Talking Lion and Bird: Translanguaging and Embodied Learning in Bilingual ECEC in Finland

Embodiment and bodily experiences are vital parts of communication and learning in the early years. Children are believed to develop their thinking processes and language skills through sensory and motor experiences in early childhood education while they show, touch, mimic, and think by doing; in other words, they are learning by doing. In this paper, embodied and playful learning activities are explored through a translanguaging approach. The embodiment experiences in education can be understood as modalities of learning; this especially concerns play. Thus, the pedagogical scaffolding of these modalities by teachers can be analysed through a translanguaging approach. In Finnish early childhood education, there is a whole-child approach that considers children to be active agents in learning. Moreover, recognizing the whole child and viewing their development from social, physical, and mental perspectives have been rooted very strongly in pedagogical philosophy and practices in ECEC Finland through the playful learning approach. In this paper, we emphasize the expression of children’s embodiment and non-verbal communication when combined with spoken verbal languages and fantasy animal languages using a translanguaging approach. We focus on children’s translanguaging practices and embodied expressions. Embodiment in learning practices is essential for children in their sensory-motor or pre-operational phase of development because they show, touch, mimic, and think through an active approach.