"To be able to understand each other": Intercultural interactions in the Arabic–Hebrew-speaking preschool in Israel

Authors

  • Ludmila Krivosh Oranim College of Education
  • Mila Schwartz Oranim College of Education

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.11.196

Keywords:

EARLY LANGUAGE LEARNING, INTERCULTURAL INTERACTIONS, BILINGUALISM, INTERACTIONAL COMPETENCIES

Abstract

This ethnographic study expands prior understanding of the intercultural encounter process by focusing on 29 Jewish and Arab children attending bilingual preschool and two preschool teachers during 16 class sessions. The findings shed light on a developmental stage at which the seeds of intercultural interaction begin to appear along the separation between Arab and Jewish children in terms of their social preferences. The presence of second language (L2) experts in the classroom prompted the formation of two groups based on children’s bilingual competence, an experts’ group and a novice one. On the one hand, some experts positioned themselves as competent bilinguals and teachers, willing to assume the role of L2 mediators and interpreters. On the other hand, the relative L2 competence prompted novice learners to be flexible and go beyond their ethnic identity in order to establish new social relationships. The data show that the process of L2 acquisition might play a catalytic role in activating a social mechanism for intercultural interaction and that, despite differences in the patterns of social adaptation, all children showed developmental intercultural changes.

Author Biographies

Ludmila Krivosh, Oranim College of Education

Ludmila Krivosh is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Graduate Studies Faculty and Head of the Civics and Sociology Department at the Oranim College of Education. She is also Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Emek Yizrael College (Israel).

Mila Schwartz, Oranim College of Education

Mila Schwartz is Associate Professor in Language and Education and Head of the Language Program (M. Ed.) at the Oranim College of Education.

Published

2020-02-29

How to Cite

Krivosh, L., & Schwartz, M. (2020). "To be able to understand each other": Intercultural interactions in the Arabic–Hebrew-speaking preschool in Israel. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, 7(1), 39–58. https://doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.11.196

Issue

Section

Research Articles - Regular Issue

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