Babo the Dragon has won the European Language Label 2026. Discover how Mother Tongues contributed to this award-winning European project supporting multilingual learning.
Tag: Mother Tongues
Mother Tongues Awarded the KHF Children’s Promise Grant
Mother Tongueshas been awarded funding through the Katharine Howard Foundation’s Children’s Promise Grants Programme!
Mother Tongues secures Arts Council Arts Grant for a 4th consecutive year
Big news! Mother Tongues secures Arts Council funding for the 4th year. Discover what this means for families in South Dublin, Roscommon, Mayo, and beyond.
Growing Up Multilingual: A Story of Identity
I now take pride in my languages not because of how fluent I am or how convincing my accent might be, but because of the ways they have shaped the person I am.
How creative play supports heritage languages in the classroom
How creative play supports heritage languages in the classroom
Celebrating the completion of our 'All Together – Gach le Chéile' project.
We are delighted to share the completion of our latest collaborative initiative, All Together – Gach le Chéile. Developed by Mother Tongues’ Director Fernanda Ferrari and Creative Producer Tony Fegan, in partnership with the Ozanam House Early Learning Centre and funded by the Arts Council Arts in Early Learning and Childcare Scheme, this project brought creative, multilingual arts experiences directly into early years education.
Set in the heart of Dublin’s North East Inner City, the initiative brought together professional artists Angelica Santander, Tamao Oka, Kasia Eliasz and Debora Adachi, early childhood educators, children and families for a sixteen-workshop journey filled with storytelling, music, theatre, movement and visual arts.
Guided by the beautiful children’s book Ná Gabh Ar Scoil! by Máire Zepf, illustrated by Tarsila Krüse and published by Futa Fata, twenty-one children aged three to five explored what it means to belong, using their full imaginations to guide the way.
Growing confidence through creative play
At Mother Tongues, we believe that a child’s home language and culture are incredible resources. All Together – Gach le Chéile sought to create a welcoming space where those individual identities were celebrated.
The independent evaluation conducted by Paula Phelan, alongside reflections from our participating artists, showed a wonderful progression in how the children engaged with the workshops. In the early weeks, some children were naturally hesitant or reserved. However, as the consistent weekly routines grew more familiar, their self-assurance blossomed.
Reflecting on the children’s development, project Associate Artist Paola Invernizzi noted how powerful it was to observe their journey:
I was mesmerised by the growth of these children, their evolution, and their receptive nature at different times and in different ways, some visible and some less obvious. I learnt that the impact of activities and projects is not always immediately visible.
Children who began the project quietly watching from the sidelines soon became active contributors, initiating their own ideas, leading songs, and showing remarkable memory retention of the themes, activities and facilitators by the time our final celebratory showcase took place.
He became much more open to trying new things. Before, he would hang back, but now he jumps straight in.
Strengthening bonds at home and in the classroom
The impact of this creative early years arts project extended far beyond the classroom walls. One of the most heartening outcomes was the enthusiastic participation of parents and families.
Through shared artistic play, music and storytelling, parents reported building even stronger bonds with their children at home. Many families noted that they began introducing the creative routines, songs and stories learned in the workshops into their daily home lives, opening up new pathways for communication and mutual joy.
I could see a real change in [my daughter's] confidence over the few weeks. She started speaking up more at home and wanted to show us everything she made.
Crucially, the project fostered a deep sense of mutual respect. Families expressed how meaningful it was to see their cultural backgrounds and mother tongues explicitly valued and welcomed in an educational setting.
For the educators at Ozanam House, working alongside Mother Tongues artists offered fresh, child-led approaches to embedding creativity in the early years curriculum. The setting saw a tangible skills transfer, with roleplay, singing and process-focused art becoming a natural part of everyday preschool practice.
For the first time, I felt our language was truly welcomed in the setting.
Learning for the future
Ambitious, multilingual community work always brings valuable lessons, representing what Paola described as “a huge learning curve and a real eye-opener to the complexity and fascination of delivering a project like this within such a multilayered environment.”
