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Diversity in EELL: Matters of Context and Contact
Abstract
A context-sensitive approach to SLA research acknowledges the interrelatedness of linguistic development and situational/cultural context. Over the years, many studies looked into the formal context of early English language learning (EELL) but the informal realms of learner experience are still largely unknown. Hence, context matters related to out-of-school availability of English and its relevance for EFL classrooms are in focus of this contribution. Sources of informal contact and linguistic gains arising from young learners’ informal experiences with English are believed to contribute to heterogeneity found in English language learning outcomes, and to point at important interactions between local learning context, age and early formal instruction. Sources of out-of-school contact with English and a corpus of self-reported informally acquired English vocabulary by learners aged 8.5–10.5 are presented. Additionally, the influence of gender as a background variable was explored. Findings are discussed against a growing awareness of heterogeneity embedded in sociocultural contexts of early EFL instruction. Finally, challenges faced by teachers of young learners and researchers of early English language development are addressed along with pedagogical implications of the study outcomes.
... The Croatian EFL context is a limited-input non-immersive setting, but there are many opportunities for English language exposure through a variety of media (Erk, 2021;Hendrih & Letica Krevelj, 2019). Although time spent watching TV might favourably affect learning outcomes (e.g., De Wilde et al., 2019), an assumption that English input is available to (very) YLs is unwarranted. ...
... They start turning to other resources and more TL contact outside of school (Unsworth et al., 2015). Actually, this was recorded in another study with learners in Grades 3 and 4 on sources of out-of-school contact with English in Croatia and informal vocabulary acquisition (Erk, 2021). The informal learning of English seems to increase from Grade 3 onwards in the Croatian EFL learning context, probably as a consequence of YLs' increased readiness to utilize opportunities for more out-of-school FL input, which might have influenced the outcome of the third listening comprehension task in our study. ...
The quantity of target language input available to learners contributes to the understanding of target language development. The present paper reports on a longitudinal study of the relationship between the amount of non-native teachers’ EFL input and learners’ aural achievement in instructed SLA. Young learners (N=132) were followed over a three-year period. High variability in teacher use of EFL was found. Results of correlational analyses and group comparisons pointed to a longitudinal advantage of participants exposed to instruction dominated by teacher target language use during their first two years of formal EFL learning. Directions for future research on the use of different languages and their relation to learners’ achievement are discussed in the context of early formal foreign language study.
... Uz to što je u gotovo svim hrvatskim osnovnim školama prvi strani jezik, u izvannastavnom kontekstu engleski je kao lingua franca i u svim vrstama medija gotovo sveprisutan. Tehnološki napredak, globalizacija i digitalizacija doveli su do dramatičnih promjena u pogledu prilika koje učenici stranog jezika imaju za kontakt sa ciljnim jezikom, osobito engleskim, što se u velikoj mjeri može pripisati internetu (Erk 2021). Nasuprot tomu, nesvjesna odnosno nenamjerna izloženost njemačkom jeziku znatno je manja. ...
Motivation is one of the key variables in second language acquisition. Motivation is also an extremely complex phenomenon that is very difficult to precisely measure due to its multidimensionality. Previous research in the Croatian educational context indicates that the intensity of motivation may depend on the target language being learned (e.g. Karlak 2014; Karlak and Mayer 2021; Karlak and Šimić 2016; Karlak and Mayer 2021; Mihaljević Djigunović and Bagarić 2007), but also that differences in the intensity of motivation exist about gender, favoring higher values among female students compared to male students in various dimensions of motivation (e.g. Karlak and Bagarić Medve 2016; Martinović 2018; Martinović and Sorić 2018). Research also shows that female students of English as a foreign language significantly more often engage in various forms of motivated behavior in the out-of-school context, such as watching television in that language, reading, listening to music, and conversing with various individuals in person (e.g. Karlak and Bagarić Medve 2016; Muñoz 2020). The conducted research aimed to determine and compare whether there are gender differences in the Croatian foreign language learning context regarding the frequency of engaging in various forms of motivated behavior in the out-of-school context, and self-assessment of communicative language competence among students studying English or German, since such research is scarce. The results show that gender differences are more numerous in the English language sample. Findings also indicate that female students, compared to male students, more frequently engage in various forms of motivated behavior in the out-of-school context. However, male students assess their level of communicative language competence higher than female students, and this difference is statistically significant among English students in the area of vocabulary.
