Page 36 - Diversity in Action

Silva Bratož, Anja Pirih, Anita Sila, and Mojca Žefran

cultural diversity and perceived it in a pleasurable and positive way. They
were eager to contribute their ideas and experiences with different aspects
of culture and were willing to try new things (Bratož & Sila, 2022).

Concrete to Symbolic Level
A key feature of the model is its emphasis on real-life situations and the inclu-
sionoftangibleitemswithsymbolicsignificance.Tosimulatetraveltoforeign
countries, children are provided with templates for identity cards and pass-
ports, which they complete with their own information and pictures. These
items are used in sociodramatic play, where children assume various roles
and establish their own rules. During the play, teachers engage as active par-
ticipants, modelling language and play behaviours while offering visual aids
such as items or pictures to support the activity.
As part of these activities, children expand their vocabulary by learning
new words related to concepts like country, town, capital city, identity card,
passport, anthem, flag, and president. Visual aids, including maps, videos,
photographs, and concrete objects, help children grasp abstract concepts,
while role-play teaches them how to use this knowledge practically.
The study by Žefran et al. (2025) revealed that the children demonstrated a
clear grasp of abstract concepts like ‘country’ and ‘language.’ Almost all the
children wereableto accuratelyidentifymultiplecountriesandarticulatethe
languagesspoken in each,indicatingasolidunderstandingofthesecomplex
ideas. During the interviews, the children explained that we need a passport
to travel to other countries, and they talked about various things associated
to different countries. However, in the study by Bratož and Sila (2022), the
teachers also observed that only a few children were able to make more com-
plex logical connections, such as between a famous person and the country
or the country and its shape on the map (e.g. Italy and its boot shape). It is
clear that at this developmental stage, children are still not fully able to ab-
sorb and comprehend certain abstract concepts. Nevertheless, the results of
the study conducted by Jolić Kozina et al. (2024) showed that they eagerly
shared their experiences with the countries they visited, often mentioning
the words they learnt there.

Foreign Language Teaching Approaches
The model integrates a range of approaches and strategies that have proven
effective in teaching young and very young learners. One key approach
aligned with the model is Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).
CLIL combines methods and strategies to offer a dual-focused educational

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