Navigating a busy early years setting – especially when balancing ten home languages, including Polish, Spanish, French, Somali and Nepalese, on top of English and Irish – requires immense flexibility and care. The project highlighted the practical realities of artistic collaboration, showing that true creative integration requires dedicated time to grow.
Future initiatives will benefit from even more structured spaces for collective planning, creative exchange, and brief, staff-friendly check-ins to deepen the collaboration between artists and educators. Rather than seeing these reflections as obstacles, we view them as a clear, honest roadmap. They show us that when structures are adequately supported, collaborative arts practice can leave a permanent legacy.
The sessions encouraged us to slow down and follow the children’s ideas more closely.
A hopeful model for tomorrow
All Together – Gach le Chéile demonstrated that when children are invited to bring their full selves – their languages, stories and heritages – into their learning environments, they thrive. As artist Tamao Oka shared, it was an absolute “pleasure to be part of the project and to collaborate with such a welcoming and supportive community.”
We want to extend our deepest gratitude to the team at Ozanam House, led by Debbie Keegan, Early Learning Manager, for their wonderful partnership, to the Arts Council for making this work possible, and above all, to the families and children who shared their creativity and voices with us. This project feels less like a finished process and more like the beginning of something truly important for our community.
Some of the quieter children really found their voice through the creative activities.
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Why multilingual arts workshops matter for young children
Why multilingual arts workshops matter for young children
What a new evaluation reveals about Mother Tongues’ Language Explorers Early Years programme
What happens when children are encouraged to explore language through storytelling, art, music and play — without pressure, correction or the expectation to “get it right”?
According to a new evaluation of Mother Tongues’ Language Explorers Early Years programme carried out by Natasha Ghesquiere (Student in Master’s of Arts in Linguistics, Specialisation in Language Variation and Multilingualism at Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands), something quite special happens: children become more confident, families feel a stronger sense of belonging, and multilingualism becomes something joyful, creative and shared.
In a country where more and more children are growing up with multiple languages, the research highlights the importance of creating spaces where every language, accent and family story is welcomed and valued.
What is Language Explorers Early Years?
Language Explorers Early Years is Mother Tongues’ award-winning programme for children aged 3–6 and their families. Delivered in Community Centres, libraries and Art Centres, the workshops combine storytelling, visual arts, movement, music and play to create high-quality artistic experiences rooted in multilingualism and cultural inclusion.
Rather than teaching a specific language, the workshops encourage children and parents to use whatever languages they speak at home — whether that is Irish, Arabic, Portuguese, Polish, Yoruba, Spanish, English, or any other.
The recent evaluation, based on workshop observations and parent interviews, describes the programme as:
a multilingual, arts-based playgroup in which language is experienced through creativity, interaction and family participation.
This distinction is important. Language Explorers is not a formal language class. Instead, it creates opportunities for children to experience language as something connected to creativity, family, identity and joy.
Supporting multilingual children in Ireland today
Ireland is becoming increasingly multilingual. Yet many families still struggle to find spaces where their languages and cultural experiences are recognised and celebrated.
The report highlights that multilingual families often carry the responsibility of passing on their home language alone, especially when their language community is small or not widely represented.
Language Explorers helps ease that pressure by creating a welcoming environment where multilingualism is normalised.
One parent described the workshops as:
...a space that everybody can come in on an equal playing field.
Another reflected on how valuable it was for children to encounter many languages together in a relaxed setting:
The world we live in is multicultural… the atmosphere is very relaxed, you do something creative, you meet the artists, it is very unique.
The evaluation found that children were often excited to hear and share words from different languages. During storytelling sessions, children enthusiastically called out words they knew in their home language, while parents supported and encouraged them.
Importantly, there was no pressure to speak “perfectly”. Instead, children were encouraged to experiment, repeat sounds and participate in ways that felt natural to them.
