Les compétences plurilingues des jeunes apprenants du français dans les premières années de leur scolarité : des pratiques et stratégies pédagogiques d’éveil aux langues

Our study on the inclusion of multilingual students is the result of ten years of collaborative research between a researcher (the author of this article) and an elementary school teacher in Franche-Comté. The teacher has worked in a preschool and currently works in an elementary school; both schools are characterized by a high degree of linguistic diversity among their students. Her practices align with scientific studies that emphasize the importance of welcoming and recognizing linguistic and cultural diversity in an inclusive manner at school. She implements early language exposure with all her classes (from preschool to first grade) and combines this with other inclusive teaching practices. This article begins by providing some details on the foundations and methodology of our collaborative research project. We outline the research project’s timeline, which involved data collection during two periods (2015–2017 and 2022–2024) (in total: two semi-structured interviews with the teacher, classroom observations, student work, and the teacher’s educational resources for preschool and first grade) while examining how the teacher’s involvement in this research contributes to her professional development. In the second part, we examine the multilingual practices developed by the teacher across different classes and grade levels. The study’s findings demonstrate how the teacher leverages the multilingual skills of students from preschool through first grade to support their French language development by employing language- awareness practices. The students’ multilingual repertoires thus become a catalyst for classroom teaching practices. Our observations show that valuing students’ skills contributes to their desire to learn and succeed in French while maintaining a connection to their native languages and cultures. This work thus contributes to the discussion on the continuity of multilingual education and its challenges in the transitional spaces between the micro and meso levels—that is, the school, the students, and the families—as well as between preschool and elementary school.

Cite this article as: Krüger, A. (2026). Les compétences plurilingues des jeunes apprenants du français dans les premières années de leur scolarité : des pratiques et stratégies pédagogiques d’éveil aux langues. HAYEF: Journal of Education, 23, 0039, doi: 10.5152/hayef.2026.25039.