Mother Tongues Training Opportunity

Mother Tongues Training Opportunity

Train as a Language Explorers artist facilitator and work with young children and their families in a creative and multilingual way!

Established in 2017, Mother Tongues is a leading organisation working at the intersection of the arts, language and cultural diversity in Ireland.  Our mission is to unlock the creative potential of multilingualism through high-quality, inclusive arts experiences that:

    •  celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity
    •   foster a sense of belonging for children, families and communities
    • promote social cohesion

Language Explorers is our flagship creative arts programme designed for children aged 3 to 6 and their families. The programme offers child-centred, interactive, and meaningful arts experiences that welcome all children — whether they are monolingual, bilingual or plurilingual.   

We deliver Language Explorers in two ways: 

Impact

The Language Explorers programme has made a real difference for children, families and educators across Ireland. In the last 12 months alone:

More than 1,684 parents and children attended our Early Years programme for free.

120 children participated in our award-winning Language Explorers programme in primary schools

By joining the Language Explorers facilitator training, you will become part of this growing community and contribute to creating inclusive, creative spaces where children, families, and communities can celebrate languages and culture.

Language Explorers artists training and work opportunity

Mother Tongues is offering training to individuals interested in joining our panel of artist facilitators. This panel will be called upon to conduct workshops in Co. Dublin, Co. Galway and Co. Roscommon.

About the training

The programme combines hands-on learning and reflection, supporting artists to build confidence, learn new skills and find creative ways to celebrate languages, cultures and stories through the arts.
The Language Explorers training will help you grow as an artist and as a creative facilitator. During the programme, you will:

Improve your facilitation skills for working with young children aged 3 to 6 and their families

Develop your artistic and creative practice

Learn more about bilingualism and multilingualism in early childhood

Be part of a transformative change, helping to build a more inclusive and multilingual Ireland

Once the training is successfully completed, you will be part of a panel of freelance Language Explorers facilitators. 

PLEASE NOTE: Being accepted onto the panel does not guarantee paid work as a facilitator or artist within the programme. Opportunities will depend on Mother Tongues’ successful fundraising.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the training, you will:

  • Understand and use the Language Explorers methodology
  • Strengthen your reflection and facilitation skills
  • Be able to design and deliver Language Explorers workshops based on your own artistic practice and experience
Language Explorers workshop. Mother Tongues.

Who should apply?

We invite artists from all art forms who have a collaborative and inclusive practice and enjoy working with families with young children. This training is for artists who:

have experience creating and leading art activities for children

are fluent in a language other than English and can facilitate a workshop in it

enjoy working with people from different cultures and backgrounds

have a strong desire to work with early years children

Schedule

The training is a blend of online and in-person elements, running over approximately six months with an estimated total time commitment of 45 hours. Self-directed learning is an important element of this training.

    • Deadline to apply: November 11th, 2025 
    • Notifications sent by November 14th, 2025 
    • Interviews between the 19th and 26th November 2025 (online)
    • Final notifications by 28th November 2025 
    • Orientation session with other trainees and the mentors: week starting December 1, 2025 (2 hours, online)
    • Self-led learning with booklet and further resources: December 2025 – February 2026
    • Group session: March 2026 (online)
    • Observation of two trained Language Explorers facilitators at two in-person workshops scheduled between March and April 2026
    • 1-1 session with your mentor in person, after shadowing trained facilitators
    • Submission of your draft workshop session plan: March-April 2026
    • 1-1 session (online) with your mentor to reflect on your assessment: April- May 2026
    • Submission of your updated workshop plan and final assessment: May-June 2026  (online)

Eligibility and Commitments

We will only consider applications from artists who:

  • have experience working with early years children, and
  • can commit to delivering workshops in one of the following counties: Co. Dublin, Co. Galway, or Co. Roscommon.

Workshops are organised mainly on Saturdays.


If you have any questions or experience technical difficulties with the form, please contact info@mothertongues.ie

Apply here

Mother Tongues is an equal opportunity employer.  We encourage applications from individuals of a variety of backgrounds and levels of experience.

The mentors

Fernanda Ferrari

Fernanda Ferrari

Fernanda Ferrari is an award-winning visual storyteller, performer, puppeteer, and filmmaker with over 25 years of experience dedicated to cultural and social transformation through the arts.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Performance from UNICAMP, Brazil. Her professional practice centers on using creativity as a tool for personal and social transformation, focusing on fostering inclusion and well-being. She has successfully led cultural projects in Brazil, France, and the UK.

In Ireland, Fernanda’s innovative work for young audiences has earned her multiple awards and commissions. She was a recipient of the Arts Council Ireland YCPC Bursary in 2021 to study Puppetry with PuppetSoup Theatre Company in Wales. Additionally, she received the South Dublin County Council Individual Artist Bursary (2022) to research her original show, “What to do on a Rainy Day,” and was awarded the YPCE 2022 to further develop this project. This work was integrated into her research at The Civic Theatre through the Ready, Steady, SHOW! Digital commission (2022–23).

Fernanda began collaborating with Mother Tongues in 2021, where she co-created the Language Explorers Early Years framework. In 2025, she stepped into the role of Director, continuing to champion diversity, creativity and social transformation through the organisation’s mission.

tony fegan

Tony Fegan

Dublin-born Tony Fegan is a creative producer, theatre director and participatory arts practitioner. Tony established Lift Learning Programme at Lift (London International Festival of Theatre). As Director of Learning (1992 – 2007) he developed a wide-ranging and highly influential learning programme with national and international artists working with youth, community groups, schools and universities on long-term artist collaborations, including site-specific events. 
He is a founder member of Project Phakama, an inter-cultural youth arts exchange programme between London, Southern Africa, India and South America. He was a visiting artist in residence at the Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre Summer School, Ireland in 2002. He has extensive experience in creating multilingual performances through artist-in-residence projects in intercultural and international settings.
Tony was CEO/Director at Tallaght Community Arts in Dublin from 2007 – 2023. Tony repositioned Tallaght Community Arts as an arts development organisation working closely with communities in Tallaght, across South Dublin County and internationally.
In 2021 Tony spearheading a local resident /arts consortium was awarded an Arts Council of Ireland Creative Places R&D award. In 2022 the consortium was awarded the Arts Council of Ireland Creative Places 3-year award.

What other Language Explorers facilitators say:

Alison Martin
Alison Martin
“[Language Explorers] it’s a really powerful programme. I could see firsthand the connections being created among the different children (from all different languages), also the sense of pride and belonging among the participants and caregivers. As an artist, it was also very important to me to be able to work in my own language. [...] I really enjoyed seeing the connections between the children and their adults during the workshops and the melody of the beautiful array of languages being spoken. Although I had always wanted to work with this age group (3 to 6), I hadn’t had the confidence to do so before my work with Mother Tongues. Their excellent training and support throughout the series helped me grow as an artist.”
Juliette Saumande
Juliette Saumande
“It’s a lovely, low-pressure environment where carer and child can enjoy doing something together. The shyness that can come with speaking a minority language doesn’t last very long and some children really get into the idea of volunteering words to share with the group.”
Olga Khomiak
Olga Khomiak
“I truly believe that Language Explorers makes a difference in the live of the participants. It’s very important for people who are in a foreign language environment to feel that they are not alone and that they have support”
Carmel Stephens
Carmel Stephens
I’m having so much fun creating and delivering these workshops. My lesson so far is to trust the magic of play. [...] I feel like I’m at the beginning of a deep and transformative journey and I have a lot to give but much much more to learn.

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