Due to the online global presence of English, many EFL learners encounter English outside the classroom from an early age. This study examined teachers’ perceptions of the language learning affordances, challenges, and benefits in the early English classroom (ages 7–11) of English learnt outside school (extramural English (EE), Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016 ). A mixed-methods approach, including a survey, interviews, and data from Facebook interest groups on teaching English, was used to gauge teacher perceptions. Results showed that generally teachers had positive attitudes towards the learning potentials of EE (especially related to fostering vocabulary learning) and for creating motivation for learning English. Teachers found less benefits of playing digital games than from watching YouTube videos. Teachers also reported demotivation in students stemming from being bored in class or from feeling behind compared to others, i.e., personal expectations of English skills were high. The study points to a need for focus in teacher education on the benefits of extramural activities for their students’ learning (especially gaming). This means fostering awareness in prospective teachers of the importance of incidental learning processes as these are key in the global English context. Moreover, sharing ideas for integrating EE into teaching practices is needed.
Vocabulary learning requires two basic conditions – repetition (quantity of meetings with words) and good quality mental processing of the meetings. Other factors also affect vocabulary learning. For example, learners may differ greatly in their motivation to engage in learning, and words may differ greatly in their learning burden. However, without quantity and quality of processing, learning cannot occur. The greater the number of repetitions, the more likely learning is to occur. The deeper and more thoughtful the quality of processing, the more likely learning is to occur. This paper explains quantity and quality, and shows how teachers and learners can increase the quantity and quality of their processing of vocabulary, thus increasing their vocabulary size.
This paper reports on the qualitative part of a project investigating parental educational aspirations as manifested by enrolling their children (aged 3-6) into very early L2 instruction. The concept of educational aspirations is widely studied in educational psychology as well as in sociology and pedagogy. In SLA, these aspirations can fit in the new framework of imagery and creating visions as they are a part of an ideal L2 self. Data analysis concludes that parental visions towards their children's achievement reflect self-efficacy beliefs; in other words, those parents who were unsuccessful foreign language (FL) learners themselves hoped that by starting early their children would learn lingua franca English well and this would help them achieve educational and vocational success, which indicates an instrumental motive. By contrast, those parents who were successful language learners were positive about their chil-dren's future plurilingual attainment, not necessarily voicing the necessity of "an early start." They believe languages contribute to overall emotional and cognitive growth, which shows more intrinsic and integrative motives. These findings suggest that the differences in ultimate FL attainment may start very early and are rooted in the social (family) context.
Through the analytical lens of activity theory (Leontiev, 1978, Lantolf & Thorne, 2006), the present study investigates the uptake of affordances for language learning by young (ages 7-11) Danish children (N = 15) in their engagement with English language media in the digital wild. Drawing on ethnographic interviews (Spradley, 1979), during which the participants engaged in online English language activities (e.g., gaming, snapchatting, etc.), the study shows that most of the participants were motivated in their engagement with English by social and higher cognitive motives (Lompscher, 1999). They engaged substantially with affordances for language learning (i.e., deliberately chose English-language content over Danish), engaged in chats, and read and listened to online content. Some, on the other hand, were found to be motivated by lower cognitive motives, resulting in less engagement with the affordances. The study also found a substantial difference between perceptions of English in and outside school. The study adds new insights to an under-researched area, while giving voice to young users of English, as called for by Ushioda (2008, p. 29).
