Early Foreign Language Learning and Teaching

Evidence Versus Wishful Thinking

Edited by Marianne Nikolov, Stela Letica Krevelj

Publication date:

15 October 2024

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781800418691

Over the past six decades, the field of teaching modern foreign languages to young learners has come a long way, from the early surmises about the advantages of a young start to today’s widespread integration of foreign languages into curricula in public and private schools. The chapters in this book bring together internationally renowned researchers who have been vocal in establishing early language teaching and learning as an independent area of research and novice voices who represent a new generation of devoted researchers to present a state-of-the-art volume on the topic. The authors address key questions about young learner second/foreign language (L2/FL) development, methodological issues when conducting research with young learners, L2/FL teaching pedagogy, language education policy, technology enhanced learning and assessment. Together, the chapters capture the reality of early FL development in the context of a globalized world and will be of great interest to researchers and postgraduate students of SLA and Applied Linguistics, specifically in the field of early language development and teaching languages to young learners.

Contributors

Acknowledgements

Stela Letica Krevelj and Marianne Nikolov: Enriching the Tapestry of Early Foreign Language Learning and Teaching: A Preface

Chapter 1. Richard Johnstone in Conversation with Marianne Nikolov: Learners can be Applied to Children, Teachers and all Stakeholders

Chapter 2. Jelena Mihaljević Djigunović in Conversation with Stela Letica Krevelj: On How One Would Teach English to a Dalmatian Dog

Chapter 3. Annamaria Pinter: Innovations in Research On and With Young Learners

Chapter 4. Andrew D. Cohen: The Use of Verbal Report to Describe Strategies Used by Young Language Learners

Chapter 5. Yuko Goto Butler: Verbal Reports as an Instructional Tool for Young Second Language Learners: An Intervention Study

Chapter 6. Anna Vallbona and Elsa Tragant: Upper Primary School Learners’ Interaction in Face-to-Face and Instant Messaging Modalities: A Focus on Metatask and Metalanguage Episodes

Chapter 7. Rivi Carmel and Marianne Nikolov: Translanguaging and Meaning Making in Young Learners’ EFL Classes in Israel

Chapter 8. Carmen Muñoz, Daniela Avello and Geòrgia Pujadas: Young Learners’ L2 Vocabulary Acquisition Through Extensive Viewing

Chapter 9. Gloria Vickov and Eva Jakupčević: Culture-Related Vocabulary in Textbooks for Young Learners of English

Chapter 10. Katalin Fenyvesi and Pia Suk Jensen: Natural Semantic Metalanguage: A Bridge Between Languages in the Multilingual Classroom

Chapter 11. Lucilla Lopriore: Early Language Oracy Development: Challenges from Research in Multilingual Contexts

Chapter 12. Mirna Erk: Children’s Voices on Starting English at the Primary vs. Pre-Primary Level

Chapter 13. Andrea-Beata Jelić: 'Why Do You Learn Spanish?' 'To Play in La Liga': Attitudes and Motivation of Young Learners of Spanish in Croatia

Chapter 14. Réka Lugossy: 'I Didn’t Know Such a Thing Existed': Young Adults’ Early Encounters with Literature and the Meanings They Attach to Them

Chapter 15. Vesna Bagarić Medve and Višnja Pavičić Takač: Looking Back to Look Forward: Approaches to Young Foreign Language Learners' Assessment in Croatia

Chapter 16. Vera Savić and Danijela Prošić-Santovac: EFL Teachers’ Perspectives on and Practices in Assessing Young Learners in Serbia

Chapter 17. Jasenka Čengić: The Role of Aptitude in Young Learners' Success: Domain-General or Domain-Specific Analytic Abilities?

Chapter 18. Colin J. Flynn and David Singleton: Primary School L2 Learning: The General Empirical Picture and Specific Policy Issues in the Irish Context

Chapter 19. Jing Peng and Xuan Huang: A Case Study on Family Language Policy of China in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

Index

This commemorative book pays tribute to Professor Jelena Mihaljević Djigunović and the pioneering Croatian contribution to the field of early foreign language learning. It contains an impressive collection of chapters from international scholars who explore new research methods and avenues, such as translanguaging and extramural language learning. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to build on the legacy and take the field to the next level.