Interview with Rósa Björg Jónsdóttir, Project Manager of Móðurmál Library who received the Order of the Falcon from the President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhanesson for her contribution to promoting literature in other languages than Icelandic. The order is awarded annually on 17 June, the national holiday.

Renata: Congratulations Rósa Björg with your Order of the Falcon. Could you tell me what kind of Order it is?

Rósa Björg: It is a recognition for my work. You have to be nominated.

Renata: Who receives the Order? I was looking at the list of people who received the order this year, it seems that usually the nominations are for contribution to Icelandic culture or Icelandic language or Icelandic state. When I was looking at the list, I thought that you were actually different from the others, you were promoting other cultures and children´s literature in other languages.

Rósa Björg:  Yes. I was also different from others because I received it for a completely voluntary job.

Renata: Could you tell me a bit about the library? What did you actually do that earned you this Order of the Falcon?

Rósa Björg: The library will be five years old in December. From the beginning, I have catalogued the books in the National Library System. Now we are up to 7400 books in 85 languages.

Renata: And you found the office for it, you found the place. Are you lending the books to individuals?

Rósa Björg: We have three kinds of people coming to us. I lend the books to the pupils in Móðurmál, some come directly to me, some groups have boxes with books and they do the lending out, then I do interlibrary loans to schools and public libraries around Iceland, and the third group are people interested in learning languages.

Renata: And you also advertise the library, right, you have presented it at conferences?

Rósa Björg: Yes, I presented it at a conference of librarians. After that I got more requests from outside of Reykjavík. The group of librarians is quite small so now actually I am getting books for the library from my colleagues. For example a few days ago I got a book in French, in Slovenian and in German from another library. We are getting a lot of donations. Mainly we have books, but we also have board games, DVDs, audiobooks, some magazines for kids as well.

Renata: Why is it important, why are you doing it?

Rósa Björg: I started with the Italian library eleven years ago. I kept donating books to Reykjavík public library in Italian, they were the books that my children were not reading any more. They could not find any new books in Italian in the library, and they were losing the joy of reading in Italian. So, a group of Italians living here donated books that their children were not reading any more and we started the library. I think you probably did the same with the Czech library as well.

Renata: It was a little different with the Czech library. We organized collections of books in the Czech Republic and a travel agency brought six big boxes of books to us. People from the Czech community wrote the catalogue cards. And then people kept giving us books and we slowly figured what kind of books are important for children going to the Czech school. Because they need books that are age-appropriate but simple, simpler texts than children in the Czech Republic their age.

Rósa Björg: Exactly. We had books mostly from the community in Iceland, but people also brought books from Italy. Things just kept adding up.

Renata: So tell me, is there more space for new books in the library today?

Rósa Björg: Not so much space but we can make more space if we have to.

Renata: Do you still accept more books?

Rósa Björg: It depends on the languages. Nordic languages for example have their own library in the Nordic house. Also English and German, you can get them in public libraries. I am very selective. I prefer to use the space for languages that are more difficult to get.

Renata: So which languages do you actually want to add, languages that you still don´t have or languages of the minorities that live in Iceland?

Rósa Björg: I am always trying to get books for the minorities in Iceland. I also have languages that are not on Móðurmál´s language map. You never know, I was asked the other day whether we had books in Nepalese. We don´t have any, I had already tried to buy some, but it was very difficult. I would love to have more books in the languages that are not so easy to get, like the Asian ones. Even thought they are difficult to catalogue for me. But I see they are requested. Also Romanian because the Romanian community in Iceland has grown from 150 people a few years ago to 2800 now. So there has been an explosion of requests for Romanian books. I never say no. We try to be environmental; we have many second-hand books. Sometimes when I go abroad, I go to second-hand book stores and buy books in different languages.

Renata: How is the financing of the library?

Rósa Björg: We sometimes get grants that are for specific reasons, for example for buying books. But we don´t have a grant to pay for the work or for the rental space. It was really nice to get the grant from the Developmental Fund of Immigrant Issues because it helped us get books in new languages that I could not get as donations from the communities. And nearly all of the 177 books that I bought have already been borrowed. I think it was money well spent. If it wasn´t for Covid, it could have been even better.

Renata: Ok. So how about some final words. Future.