In this study we examined the level of English proficiency children can obtain through out-of-school exposure in informal contexts prior to English classroom instruction. The second aim was to determine the input types that fuel children's informal language acquisition. Language learning was investigated in 780 Dutch-speaking children (aged 10-12), who were tested on their English receptive vocabulary knowledge, listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Information about learner characteristics and out-of-school English exposure was gathered using questionnaires. The results show large language gains for a substantial number of children but also considerable individual differences. The most beneficial types of input were gaming, use of social media and speaking. These input types are interactive and multimodal and they involve language production. We also found that the various language tests largely measure the same proficiency component.
Listening to songs is one of the most casual activities we do, and in recent years there has been a push to incorporate this activity into the L2 classroom as a pedagogical tool. While other studies have focused on songs and their use in the L2 classroom, this corpus-based study examined the potential for L2 learners to incidentally learn vocabulary from casually listening to songs outside the classroom. Results showed great potential for incidental learning because of the high coverage of the high-frequency word families, the repeated encounter with both function and content words as well as the repetitive nature of songs themselves, and the rich
In this paper the incidental language acquisition of 11-year-old Flemish children (n = 30) who have not received any formal English instruction is investigated. The study looks into children’s English proficiency and the learner characteristics that can be associated with it. In order to measure the children’s English proficiency, a receptive vocabulary test and a proficiency test (which measured listening skills, speaking skills, reading skills and writing skills) were used. Information about learner characteristics was gathered through two questionnaires (for children and parents). The results show that a significant proportion of the 11-year-olds can already perform tasks at the A2 level (The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) without having had any formal instruction. The study confirms that children learn English from the input they receive through different media (especially gaming and computer use). Furthermore, the data reveal a strikingly positive attitude towards English and demonstrate that in some situations Flemish children prefer using English over their L1 with their peers.
Most language learning research is carried out either in classrooms or among classroom learners. As Richards (2015) points out, however, there are two dimensions to successful learning: what happens inside classrooms and what happens outside them. Rapid development of online media, communications technologies and opportunities for travel has also expanded the world beyond the classroom for language learners. Language learning and teaching beyond the classroom (LBC) is, thus, emerging as a field ripe for the development of new research agendas (Benson & Reinders 2011; Nunan & Richards 2015). We propose potentially fruitful avenues for research here under the headings of settings for learning, learning processes and teaching.
Motivational strategies are underresearched, and studies so far conducted have been in sociolinguistic contexts where English is not extensively encountered outside the classroom. Given also that little is known about strategies relating to the design and content of classroom activities, the purpose of this study is to identify and critically evaluate strategies focusing on activity design and content in classroom activities that, in a setting where students have extensive extramural English encounters, teachers have found to be effective in generating motivation. Using Dörnyei's (2001) taxonomy of motivational strategies as an analytical tool, 112 descriptions of motivational activities provided by a randomly drawn sample of secondary EFL teachers in Sweden (N = 252) were content-analyzed with a focus on design and content. Providing support for Dörnyei's proposals, the results reveal the prominence of activities that enable students to work with authentic materials (cultural artefacts produced for a purpose other than teaching) and in ways that can be experienced as authentic. Activities involving digital technologies which provide opportunities for creativity are also prominent. Use of authentic materials places high demands on teachers’ pedagogical and linguistic skills. In contexts where students respond positively to such activities, teachers’ language awareness skills become of significant importance.
Reading affords opportunities for L2 vocabulary acquisition. Empirical research into the pace and trajectory of this acquisition has both theoretical and applied value. Charting the development of different aspects of word knowledge can verify and inform theoretical frameworks of word learning and reading comprehension. It can also inform practical decisions about using L2 readings in academic study. Monitoring readers’ eye movements provides real-time data on word learning, under the conditions that closely approximate adult L2 vocabulary acquisition from reading. In this study, Dutch-speaking university students read an English expository text, while their eye movements were recorded. Of interest were patterns of change in the eye movements on the target low-frequency words that occurred multiple times in the text, and whether differences in the processing of target and control (known) words decreased overtime. Target word reading outside of the familiar text was examined in a posttest using semantically neutral sentences. The findings show that orthographic processing develops relatively quickly and reliably. However, online retrieval of meaning remains insufficient for fluent word-to-text integration even after multiple contextual encounters.
