom practice?", Australian
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