A shorter version of the article in Icelandic can be found here.

In celebration of International Mother Language Day on February 21, the search for children’s linguistic resources in Iceland was launched for the third time. Staff in preschools, primary schools, and secondary schools across the country were encouraged to talk with children and ask them about their languages. The goal was to map all the languages spoken by children and young people in Icelandic preschools and primary schools—and for the first time, also in secondary schools. The purpose was to foster positive discussions about languages and multilingualism and to highlight how having multiple languages can enhance the quality of life and emotional well-being. Increased language awareness in the society boosts children’s and young people’s confidence and positive self-image and can also support schools in implementing plurilingualism and strengthening language skills among all students.

The project was a collaboration between the Center for Education and School Services (Icel. MIðstöð menntunar og skólaþjónustu), the School of Education at the University of Iceland, the coordination team for Education, Reception, and Culture (Icel. Menntun, móttaka og menning, MEMM), Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism, Menningarmót – Flying Carpet project, and the Association of Language Teachers in Iceland (STÍL). The initiative is rooted, among others, in the speech by Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Languages from 2014.

The project builds on previous language mapping efforts in Icelandic preschools and primary schools from 2014 when 93 languages were recorded, and 2021, when 95 languages were found. The analysis of the submitted data was conducted using the well-known Ethnologue website, which provides accessible information about the world’s languages. Additionally, the perspective of language users was considered in cases where it was unclear whether a variety was a dialect or a distinct language. Information about the previous searches can be found here.

In February 2025, 242 responses were received from 79 preschools, 78 primary schools, and 19 secondary, along with a few other institutions and individuals. There are in total 253 preschools, 174 primary schools, and 36 secondary schools Iceland, meaning that slightly more than one-third of all schools in the country took part in the project. Specifically, at least one department, class, or group from each participating school contributed.

This year, 102 languages were recorded. Additionally, 16 languages found in 2014 and 2021 were not recorded this year (Abi, Benga, Berber, Chichewa, Dagbani, Fijian, Ga, Cambodian, Konkani, Krio, Namibian, Nyiha, Susu, Tajik, Tigrinya, Uzbek), meaning that at least 118 have been present in Iceland over the past ten years. It is also noteworthy that children in Iceland speak four different sign languages: Icelandic, Irish, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian sign languages.

Here is the complete list of languages recorded in the 2025 language survey:
Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Bisaya, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Cebuano, Creole, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dutch, Edo, Estonian, English, Ewe, Fante-Akan, Farsi, Filipino, Finnish, Flemish-Dutch, French, Faroese, German, Georgian, Greenlandic, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi,  Belarusian, Igbo, Ilocano, Indonesian, Irish Sign Language, Icelandic, Icelandic Sign Language, Italian, Japanese, Chinese-Cantonese, Chinese-Mandarin, Korean,  Kurdish, Kurdish-Behdini, Kurdish-Sorani, Latvian, Lithuanian, Lithuanian Sign Language, Luganda, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Maltese, Malay, Malayalam, Moldovan, Mongolian, Moroccan, Nepali, Nigerian, Norwegian, Pampango-Kapampangan, Punjabi, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Rhaeto-Romance, Romani, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhalese, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Spanish Sign Language, Swahili, Syrian, Swedish, Thai, Taiwanese, Tagalog, Tamazight, Tamil, Telugu, Twi, Tunisian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Sign Language, Hungarian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Wolof, Yoruba.

Top 10 Most Common Languages (besides Icelandic):
Icelandic was the most recorded language, as expected, followed by, Polish (194 responses), English (168 responses), Spanish (154 responses), Russian (110 responses), Ukrainian (110 responses), Arabic (106 responses), Lithuanian (106 responses), German (98 responses), Filipino (95 responses), and Danish (88 responses). The total number of languages in the country has slightly increased since 2021, and many preschools, primary schools, and secondary schools reported over 20 languages.