This article reports on a number of projects on early English teaching in the Nether-lands. The focus of these projects has been on the impact of English on the development of the mother tongue and the development of skills in the foreign language. Overall the results show that there is no negative effect on the mother tongue and that the gains in English proficiency are substantial. Given the specific situation in the Netherlands where English is very present, in particular in the media, a real comparison of the findings with those from other countries is problematic.
This paper reports on the qualitative part of a project investigating parental educational aspirations as manifested by enrolling their children (aged 3-6) into very early L2 instruction. The concept of educational aspirations is widely studied in educational psychology as well as in sociology and pedagogy. In SLA, these aspirations can fit in the new framework of imagery and creating visions as they are a part of an ideal L2 self. Data analysis concludes that parental visions towards their children’s achievement reflect self-efficacy beliefs; in other words, those parents who were unsuccessful foreign language (FL) learners themselves hoped that by starting early their children would learn lingua franca English well and this would help them achieve educational and vocational success, which indicates an instrumental motive. By contrast, those parents who were successful language learners were positive about their children’s future plurilingual attainment, not necessarily voicing the necessity of “an early start.” They believe languages contribute to overall emotional and cognitive growth, which shows more intrinsic and integrative motives. These findings suggest that the differences in ultimate FL attainment may start very early and are rooted in the socia (family) context.
This paper is a report on a study designed to investigate the second language development of francophone children in experimental intensive ESL programmes in Quebec primary schools. Classroom interaction patterns and learners' contact with and attitudes toward English were also investigated. Learners in the intensive programmes were compared with learners in regular ESL programmes at the same grade level, as well as with learners who had received a comparable number of hours of instruction spread over a longer period of time. The results indicated that the intensive programme learners outperformed both comparison groups on tests of listening and reading comprehension and in oral fluency. In addition, although both regular and intensive programme learners were found to have very little contact with English prior to instruction, the intensive programme learners indicated somewhat greater contact after instruction. They also held more positive attitudes toward English than did the regular programme learners.
Based on recent research in cognitive science, interaction, and second language acquisition (SLA), I describe a sociocognitive approach to SLA. This approach adopts a non-cognitivist view of cognition: Instead of an isolated computational process in which input is extracted from the environment and used to build elaborate internal knowledge representations, cognition is seen as adaptive intelligence, enabling our close and sensitive alignment to our ecosocial environment in order to survive in it. Mind, body, and world are thus functionally integrated from a sociocognitive perspective instead of radically separated.Learning plays a major part in this scenario: If environments are ever-changing, then adaptation to them is continuous. Learning is part of our natural ability to so adapt, while retaining traces of that adaptation in the integrated mind-body-world system. Viewed in this way, SLA is adaptation to/engagement with L2 environments.
Interaction also plays a central role in sociocognitive SLA: We learn L2s through interacting with/in L2 environments. Founded on innate, universal skills which evolutionarily preceded language and make it possible, interaction supports SLA at every turn. Having presented this argument, I illustrate it by analyzing a video clip of an EFL tutoring session, indicating various ‘sociocognitive tools’ for interactive alignment which undergird L2 development.
In Lightbown (1985a), I summarized SLA research by stating ten generalizations which were consistent with the research to that date. I concluded that SLA research could not serve as the basis for telling teachers what to teach or how. One of the reasons for that was the limited scope of SLA research at that time. Another reason was that most of the research had not been designed to answer pedagogical questions. However, I suggested that SLA research was one important source of information which would help teachers set appropriate expectations for themselves and their students. In this paper, following a review of language teaching practices of the past fifty years, I reassess the ten generalizations in light of the considerable amount of classroom-based SLA. research which has been carried out since 1985, especially that which has addressed pedagogical concerns in primary and secondary school foreign and. second language classes. For the most part, this research tends to add further support to the generalizations, and this gives them greater pedagogical relevance. Nevertheless, I argue that teachers need to continue to draw on many other kinds of knowledge and experience in determining the teaching practices which are appropriate for their classrooms.
