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Abstract
Modern languages are offered to young learners at an increasingly early age in many countries; yet few publications have focused on what is available to children in different contexts. This volume fills this gap by documenting the state-of-the-art in researching young language learners using a variety of research methods. It demonstrates how young children progress and benefit from an early exposure to modern languages in different educational contexts, and how affective, cognitive, social, linguistic and classroom-related factors interact in the processes. A special strength is the range of languages: although English is the most widely learnt language, chapters focus on various target languages: Croatian, French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Ukrainian and the contexts include China, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Poland, the Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Teaching foreign languages to young learners is currently one of the most exciting challenges for the profession. This volume gathers sixteen papers which span a wide range of topics, including the learners’ cognitive and affective characteristics, their learning processes and outcomes, and the learning conditions inside and outside the classroom. Reporting on a variety of settings and concerns, the papers in this volume will broaden perspectives and give new insights to researchers and teachers in early foreign language programmes.
Professor Carmen Muñoz, University of Barcelona, Spain.
Marianne Nikolov is a professor of English Applied Linguistics at the University of Pécs, Hungary. Her research interests include early learning and teaching of modern languages, assessment of processes and outcomes in language education, teacher education, individual differences, language policy and research methods. Her work has been published in journals (e.g., Language Learning, Language Teaching Research, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Magyar Pedagógia, Modern Nyelvoktatás) as well as books.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contents | v | ||
| Contributors | vii | ||
| Introduction | xiii | ||
| Chapter 1 A Third Language at Primary Level in Ireland: An Independent Evaluation of the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative | 1 | ||
| Chapter 2 Can Today’s Early Language Learners in England Become Tomorrow’s Plurilingual European Citizens? | 15 | ||
| Chapter 3 Young Learners of Croatian as a Second Language: Minority Language Speakers and Their Croatian Competence | 30 | ||
| Chapter 4 Young Learners’ Cognitive Skills and Their Role in Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning | 46 | ||
| Chapter 5 An Investigation into the Relationship of L2 Motivation and Cross-cultural Contact Among Elementary School Students | 62 | ||
| Chapter 6 Impact of Learning Conditions on Young FL Learners’ Motivation | 75 | ||
| Chapter 7 Early Modern Foreign Language Programmes and Outcomes: Factors Contributing to Hungarian Learners’ Proficiency | 90 | ||
| Chapter 8 Using the Early Years Literacy Programme in Primary EFL Norwegian Classrooms | 108 | ||
| Chapter 9 The Age Factor and L2 Reading Strategies | 121 | ||
| Chapter 10 A Study of FL Composing Process and Writing Strategies Employed by Young Learners | 132 | ||
| Chapter 11 How do 9–11-Year-Old Croatians Perceive Sounds and Read Aloud in French? | 149 | ||
| Chapter 12 Differences Between the Processes and Outcomes in Third Graders’ Learning of English and Ukrainian in Hungarian Schools in Beregszász | 166 | ||
| Chapter 13 The Growth of Young Learners’ English Vocabulary Size | 181 | ||
| Chapter 14 Factors Influencing Young Learners’ Vocabulary Acquisition | 195 | ||
| Chapter 15 An Eye on Target Language Use in Elementary English Classrooms in China | 212 | ||
| Chapter 16 What Primary School Pupils Think About Learning English as a Foreign Language | 229 |