Several preschools, compulsory schools, and upper secondary schools reported over 30 languages: Among preschools were Álftaborg (30 languages), Miðborg (32), Vesturborg (31), Klömbrar (34), among compulsory schools were Álftamýraskóli (32), Álfhólsskóli (40), Breiðholtsskóli (33), Kárnesskóli (32), Laugarnesskóli (32), Melaskóli (35), Snælandsskóli (31), and Vallaskóli in Selfoss (33), and among upper-secondary schools were Kvennaskóli in Reykjavík (31), Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð (32), Tækniskólinn (38), and Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja (40)

Secondary schools have shown strong participation, and it is clear that linguistic diversity thrives in these institutions as much as in the younger school levels.

The languages were captured in the Language Map 2025 and individual schools can be found there along with the information about their languages spoken by the students. Here are some ideas (in Icelandic) how to use the interactive language map pedagogically in schools.

By participating in this project, schools work toward the goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Reykjavik’s Education Policy, and policies regarding the education of children and youth from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Guidelines on the support of mother tongues and active plurilingualism in schools and afterschool programs  provide various ideas for promoting multilingualism, which is used in preschools and primary schools for educational purposes. It includes useful links with information and projects, along with concise explanations of key concepts.

Additionally, the Icelandic Language Map 2025 includes new teaching guidelines for educators, The Magic Language Toolbox, helping them to positively highlight and integrate students’ diverse languages into learning and teaching. These teaching guidelines are available on the website of the Center for Education and School Services.

References:

Ethnologue | Languages of the world

Grunnskólar á Íslandi – Wikipedia, frjálsa alfræðiritið

Leikskólar 2017 – Hagstofa Íslands

Listi yfir íslenska framhaldsskóla – Wikipedia, frjálsa alfræðiritið

MÓÐURMÁL – mál málanna

Móðurmál – The Association on Bilingualism

Text by: Renata Emilsson Peskova

Happy International Mother Language Day 2025!

To celebrate the day,

1) Take the checklist challenge to see how you can support heritage language education

2) Guess how many languages are spoken by children and youth in Icelandic schools and the the new language map of Iceland 2025

3) Find your school on the new Language Map of Iceland 2025 , see what languages are spoken there, and learn how to use the map in the classroom

4) Donate and read new books in multiple languages at the Exchange Book Fair of Bókasafn Móðurmáls:

5) Learn how languages are linked to the Sustainable Development Goals and the work of the United Nations

For more information on the history and the purpose of the International Mother Language Day, please visit the homepage of the United Nations.

Verkefnið Heimsmarkmið Sameinuðu þjóðanna – mál allra hlaut styrk frá Þróunarsjóði innflytjendamála og er hluti af vitundarvakningu Móðurmáls – samtaka um tvítyngi um mikilvægi þess að viðurkenna og virkja öll þau tungumál sem eru hluti af lífi barna og ungs fólks á Íslandi. 

Einn af  afrekstrum  verkefnisins er verkfærakista með kennsluhugmyndum. Hugmyndin með verkfærakistunni er, í anda Framkvæmdaáætlunar í málefnum innflytjenda, að vekja athygli á leiðum til að börn með fjölbreyttan menningar- og tungumálabakgrunn geti nýtt hæfileika sína, þekkingu og reynslu í virkri þátttöku og samtali um heimsmarkmið Sameinuðu þjóðanna. 

Kristín R. Vilhjálmsdóttir setti saman verkfærakistuna og í henni má finna almennt efni um heimsmarkmiðin frá ýmsum aðilum og einnig kennsluefni þróað af Kristínu og Kristrúnu Maríu Heiðberg fyrir Móðurmál – samtök um tvítyngi vegna Heimsmarkmiða Sameinuðu þjóðanna – mál allra. 

