Language Teaching for Young Learners - Volume 4, Issue 1, 2022

This article aims to provide an overview of the types of questions and concerns adult researchers working with children in L2 education need to consider when it comes to navigating research ethics. Questions and dilemmas relating to ethical practice in child-focussed research are complex, and will be rooted in political, legal and contextual concerns, and interpretations of what is ethical in any one project will depend on the adult researcher’s convictions about research paradigms, their epistemological stance and their beliefs and priorities in the given situation. This article suggests five main questions to consider when it comes to research with children. All five components are equally important and decisions relating to one component will influence all others in the framework. This paper examines the complexities in more detail, discusses some differences relevant in the two main ‘paradigms’ of child-focussed research and how these principles interact with the constraints and the affordances of the local contexts, the focus of the intended study and the background and personal theories of the adult researcher.

In response to the growing global demand for teaching additional language(s) to very young children (ages 2–6), an increasing supply of digital technologies purports to assist pre-primary school children with their language learning. Focusing on TV/videos, digital picture books, and social robots, this paper examined the small body of empirical research on the effect of these digital technologies on very young second or foreign language learners and bolstered this research with similar studies conducted among very young children learning a first language. The paper identifies possibilities and limitations of using such technologies and documents how they can be used effectively with young language learners. Two key elements for effective use of digital technologies emerged from the examination of the relevant studies: (a) digital devices and applications must have developmentally appropriate content and functions; and (b) children need to have meaningful interaction with adults or digital agents while using digital technology. The paper concludes with two implications for future research: (a) the need to have critical discussions when designing digital technologies for and using digital technologies with young children; and (b) the need to pay greater attention to individual differences in children’s attitudes and preferences concerning different digital technologies.

Multiword units of language, known as formulaic sequences, are pervasive and essential in communication (Wray, 2008). Although issues related to formulaicity have been under investigation in a number of research studies (e.g. Conklin & Schmitt, 2008; Wood, 2006), the present study is different in investigating the functions of formulaic sequences in the oral language production of young learners in the context of English as a foreign language. A class of 11 students (aged 9 to 11) was observed and video recorded for 16 sessions (90 minutes per session). Following transcription of selected speech samples, formulaic sequences were identified based on pre-established criteria. Analysis enabled categorisation of a range of functions for formulaic sequences in learners’ oral language production. Results revealed evidence that formulaic sequences performed a variety of roles in the learners’ language production. These sequences helped young language learners to improve their fluency, to economize effort on processing and also to buy time for processing. A significant novel finding of this study was evidence that language users might introduce dis-fluency in the production of their sequences in order to buy time for further processing.

This study investigated how effective four tasks were in supporting meaningful spoken language production between young learners and their teachers. The context of the study, online one-to-one lessons, is commonplace but largely unresearched. Transcripts from seventeen teacher-student dyads using four tasks were analysed using conversation analysis. These were then coded and the number of instances of meaningful communication counted. The number of instances of pushed output and negotiation of meaning were also noted. The most successful task was an open opinion-gap task, which motivated the young learners. Crucially, the task outcome (a plan of a shopping centre) allowed learners to check their teachers had understood them. Teacher misunderstandings gave learners opportunities to take control of the discourse and negotiate meaning. Aspects of task design which impeded meaningful communication included sentence stems, which resulted in drill-like interactions. Task topics familiar to learners but unfamiliar to teachers hindered meaningful communication. Also, tasks located near the end of a lesson sequence tended to result in less meaningful communication than those nearer the start.

Although the teaching of English to primary school children has been rapidly growing in many English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) countries around the world, a shortage of specialist teachers remains a persistent challenge. Consequently, non-specialists, such as homeroom teachers initially trained as generalists, are more often required to teach English. The present study, focusing on 304 non-specialist teachers serving in Japan’s public primary schools, was designed to explore their perceived self-efficacy for teaching English, and to examine the impact of teacher characteristics (i.e., their perceived English proficiency, English-teaching experience, and appraisals of collaboration with native English-speaking teachers) on their level of self-efficacy. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the collaboration variable was more influential than the proficiency variable and that there was no significant relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and teaching experience. Moreover, integration of these results and teachers’ comments in the open-ended question suggested that they functioned most effectively in student engagement by playing roles unique to non-specialist teachers and that they perceived team teaching to be more beneficial in classroom management than solo teaching. Implications for in-service training are discussed to support non-specialist teachers in primary English education.

In the context of additional language (AL) learning, teachers need to focus on the development of language proficiency as well as on high-level literacy skills, for example, comprehending and evaluating information and creating new meaning. From a plurilingual perspective, AL learners’ first language (L1) is conceputalised as a useful tool in the development of target language proficiency; however, limited information exists concerning AL teachers’ beliefs towards the use of the L1 for high-level literacy instruction despite its potential utility for complex skill development. The aim of the present exploratory study was to examine the beliefs of in-service teachers of English as an additional language (EAL) working in the Quebec primary and secondary school system in francophone Canada regarding plurilingual approaches for classroom literacy practices and to uncover the factors that influence their beliefs. An online survey was distributed to in-service EAL teachers (N = 57) working in the province of Quebec, Canada. Findings suggest that teachers believe that it is most beneficial to adopt a monolingual lens to literacy instruction, a belief that denies learners’ use of their L1 and this, in a bilingual country. Implications for teacher education programs that challenge a monolingual lens are explored.

This report assesses the use of a Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) to provide an in-service language training programme for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in a primary school in Shanghai, China. The 12-month oral English training programme featured unique in-depth university-school collaborations, tiered project management and flexible self-directed learning experiences by the participants. This programme was a piloting project aimed at exploring an effective way of workplace language training and usefulness of Moodle-LMS’ potential in providing a flexible and interactive learning environment for training primary school language teachers.

The SCRELE Biennial Conference 2021 was successfully held in Shanghai, China. This is a brief report of the conference, which was a platform for researchers, teacher educators and teachers to exchange their points of view on testing and assessment of foreign languages from an early age.