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This study investigates children's science learning in a nursery in Turkey. The participating children (aged 5 and 6) are from a socio-economically disadvantaged community. This is an ethnographic study that includes participant observations and audio recordings of classroom interactions based on a long-term basis. It takes a socio-cultural approach and uses the concept of speech genre [Bakhtin, M. M. 1986. "Speech Genres and Other Late Essays." Austin: University of Texas Press] to examine children's science learning. The findings highlight the role of the teacher in learning scientific concepts. It shows that the experiments enable the children to test and investigate scientific concepts. It also problematises the role of the teacher in structuring science activities and classroom talk by suggesting that teachers need to be explicit when they introduce children to concepts, rather than leaving technical knowledge for children to make inferences.

This study explores the literacy and social practices of a young Omani emergent bilingual child who is beginning to develop bilingualism and biliteracy in Arabic and English through social interactions. One case study of a four-year-old child and her family living temporarily for her father postgraduate studies in Canada is presented. Framed on socio-cultural understandings of literacy development, the study discusses the role of multimodal home practices in the emergent biliteracy development of the child and generates new understandings about children's social practices that are embedded in their daily lives. The study also explores the role of these cultural practices in navigating between two systems of language and culture. The findings make visible how children's engagement with the social context of home, whether physical or through digital media, can enhance their biliteracy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]