Einkunnarorð Heimsmarkmiðanna eru Leave no one behind eða Skiljum engan eftir. Starfsemi samtakanna Móðurmáls er í góðu samræmi við þau orð og byggir verkefnið Heimsmarkmið Sameinuðu þjóðanna – mál allra einmitt á að sem flestir geti tekið þátt, farið á hugarflug hvað varðar að gera heiminn betri og komið skoðunum sínum á framfæri. 

Móðurmál – samtök um tvítyngi þakkar Þróunarsjóð innflytjendamála innilega fyrir styrkinn, nemendum og kennurum í Fellaskóla og Borgarbókasafnið fyrir samstarfið og Félagi Sameinuðu þjóðanna á Íslandi fyrir innblástur í ferlinu. Efnið er að finna hér og er öllum opið að notfæra sér það.

The Russian Móðurmál group participated in a an international project on climate change and environmental education called “Love Earth to the Moon and Back”. Lydmila Zadorozhnya participated on behalf of Móðurmál alongside 8 other international partners from 7 different countries. The education project was funded by the European Union and lasted for 36 months with various transnational meetings that resulted in freely accessible learning modules aimed at Secondary Education students. The modules are available to rhe public by clicking this link. Learning modules on various topics were developed, such as sustainable development and climate change, humans and nature, and the impacts of environmental problems and climate change among others. All modules and resources are accessible to teachers and other members of the public and have been translated into 8 languages. For more information, visit https://lemoonproject.org/.

The 3rd Korean Culture Festival in Iceland, held on November 23, 2024, was an exciting celebration of Korean traditions and modern influences. Móðurmál supported the festival, which brought together attendees from diverse backgrounds, fostering cultural exchange and strengthening ties with the Korean community in Iceland. The event featured a Taekwondo exhibition by Mudo Gym, dynamic K-pop dance performances and a random dance game by K-ICE Crew, and beautiful Korean folk songs performed by Múltíkúltíkórinn with a violin accompaniment. There was also a bilingual reading of the children’s book “Einmanalegasta hús í heiminum” by Y. G. Esjan in both Korean and Icelandic.

Various booths offered traditional Korean food, travel information, K-pop merchandise, and a photo area. Attendees had the chance to try on traditional Korean clothing at the Hanbok exhibition and participate in interactive activities such as K-pop dance and Korean calligraphy.
This festival provided a wonderful opportunity for attendees to immerse themselves in Korean culture and enjoy a variety of performances and activities. It was a memorable event that brought together people from diverse backgrounds to celebrate and appreciate Korean traditions.

The Serbian Cultural Center in Iceland held its fourth Serbian Culture Days in Reykjavík recently. The grand theme was theatre, and the program was varied and eventful and had something in store for all ages. Due to unforeseen circumstances all events were combined and held on November 24th. The events were well frequented and all in all over 300 people attended the festival. The program started at Fellaskóli with a drama workshop for children and the family play Virus telefonitis, and continued at Háskólabíó with a great program. Initially, a film was shown in which students from the Serbian school participated. Actors from the Teateić theatre company in Belgrad performed a masterpiece by the well-known Serbian author Branislav Nušić, and they performed two of his well-known plays. The program ended with light refreshments in Serbian-style cuisine and a chat with all the guests. The Serbian Cultural Center in Iceland thanks all its sponsors, including the Serbian Outreach Fund, Móðurmál, Reykjavíkurborg, Háskólabíó and Fellaskóli.

Traditionally, Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism has co-organized an annual conference for heritage language teachers. This year´s theme was:

Rethinking incentives: how to bolster the motivation of students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders in heritage language education

Over 250 registrations from over 40 countries, representing more than 50 heritage languages, show the continuous interest of families and immigrant teachers to sustain and promote heritage language education of children.

The program and information about keynote speakers, workshop leaders, and the pecha-kucha session are to be found here: fohlc2024. General information, history of FOHLC Europe and its other activities are described in detail on its website: FOHLC Europe | HLE Network