Rósa Björg: I think we actually need to find a space for the library that is not my office. It would be great to have space where people can sit down, maybe having kids over to read. We teach a lot of languages in Móðurmál, we could have people coming and reading for the kids. Our groups could get together at the library. Now it´s more like a space for keeping the books. But it´s great anyway because before I had to go to different places to pick up the books and I had to go to the schools when they asked for the interlibrary loan. Now I just tell them, please come to me.

Renata: Life became simpler.

Rósa Björg: Yes, but with more people, there is more work. I also had to create more library rules.

Renata: But you think that the library has proved itself, right, its value and its place in the Icelandic society, it was needed, it wasn´t there and you created it, it was missing, right?

Rósa Björg: There was a project some time ago, libraries were meant to take care of one language each, but it wasn´t enough for our children. Now I get donations from those libraries because people are not reading them anymore. It is easier to have them in one place, people know where to find them. But the problem is not having books, I am always receiving more and more books. People are coming and saying, ‘Yeah, I didn´t know about the library, I just heard about it, do you want children´s books in this and this language.’

Renata: Come to think of it, maybe we should think about the minorities, the small groups, the poor groups, the refugee groups, these people have no way of flying back to their country and buying books.

Rósa Björg: We need books in African languages, but they are hard to get.

Renata: Should we also collect links to electronic books?

Rósa Björg: That´s a great idea.

Renata: There are some great collections online and oftentimes they are sorted out by ages and skills, so it could be complementary.

Rósa Björg: Yes, I think so, it would help with the languages that are difficult to get. I also see that the loans in big languages are increasing. Maybe people were shy to visit my basement. Not it is more accessible, more visible. Even if it is open only two hours a week.

Renata: That´s much better than nothing.

Rósa Björg: It´s also flexible, if people can´t come at that time, I always find a time when people can come. People can for example return books to my mailbox.

Renata: That´s great. You are doing an amazing job. It´s so important to offer children access to reading in their languages and provide them with a lot of choices. Thank you for the interview and I hope that the library will grow and receive more support in the future!

Rósa Björg: Thank you.

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*English below

Undanfarið ár hefur Móðurmál – samtök um tvítyngi unnið að verkefninu “Heimsmarkmið Sameinuðu þjóðanna og fjöltyngd börn á Íslandi” þar sem móðurmálshópar útfærðu eitt eða fleiri heimsmarkmið Sameinuðu þjóðanna í kennslunni. Verkefnið er styrkt af Mannréttinda- og lýðræðisskrifstofu Reykjavíkurborgar og var það upprunalega hugmyndin að vera með ráðstefnu þar sem börn kynntu starfið. Vegna Covid19 þurfti að endurhugsa verkefnið og verður kynningunni miðlað á rafrænan hátt með þessu myndbandi í staðinn. Um leið er hægt að kynnast samtökunum almennt í orðum og myndum í viðtali við Mariu Sastre, formann Móðurmáls.

Myndbandið birtist í tilefni Alþjóðadag menningarlegrar fjölbreytni sem er 21. maí.

*Last year, Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism worked on a common project called “The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and Plurilingual Children in Iceland” in which mother tongue schools and groups elaborated on one or more SDGs of the United Nations in their teaching. The project was financially supported by the Human Rights and Democracy Office of the City of Reykjavík. The original idea was to organize a conference during which children would present the work. Due to Covid 19 pandemic, it was necessary to rethink the project and the presentation takes place online instead. At the same time, this is an opportunity to get acquainted with the association in general in words and images through the interview with Maria Sastre, the president of Móðurmál.

The video is released on occasion of “World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development” which is on the 21st of May.

*Íslenska fyrir neðan

A language treasure hunt was launched at the occasion of International Mother Language Day on February 21, 2021. The purpose was to map languages spoken by children and youth in preschools and compulsory schools in Iceland and to raise positive awareness and discussions about languages and plurilingualism. The goal of the search was also to create such a school culture in which all children and youth experience pride in their language treasure and realize that their languages are important for their feelings and for who they are.

The participation in mapping the languages was very good and this year organizations, i.e. afterschool centers also took part. The discussion about the importance of mother tongues took place around the country which was the main goal of the search for the language repertoire.

Take a look at the 109 languages on the map and dive into the amazing linguistic treasures all over Iceland! Read everything about the Language Map here.

