Perceptions and practices about oral language in the policy and delivery of early education in the Lebanese multilingual context

High quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is essential for all children to reach their potential in the development of their language abilities, and robust Oral Language (OL) provision is a core element of that (Reilly & McKean, 2023). But perceptions of what constitutes rich OL provision in ECEC and their implementation vary both due to diverse conceptualisations of OL and how these are enacted in a multilingual context. Lebanon is host to people with different religions, cultures, dialects, and languages. Arabic is the official language, but Arabic use is diglossic and French and/or English are taught in most schools from kindergarten. If ECEC is to prepare the currently highly vulnerable population for a better future, then any policy, service or practice initiatives to enable this must be contextually informed if they are to be successful and sustainable (OECD, 2011). Situated within the Bulbul research program this in-depth qualitative case study conducted semi-structured interviews or focus groups with fifty-eight participants representing key agents in ECEC policy, services and practice across Lebanon (N = Government Ministries-8; Initial Teacher Training-7; Public and Private Schools and Nurseries-25; NGO providers and policy-9; Speech and Language Therapists-3; Paediatricians-2; and Parents-2) around the provision of high quality ECEC and the role of OL within that. Results from thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021) suggest that language policy and planning in such a context need not only consider the ingredients of a rich oral language (OL) environment, but how to factor in widely different home language experiences, parental expectations and perception and practice around multilingualism. Drawing on Hornberger’s (2006) integrative language policy and planning framework, we identify the importance of developing such a framework in Lebanon in a manner which both values home language(s) and prepares children for their educational journey, where foreign languages are key.