Language Teaching for Young Learners - Volume 4, Issue 2, 2022

Abstract

English has been introduced as a core subject in primary schools across Asia over the past decade. Besides aiming to improve the English proficiency of Japanese primary school students, Japan’s recent reforms also mandate the development of children’s awareness of cultures other than their own. However, relatively little is known about pedagogical strategies to achieve cultural awareness in the Japanese primary school classroom. The objective of this study was, therefore, to utilize an almost wordless picture book and examine the ways children interpret stories about people from cultures other than their own. This study explored the independent meaning-making practices and processes of six Japanese primary school students as they viewed, without teacher intervention, Mirror, an Australian almost wordless picture book about the daily lives of an Australian and a Moroccan family. Interview and observation data provided insights into the children’s meaning-making processes and the ways they interpreted the messages within the stories that led to a range of understandings and misunderstandings across the cultures. The paper concludes with a discussion about pedagogical implications for supporting the development of cultural awareness, for challenging cultural stereotypes, and for facilitating English language learning processes.

Abstract

Despite increasing popularity of early heritage language (HL) education, the HL education system faces challenges, such as engaging young children and tailoring teachers’ pedagogical approaches. The aim of the study was to explore a particular pedagogical activity (“a trip to the enchanted wood”) that provides accessibility to HL, and to analyze children’s behavior while engaging in learning during this activity. We conducted the study in a bilingual preschool in Israel, where Russian was the heritage language and Hebrew the societally dominant language. We collected and documented the data using qualitative tools (ethnographic observations and interviews). A complex analysis of eight HL classroom observations focused on the application of a language-conducive strategy – teacher-led pretend play of “a trip to the enchanted wood.” We performed two types of coding: (1) coding information about elements of script structure and characteristics of props used; (2) coding children’s responsive behavior to the teacher’s suggestions during play. Drawing on an ecological approach to language productive use, we concluded that a complex two-way relationship exists between language accessibility and engagement in learning. Practical applications to support young language learners are suggested.

Abstract

Young children have often been shown to be highly motivated towards learning foreign languages in primary school, but for their enthusiasm to decrease during secondary schooling. Many reasons have been put forward, such as novelty wearing off, teaching styles, or societal and peer pressure. Little is known about changes in attitudes and motivation in primary school aged children when these factors are kept constant, the only variable being the age of the children. The present study investigated differences in attitudes and motivation at two different ages (5 and 7) in such a setting. Two intact classes in the same school (53 children with no prior knowledge of French), taught the same material by the same teacher, took part in focus groups and one-to-one interviews during the course of a larger longitudinal project investigating the role of age in early classroom learning. Results show that changes in motivation might occur earlier than previously thought, and be shaped by developmental changes in children’s cognitive, social and emotional growth. Children as young as 5 and 7 were shown to exhibit differences in levels of self-regulation, self-efficacy, and thought and beliefs frames which had a direct impact on their attitudinal and motivational profiles.

Abstract

Textbooks are the main pedagogical resource used by teachers of English as a foreign language in many countries. Quantitative and qualitative differences in the lexicon and topics covered by ELT textbooks may generate inequalities in an objective diagnostic evaluation. This study examines the content words and topics included in four ELT textbooks in order to determine whether there are convergences or divergences in the learners’ input exposure and whether the topics adhere to the educational policies of primary education in Spain. The results showed differences in the amount of vocabulary input and significant variation in textbooks’ most frequently-used content words. Likewise, the representation of the topics differed from one textbook to another, and the common topics often differed in focus and, consequently, in the content words used to introduce the theme. The findings have implications for education and research since, depending on the textbook used, learners are exposed not only to a different amount of input but also to a diversity of ideas, facts, and ‘worlds’ projected by the different content words found in textbooks of the same course level.

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