Prior research has reported incidental vocabulary acquisition with complete beginners in a foreign language (FL), within 8 exposures to auditory and written FL word forms presented with a picture depicting their meaning. However, important questions remain about whether acquisition occurs with fewer exposures to FL words in a multimodal situation and whether there is a repeated exposure effect. Here we report a study where the number of exposures to FL words in an incidental learning phase varied between 2, 4, 6, and 8 exposures. Following the incidental learning phase, participants completed an explicit learning task where they learned to recognize written translation equivalents of auditory FL word forms, half of which had occurred in the incidental learning phase. The results showed that participants performed better on the words they had previously been exposed to, and that this incidental learning effect occurred from as little as 2 exposures to the multimodal stimuli. In addition, repeated exposure to the stimuli was found to have a larger impact on learning during the first few exposures and decrease thereafter, suggesting that the effects of repeated exposure on vocabulary acquisition are not necessarily constant.
In many countries around the globe, English is the first foreign language children learn in school. In Sweden, the teaching of English generally starts in third grade, that is, when the pupils are around 9 years old. By then, they usually already know some English as many of them have encountered the language in their spare time, for example through music, television, the internet, or other forms of media. In fact, there is a widespread belief that young people, teenagers in particular, learn much or even most of their English outside of school rather than in the language classroom. It is reasonable to assume that similar beliefs about teenagers’ out-of-school learning of English exist also in other countries where English dominates the media landscape. Due to the lack of research in the field, however, there is a need for evidence-based studies that examine the correctness of such assumptions (Higgins 2009; Sylvén 2004: 234).
This paper presents findings from a study investigating young English language learners
(YELLs) in Sweden in 4th grade (N576, aged 10–11). Data were collected with the help of a
questionnaire and a one-week language diary. The main purpose was to examine the learners’
L2 English language-related activities outside of school in general, and their use of computers
and engagement in playing digital games in particular. A comparison is made between
language-related activities in English, Swedish, and other languages. Another purpose was
to see whether there is a relationship between playing digital games and (a) gender, (b) L1,
(c) motivation for learning English, (d) self-assessed English ability, and (e) self-reported
strategies for speaking English. In order to do so, the sample was divided into three digital
game groups, (1) non-gamers, (2) moderate, and (3) frequent gamers (Z4 hours/week), based
on diary data (using self-reported times for playing digital games in English). Results showed
that YELLs are extensively involved in extramural English (EE) activities (M57.2 hrs/w).
There are statistically significant gender differences, boys (11.5 hrs/w) and girls (5.1 hrs/w;
p,.01), the reason being boys’ greater time investment in digital gaming and watching films.
The girls, on the other hand, spent significantly more time on pastime language-related
activities in Swedish (11.5 hrs/w) than the boys (8.0 hrs/w; p,.05), the reason being girls’
greater time investment in facebooking. Investigation of the digital game groups revealed that
group (1) was predominantly female, (2) a mix, and (3) predominantly male. YELLs with an
L1 other than Swedish were overrepresented in group (3). Motivation and self-assessed
English ability were high across all groups. Finally, regarding the self-reported strategies,
code-switching to one’s L1 was more commonly reported by non- and moderate gamers than
frequent gamers.
In the French primary schools of Quebec, increased popularity in experimental programs that provide young Francophone learners with intensive ESL instruction has been accompanied by increased variation in the way the instructional time is distributed. In a massed program, students complete the regular curriculum in French in 5 months and spend the remaining months learning English. In a distributed program, the intensive ESL instruction is spread across the full 10 months of the school year.Within the cognitive psychology and general education literature, there is substantial evidence in favour of distributed over massed practice. There has been less research in the language program evaluation literature contrasting the learning outcomes of students receiving similar amounts of L2 exposure in different distributions, but the findings suggest an advantage for massed learning. The present study compared the learning outcomes in two versions of the massed program and one version of the distributed program of students of the same age and L1, with similar amounts of prior exposure to English. Pretest and posttest measures from 700 students revealed superior outcomes for the massed learning conditions. The interpretation of the findings takes into account selection criteria, overall instructional time, and instructional practices in the different ESL programs.
