Research in subject-specific pedagogy highlights the importance of students learning to navigate the different school subjects. This includes acquiring the linguistic tools that support an understanding of subject-specific content.
After introducing the concept of Gestes Langagiers Didadactiques (GLD), I present selected results from a study conducted in a first year class in France (children aged 5-6). The focus is on the phase at school entry where learning activities become increasingly structured and differentiated according to subject content. Based on a comparative analysis of texts written by four children at the beginning and end of the first year, I show which gestes langagiers didactiques help them to more clearly grasp the subject-relevant context of a task and to progressively align their thinking with domain-specific approaches. 

This article develops a theoretical perspective on literacy practices, providing a framework for developmentally-oriented pedagogy and for learning environments aimed at fostering early literacy at kindergarten. 
The developmentally-oriented perspective is based on a functional and pragmatic understanding of language and writing. This understanding forms the foundation for early reading and writing activities such as interactive picture book sessions, dictation to the teacher and games involving symbols and rules. 
Each learning situation is first described and then theoretically embedded. This is followed by illustrations of its practical implementation by a teacher who participated in Montminy’s (2023) ethnographic doctoral study.

This project to foster an interest in books is based on an experience-driven analysis of librarians’ needs. On one hand, there is a need for specialised training to justify book selection for young children in theoretical terms. On the other hand, librarians require knowledge of interactive offerings that engage children, parents and library staff whilst also enabling them to participate actively.
The theoretical foundations of the approach presented draw on an in-depth knowledge of children’s psycholinguistic and socio-emotional development, as well as strategic expertise in group facilitation which the author acquired at Canada’s Hanen Center, which specialises in early childhood development.
This article, based on many years of experience in public libraries across diverse sociocultural and linguistic environments, presents an approach that brings numerous families together with their young children. The goal is to facilitate access to spoken language and immersion in story worlds by creating encounters with difference, valuing both individual characteristics and the strength of the community.
The various offerings are designed to engage young children’s interest, to develop their sensitivity to listening to stories, to stimulate curiosity and to engage all five senses, so they can discover each picture book in the baby library through playful and joyful exploration. 

One central challenge in a developmentally-oriented view of early literacy acquisition is that the first steps in literacy development are hardly visible. They often emerge quietly and are therefore difficult to assess diagnostically.
This is where learning progress observation comes in: It reveals the reflective and metacognitive processes children go through as they gradually develop an understanding of language, symbols and writing.
This article demonstrates the theoretical potential of learning progress assessment, which operationalises a developmentally-oriented perspective on reading and writing whilst also reflecting the practical demands of observation and evaluation in early childhood settings. 
To illustrate the approach, examples are shared from a two-year practical trial in the pre-school sector. This was conducted at a school for children with hearing impairments and/or speech and language development disorders.

In a two-year longitudinal study, 117 children in their first year of school were assessed at 13 measurement points on precursor skills, vocabulary and literacy competencies. The analyses show a close relationship between early literacy-related competencies (early literacy) and later reading and spelling performance.
The sample is linguistically heterogeneous: over 60% of the children (N =70) are growing up multilingual, 38 of them with German as a second language (acquisition after the age of 3). Differences are evident in vocabulary, particularly between children with German as a second language and those growing up monolingually or as simultaneous bilinguals; however, no significant group differences were found in early literacy skills related to written language.

The organisation SIKJM* has been engaged in the field of early literacy promotion since attention in Switzerland first began to shift towards early childhood in the early 2000s,. The aim of the two programmes ‘Schenk mir eine Geschichte’ (‘Tell me a story’) and ‘Leseanimator:innen SIKJM’ (‘SIKJM reading ambassadors’) has been to qualify facilitators who work directly with children and adults (professionals and parents) to foster rich and diverse experiences with language, stories and books. 
The facilitators of ‘Schenk mir eine Geschichte’ work directly with families and children up to the age of five in a wide range of heritage languages. The ‘SIKJM reading ambassadors’ operate in various early childhood institutions, particularly in libraries in connection with the ‘Book start’ initiative. 
This article traces the development and establishment of the two programmes within the Swiss early childhood educational landscape, alongside the evolution of SIKJM itself, and seeks to address current challenges.

*Swiss Institute for Children’s and Young People’s Media

This article examines the quality of interactions and the language-related practices of childcare professionals (‘FaBes’) at daycare centres in Zurich. It is based on the evaluation of the language support programme ‘All set for kindergarten’ (German: ‘Gut vorbereitet in den Kindergarten’), conducted by the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PH Zürich) on behalf of the City of Zurich.
Everyday situations in 19 daycare centres were videotaped and analysed using the instrument ‘EULE’, which assesses the quality of language-supportive practices according to four dimensions: structuring and guidance, adaptation, stimulation and linguistic means. For this article, selected scenes were re-analysed in greater depth with a focus on the quality of interactions and drawing on the evaluation results.
Particularly effective are situations where FaBes deliberately use facial expressions and gestures alongside verbal utterances and also respond to children’s interests. This study highlights the active role of FaBes as facilitators of dialogue who, through intentional language use, create supportive language learning environments.

The higher education development project  «bisKidS» at Bern University of Teacher Education documented, for teaching purposes at the Institute of Primary Education and the Institute of Special Education, whether and how professionals in Bernese daycare centres (‘Kitas’), playgroups and the first cycle of formal schooling use everyday situations for integrated language support. The study also explored perceptions of professional roles in relation to using everyday interactions as opportunities to support language development. A special focus was placed on comparing professionals from daycare centres and playgroups with kindergarten teachers, as early years professionals and kindergarten teachers differ in terms of institutional conditions, training and pedagogical beliefs. 
This article focuses on data gathered by means of a questionnaire which was conducted as part of the project. Its aim was to understand to what extent assessments of which situations are (or can be) used for integrating language support in everyday contexts align or diverge.