*Nýtt Íslandskort tungumálanna

Í tilefni Alþjóðadags móðurmálsins 21. febrúar 2021 var blásið til tungumálaleitar til að kortleggja tungumál töluð af börnum og unglingum á leik- og grunnskólaaldri og um leið stuðla að jákvæðri umræðu um tungumál og fjöltyngi. Markmiðið er ekki síst að skapa námsmenningu þar sem börn og unglingar finna fyrir stolti yfir tungumálaauði sínum og að öll börn átti sig á mikilvægi tungumálsins fyrir sjálfsmynd og tilfinningalíf hvers og eins. 

Þátttaka í kortlagningu tungumálanna var afar góð. Þá tóku í ár í fyrsta sinn þátt stofnanir á vettvangi frítímans, frístundaheimili og félagsmiðstöðvar. Þannig fór fram umræða um mikilvægi móðurmálsins með börnum og unglingum  um land allt sem er höfuðmarkmið leitarinnar að tungumálaforðanum.

Skoðið magnaða tungumálaauðinn á kortinu og öll 109 tungumálin sem fundust. Hægt er að lesa allt um verkefnið hér.

(*English below)

Þriðjudaginn 16. febrúar, kl. 18:00-19:15 bjóða samtökin Móðurmál upp á Netvinnustofu, vinnustofan verður á ensku. 

Hér er tengill á vinnustofuna https://meet.google.com/kvz-kuwu-uye

Skráning hér: https://forms.gle/MsxQFpnob8frA4FY9

Stutt erindi og kennsla á forrit sem nýta má í móðurmálskennslu og málörvun.

*Learning through play and technology – workshop

Móðurmál, the Association on Bilingualism will host an Online workshop in English Tuesday the 16th of February at 6pm-7:15pm.

Link to the meeting: https://meet.google.com/kvz-kuwu-uye

Registration here: https://forms.gle/MsxQFpnob8frA4FY9

Gerum það að leik að leita að tungumálaforða barna og unglinga á Íslandi.

Í tilefni Alþjóðadags móðurmálsins 21. febrúar 2021 fer af stað verkefnið og könnunin „Íslandskort – leitin að tungumálaforðanum 2021“.
Hugmyndin er að kortleggja öll tungumál töluð af börnum í leik- og grunnskólum landsins til þess að vekja jákvæða umræðu um tungumál og fjöltyngi í barna- og unglingahópum. Tilgangurinn er einnig að ýta undir veruleika þar sem börn og ungmenni finna að það að tjá sig á fleiri tungumálum en á íslensku getur aukið lífsgæði og tilfinningalíf þeirra og að þau finni fyrir stolti yfir að hafa fleiri en eitt tungumál á valdi sínu.

Eins og við öll vitum eykur jákvæð sjálfsmynd námsgleði og -möguleika.

Menntamiðja, Tungumálatorg, Menntavísindastofnun HÍ, Menningarmót – Fljúgandi teppi, Skóla- og frístundasvið Reykjavíkurborgar, og Móðurmál – samtök um tvítyngi standa fyrir verkefninu og endurvekja þannig Íslandskort – leitin að tungumálaforðanum frá árinu 2014 þar sem 93 tungumálum var safnað.

Mennta- og menningarmálaráðuneyti gaf síðastliðið vor út Leiðarvísi um stuðning við móðurmál og virkt fjöltyngi í skóla- og frístundastarfi sem inniheldur fjölbreyttar og skemmtilegar leiðir til að styðja við tungumál, gagnlegar slóðir með fróðleik og frekari verkefnum ásamt því að útskýra í stuttu máli hugtök móðurmál, virkt fjöltyngi, og íslenska sem annað mál.

Með því að taka þátt í verkefninu vinna leikskólar og grunnskólar að atriðum sem snerta Heimsmarkmið Sameinuðu þjóðanna, Barnasáttmálann, menntastefnur sveitarfélaga og drög að stefnu um menntun barna og ungmenna með fjölbreyttan tungumála og menningarbakgrunn.