In this chapter I will suggest that in cultural contexts such as Sweden where English is an integral part of young people’s everyday lives and is encountered and used in a range of out-of-school domains, a particular challenge facing teachers is not so much generating motivation to succeed in long-term competency goals, but rather engaging students in day-to-day classroom activities. Based on the idea that self-authenticity can have a motivating force (Gecas 1991; Vannini 2006; Vannini and Burgess 2009) and drawing on James Paul Gee’s recent work on affinity spaces (Gee 2005; Hayes and Gee 2010), I will argue that teachers of English need to create learning opportunities where students can experience the types of creative and self-relevant interaction commonplace in digital gaming. This does not mean that teachers should look to leisure-time domains with an eye to the wholesale import of youth culture content into the classroom, but, rather, that greater scope should be given to aesthetic and personal expression in activity design. In arguing that there is a growing authenticity gap between the English students learn in school and the English they use outside, I will begin the chapter by looking at the sorts of things young people in Sweden do in their free time.
Today, playing digital games is an important part of many young people's everyday lives. Claims have been made that certain games, in particular massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) provide L2 English learners with a linguistically rich and cognitively challenging virtual environment that may be conducive to L2 learning, as learners get ample opportunities for L2 input and scaffolded interaction in the L2. In this paper, we present empirical evidence that L2 English proficiency correlates with the frequency of gaming and types of games played. We base our observation on a study among young L2 English learners (N = 86, aged 11–12, Sweden). Data were collected through a questionnaire, a language diary, and three proficiency tests. The questionnaire provided demographic background information but was also targeted at measuring extramural English habits, i.e., learners’ out-of-school contact with English (cf. Sundqvist, 2009). The diary measured how much time the learners spent on seven predetermined extramural English activities during one week, while the tests measured their achieved L2 proficiency regarding reading and listening comprehension, and vocabulary. Previous research among learners aged 15–16 (Sundqvist, 2009) showed positive correlations between playing digital games and L2 proficiency, in particular with regard to vocabulary, and also identified gender-related differences regarding vocabulary (boys outperformed girls) as well as the frequency of gaming and types of games played. These results were corroborated in the present study. A clear pattern emerged from our data: frequent gamers (≥ 5 hours/week) outperformed moderate gamers who, in turn, outperformed non-gamers. Background variables could not explain the between-group differences. Even though the boys might have been more proficient or apt than the girls a priori and, therefore, chose to engage more in L2 gaming, the findings suggest that playing digital games at an early age can be important for L2 acquisition.
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Vocabulary is now well recognized as an important focus in language teaching and learning. Now in its third edition, this book provides an engaging, authoritative guide to the teaching and learning of vocabulary in another language. It contains descriptions of numerous vocabulary learning strategies, which are supported by reference to experimental research, case studies, and teaching experience. It also describes what vocabulary learners need to know to be effective language users. This new edition has been updated to incorporate the wealth of research that has come out of the past decade. It also includes a new chapter on out of-classroom learning, which explores the effect of the Internet and electronic resources on learning. This vital resource for all vocabulary researchers shows that by taking a systematic approach to vocabulary learning, teachers can make the best use of class time and help learners get the best return for their learning effort.
Recent years have seen rapid growth in the numbers of children being taught foreign languages at younger ages. While course books aimed at young learners are appearing on the market, there is scant theoretical reference in the teacher education literature. Teaching Languages to Young Learners is one of the few to develop readers' understanding of what happens in classrooms where children are being taught a foreign language. It will offer teachers and trainers a coherent theoretical framework to structure thinking about children's language learning. It gives practical advice on how to analyse and evaluate classroom activities, language use and language development. Examples from classrooms in Europe and Asia will help bring alive the realities of working with young learners of English.
