Studio art teachers' perspectives on multimodality and the hundred languages in early childhood multilingual contexts

This chapter reflects the perspectives of two U.S. studio art teachers. In the late 1960s, Loris Malaguzzi brought artists into the schools to promote the idea of expressive languages as integral to the knowledge-building process for children and adults as a right. The authors consider the sociocultural frameworks of the hundred languages and multimodality through the lens of the atelierista/studio coordinator. These sociocultural frameworks relate verbal language and symbolic representation as choices for meaning-making and communication. The authors propose that these perspectives are advantageous for emergent bilingual and multilingual young children by providing increased possibilities for conveying thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Uniquely positioned and equipped with knowledge of the art materials and artistic practices, the authors acknowledge that the studio art teacher offers a different perspective and expertise to bi-multilingual classrooms. Lastly, the authors share suggestions for creating aesthetic experiences in bi- and multilingual early childhood settings.