Afrakstur könnunarinnar verður gagnvirkt Íslandskort þar sem hægt verður að skoða tungumálaforðann á hverjum og einum stað. Niðurstöður könnunarinnar verða m.a. birtar á nýjum vef menntamiðju. Hægt verður að fylgjast með ferlinu á Facebooksíðu samtakanna Móðurmáls og hjá öðrum samstarfsaðilum.

Gleðjumst yfir öllum tungumálaauði landsins!

On November 20 and 21, Mother Tongues in Dublin, Ireland, and Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism in Reykjavík, Iceland, co-organized an annual conference for their mother tongue / heritage language teachers. Both organizations connect small and big heritage language schools, offer heritage language teachers professional training and assistance, organize events that promote heritage languages and plurilingualism, and advocate positive views towards diverse languages. Representatives of these two organizations first met in 2017, continued to exchange expertise, and followed with each other´s activities, until this year when they decided to join forces to organize an annual conference together. This conference was the third annual conference of Mother Tongues and the eighths of Móðurmál.

This year has been coloured by Covid and by online teaching which both had negative and positive impact on the work of our organizations. The positive outcome is the increased familiarity with online environments which allowed us to think further and bigger about our events. This year´s “2020 Heritage Language Education Conference” took place entirely online, on Zoom, and it had speakers and participants from Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Italy and Greece. A total of more than 70 participants took part on both days of the conference. The program was as follows: 

The conference was started by the founder and director of Mother Tongues Francesca LaMorgia and by the president of Móðurmál Maria Sastre. The keynote speakers, as well as discussants, are introduced here. On Friday evening, Dr Małgosia Machowska-Kościak introduced her new publication “The Multilingual Adolescent Experience: Young Poles growing up in an English-speaking school – Small stories of integration”. Dr. Siobhan Hannan spoke about a bilingual Italian preschool. On Saturday, representatives of two mother tongue schools from Dublin and one from Reykjavík introduced their schools, and two umbrella organizations from Eindhoven in the Netherlands and from Edmonton in Alberta were presented. In the virtual coffee break, all participants were divided into groups of 3-4 in breakout rooms and had a chance to network. That time was far too short and passed quickly, and then the conference was concluded by a lively moderate discussion of two speakers from Dublin heritage language schools and two from Reykjavík heritage language schools. They discussed questions about best ways to teach online, what qualities does a good heritage language teacher need, how to engage students online, what are suitable applications and online platforms for teaching, or how to celebrate events online. A complementary program was in the form of pre-recorded presentations about heritage language schools, umbrella organizations, and projects, saved on the website of Móðurmál. 

The atmosphere of the conference was wonderful, very friendly, in a spirit of sharing and learning. It was obvious that heritage language teachers in any country have similar questions, challenges and joys, and that they teach because they find it important for children and they enjoy teaching  their language, even if their work conditions may be far from ideal. 

Everybody learned from this event, organizers, guests, and presenters, and there is hope that this fruitful cooperation of heritage language schools and umbrella organizations will continue. What a small organization in one country finds difficult, two, three or four similar organizations can achieve. Together we can go further. 

Welcome to the 2020 edition of the Heritage Language Education Conference is organised jointly by Mother Tongues (Ireland) & Móðurmál (Iceland).

About this Event

The conference is free to Mother Tongues and Móðurmál members. If you are a member, contact your organisation to register.

This year more than ever, community based language schools need to stand together and learn from each other. Our 2020 edition of the Heritage Language Education Conference creates a unique opportunity for teachers, researchers and all professionals involved in heritage language schooling to get familiar with the newest research, share experience and explore ideas to support heritage language education. This year’s main goal is to promote the value of international collaboration among professionals interested in community languages teaching and learning. Together we can go further.

Find the program and more information here or on check out our Facebook event.

Or download the full program here:

Móðurmál – the Association on Bilingualism has contributed to the making of new Guidelines for the Support of Mother Tongues and Active Plurilingualism in School and Afterschool Programs, together with other specialists within the field. These guidelines are based on laws, policies, and research as well as on the experience and ideas provided by professionals and practitioners. The guidelines discuss the importance of supporting the active plurilingualism of children and youth in preschools, compulsory schools, afterschool programs and in upper secondary schools, developing co-operation with parents and strengthening communication with children in their daily work. Most importantly, the guidelines  contain advice, instruction and useful information for parents, schools and afterschool program providers.

See the guidelines here in Icelandic, English and Polish.