Why creativity changes the experience of language
One of the strongest findings in the report is the connection between creativity and language confidence.
The workshops encourage children to associate language with play, storytelling, songs, movement and artistic exploration rather than correction or formal instruction. This creates a low-pressure environment where children can express themselves freely.
As the researcher notes, children appeared to build:
- confidence in expressing themselves
- curiosity towards other languages and cultures
- positive associations with their home language
- stronger family interaction through shared creativity
One parent explained:
Going to Language Explorers has been really useful because it gives me inspiration in ways to interweave language throughout our days… through games, through song, through different things and not academically.
This reflects one of the programme’s core strengths: it supports not only children, but also parents and caregivers, helping families feel more confident using their languages together in everyday life.
A space where every child belongs
The evaluation repeatedly highlights the atmosphere of the workshops as one of their most important strengths.
Families described the sessions as welcoming, inclusive and affirming. Children were encouraged to participate at their own pace, and flexibility was central to the approach.
If a child felt shy or overwhelmed, they were not pressured to engage immediately. Instead, facilitators, volunteers and parents worked together to support children in ways that respected their individual personalities and needs.
This was especially meaningful for some children experiencing language processing or developmental difficulties. One parent shared how hearing different accents and ways of speaking English helped his child feel more comfortable:
It’s encouraging for him that he can see that somebody else has a difficulty saying that word or they say it a different way.
The report suggests that exposure to multiple accents, pronunciations and styles of speaking may help reduce some of the pressure children feel around “sounding right”, supporting confidence and self-expression.
Language Explorers and the Irish language
Interestingly, the evaluation also found that many Irish-speaking or Irish-learning families are drawn to the workshops.
In the multilingual environment of Language Explorers, Irish is experienced alongside many other languages in a natural and socially supported way. Parents who may not feel fully confident speaking Irish themselves still felt comfortable participating.
As one parent explained:
Even if there’s no Irish-speaking families there, there’s definitely going to be Irish-speaking kids there.
Rather than positioning Irish as something formal or intimidating, the workshops create playful opportunities for children to hear and use it alongside other languages.
More than a workshop
The evaluation concludes that Language Explorers fills an important gap in Ireland’s early years and multilingual landscape.
Unlike formal language schools, the programme focuses on language use, creativity, belonging and family connection. Parents are encouraged to participate alongside their children.
The report by Natasha Ghesquiere describes Language Explorers as:
...a rare and valuable space in which multilingual children and families can feel welcomed, recognised and affirmed.
For educators, the findings offer important insights into the value of arts-based and multilingual approaches in early childhood. For parents, they offer reassurance that multilingualism does not need to be perfect, formal or pressured in order to flourish.
Most importantly, the evaluation reminds us that when children see their languages, cultures and identities reflected positively around them, they are more likely to feel confident, connected and proud of who they are.
More spaces, more places, more ages
As multilingualism continues to grow across Ireland, programmes like Language Explorers are becoming increasingly important.
The report recommends carefully expanding the programme geographically and by age group, recognising the growing demand for inclusive multilingual spaces where children and families can experience language as something joyful, creative and shared.
At Mother Tongues, we believe every child deserves access to high-quality artistic experiences where their language and identity are recognised as strengths.
Language Explorers continues to show that the arts can play a powerful role in helping children and families feel seen, heard and connected — across languages, cultures and communities.
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Here We Live and Play
Artists from Mother Tongues worked with pupils from Dublin 7 to explored the children’s multilingual worlds through art.
A Multilingual Streetscape for Cruinniú na nÓg 2025
Scoil Aoife CNS transformed into a multilingual playground to celebrate Cruinniú na nÓg with Mother Tongues
Mother Tongues’ IPIF Language Explorers
In 2024, funded by DCEDIY, we continued our mission of fostering multilingualism, creativity and well-being among families with experience of forced migration.
Mother Tongues Announces Leadership Transition
Mother Tongues Announces Leadership Transition: Fernanda Ferrari Appointed as New Director
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