Language Teaching for Young Learners - Volume 3, Issue 1, 2021

Abstract

This article provides a critical analysis of the language policy measures that were taken by the Flemish government (Belgium) to improve the quality of the teaching of the national language (Dutch) in compulsory education in Flanders and in the Flemish education system in Brussels. It builds on Van den Branden (2006a), which documented the implementation of task-based language teaching (TBLT) in primary, secondary and adult education in Flanders in the period between 1995 and 2005. Focusing on primary education, this article examines the different periods and trends in the government’s attempts to push the innovation of Dutch language education, and analyses its impact on the practice of teaching the language of schooling. The article highlights the gradual shift in focus from introducing TBLT materials and supporting the individual teacher to mandating the design of a school-wide language policy involving the whole school team, and from a top-down implementation to a more bottom-up driven, collaborative innovation process. The major aim of the article is to identify the factors that impacted on the effects of the innovation policy, against the backdrop of the growing influx of pupils who do not acquire Dutch (the main medium of instruction) as their mother tongue.

Abstract

The benefits of dual language immersion (DLI) instruction, both in one-way and two-way immersion programs, have been widely documented through empirical studies spanning nearly five decades. In the U.S. context, most research to date on DLI education has been based on Spanish/English programs, which offer instruction in two Indo-European languages that share many typologically similar features. In light of the fact that there has been a growing trend in programs of other language combinations, such as Mandarin and English, it is necessary to understand how different partner language combinations in DLI programs may impact students’ learning outcomes. Thus, by surveying research on Korean/English and Mandarin/English DLI programs, this paper examines how DLI programs that operate in languages with significantly different linguistic typologies and different scripts affect students’ academic achievement and their development of bilingual proficiency. Based on the studies reviewed, areas for further research to advance our understanding of how DLI programs in English and Korean or Mandarin can effectively and efficiently develop students’ bilingualism/biliteracy and academic achievement are proposed.

Abstract

An increasing number of primary schools, mainly in western European countries, have established mixed-age (M‑A) classrooms due to the belief of the teaching community in the pedagogical and social benefits of this approach. In the area of foreign language teaching, the M‑A approach has gained popularity, particularly at the primary school level. However, despite the increase in the number of M‑A foreign language classrooms, the benefits of this approach remain unclear. This lack of clarity might be caused by the lack of research on M‑A teaching practices in foreign language classrooms. In this article, I first describe what M‑A classrooms are and address relevant research findings on M‑A teaching. At the heart of the article, I address in detail some important pedagogical challenges of M‑A teaching. Specifically, I consider in what ways and to what extent differentiated instruction is possible in these classrooms. Later, I discuss the issue of the “right” approach to M‑A teaching and provide some pedagogical suggestions.

Abstract

The presentation-practice-production (PPP) approach is used in primary schools in Vietnam to teach speaking skills. However, there is disagreement about the theoretical validity and practical efficacy of PPP (Ellis, 2018; Willis & Willis, 2007) and little research evidence for how teachers actually implement PPP and their views of this approach. The current study addresses this gap. Seven teachers from six primary schools in Vietnam were observed teaching 11 PPP speaking lessons and were then interviewed on their experience of teaching the lessons. Analysis of the observation data showed that all seven teachers followed all three phases of the PPP sequence in their lessons. However, they frequently added interactive activities to the presentation phase and adapted production activities to make them more communicative. The teachers held mixed views of PPP: Three spoke positively of its value for lower level classes, another teacher was somewhat neutral while the remaining three teachers were dismissive of it and actively sought to adopt a more communicative approach. Overall, findings from the study reveal limitations of the PPP approach as it is practiced in this context and highlight affordances for making PPP more communicative, including drawing on principles of effective task design.

Abstract

The late M. A. K. Halliday sketched a language-based theory of learning which posited three overlapping functions of learning language, learning through language, and finally learning about language as the young learner struggles to direct his or her own learning from language. Here we focus on one aspect of this struggle for what Vygotsky called conscious awareness and mastery of learning, namely questions. First we examine Hasan’s case that learning particular kinds of questions enable participation in classroom discourse while others disable it. Next, we look at Vygotsky’s case that self-directed questions (rhetorical and narrativized questions) have a key role to play in learning through questions. Finally, we consider what path the child has to take in learning about questions in English as a foreign language. Using ordinary classroom tasks under ordinary classroom conditions, we trace changes in children’s questions over six months, and we find statistically significant changes, particularly remarkable in retelling dialogues containing questions as narratives. But we also find very few new wh-questions, and we suggest that this is because mastery and conscious awareness of the structure of wh-questions still lie in the next, or proximal, zone of the children’s development.

Abstract

This article reports a practitioner research study where one of the authors worked with an Indonesian secondary school teacher to help her introduce task-based language teaching into her own classroom. We report a study involving classroom observation, interviews, and a reflective journal and show that the teacher was able to develop a good understanding of TBLT principles, construct well-structured lessons around tasks, and, in the main, to implement TBLT effectively. We also found that there was also a generally positive response to TBLT from the students and pre- and post- tests provided evidence of language learning. However, we also observed that while the teacher was able to adopt the role of facilitator, she still sometimes continued to behave as a traditional instructor, dominating the interactions through display questions and nominating students. We conducted this case study as part of our work as teacher educators and conclude with a list of the insights we gained can inform professional development programmes for TBLT in Indonesia.

Abstract

This article reports on an elementary school teacher’s research project that evaluated a new teaching practice for Japanese elementary school students. The project was conducted in two fifth-grade classes comprising a total of 59 students. The teacher-researcher designed a computer-mediated instructional activity consisting of four-steps called ondoku, which engaged individual students in reading a given story aloud. It involved the students (a) studying a model reading-aloud video, (b) video-recording their own reading-aloud performance, (c) receiving teacher corrective feedback on their pronunciation and (d) studying the feedback and recording and then submitting a second performance. All the steps were carried out in sequence using individual iPads. The teacher also administered a questionnaire to examine students’ engagement in and perspectives regarding the activity. Analysis involved comparing the pronunciation in the first and second corrected video files. The results showed that feedback led to successful repair 62 times out of the 108 corrections. In 16 instances, the students were aware of the error and attempted repair but still produced an incorrect utterance. In 30 instances, the students made no repair. Reflecting on the results and the students’ responses to the questionnaire, the teacher proposed some changes to the activity.

This article reviews Early Language Education and Teacher Education: International Research and Practice