In many contexts learners are enriching their limited contact with the foreign language in the classroom with unlimited contact outside the classroom thanks to the easy and immediate availability of the Internet and digital media. This study aimed to document the characteristics of the contact with English that a large sample of Catalan-Spanish learners have outside the classroom, to explore possible age- and gender-related differences, and to examine the association between out-of-school contact and classroom grades. The responses to a survey showed the type of activities in which young and old adolescents and young adults engage. The analyses showed differences between the three age groups, as well as large differences in the choices of males and females. The analysis of the association between respondents’ English-classroom grades and the different activities showed that reading had the highest positive correlation, followed by watching audiovisual material with L2 subtitles.
This paper argues for an environmental view of the relationship between self-access, the classroom and out-of-class learning. The self-access centre (SAC) developed as an alternative or complement to the classroom at a time when classroom instruction was considered the norm for language learning. In the light of increased opportunities for out-of-class language learning and questioning of the importance of classroom instruction to achieving high levels of proficiency, a holistic view of the in-class and out-of-class spaces in which languages are learned is now needed. The idea that languages are learned in ‘language learning environments’, in which the self-access centres are potentially one of many ‘settings’ for individuals’ language learning, is proposed as a framework for discussing issues of self-access planning and management.
Learning Vocabulary in Another Language provides a detailed survey of research and theory on the teaching and learning of vocabulary with the aim of providing pedagogical suggestions for both teachers and learners. It contains descriptions of numerous vocabulary learning strategies which are justified and supported by reference to experimental research, case studies, and teaching experience. It also describes what vocabulary learners need to know to be effective language users. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language shows that by taking a systematic approach to vocabulary learning, teachers can make the best use of class time and help learners get the best return for their learning effort. It will quickly establish itself as the point of reference for future vocabulary work.
This study compared receptive English grammar skills of two groups of 7‐ and 9‐year‐old Danish children at the beginning of second language (L2) instruction in English, and two groups of Spanish/Catalan children of the same age after several years of instruction. The study examined the influence of two language‐related factors (receptive vocabulary skills, cognate linguistic distance) and two context‐related factors (amount of formal instruction, frequency of exposure to English outside school), additionally focusing on the gender variable. Results revealed that the amount of formal instruction had a lesser role in the children's receptive grammar knowledge than cognate linguistic distance and out‐of‐school contact with English (particularly with audiovisual material). These factors may explain why Danish children's receptive knowledge of English prior to school instruction is largely similar to that of Spanish children after several years of instruction, revealing a sharp contrast in their respective starting points for L2 learning.
Cambridge Core - ELT Applied Linguistics - Learning Vocabulary in Another Language - by I. S. P. Nation
This article presents a study of Danish young English language learners’ (YELLs’) contact with and use of Extramural English (EE) (N = 107, aged 8 [n = 49] and 10 [n = 58]). They have received little formal English instruction: two lessons per week for one year. Data on EE-habits were collected with a one-week language diary (self-report with parental guidance). Participants reported minutes spent each day on seven EE-activities: gaming, listening to music, reading, talking, watching television, writing, and other. Vocabulary proficiency scores were obtained using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT™-4). The results show that most time was spent on gaming, music, and watching television. Boys gamed significantly more (p <.001) than girls (235 minutes/week vs. 47 minutes/week). Additionally, the results show that gaming with both oral and written English input and gaming with only written English input are significantly related to vocabulary scores, in particular for boys. By investigating the EE-habits of YELLs and relations with second language (L2) English vocabulary learning, this study adds valuable new insights and knowledge about a topic that is becoming increasingly important for children in a globalized world.
This book is unique in bringing together theory, research, and practice about English encountered outside the classroom – extramural English – and how it affects teaching and learning. The book investigates ways in which learners successfully develop their language skills through extramural English and provides tools for teachers to make use of free time activities in primary and secondary education. The authors demonstrate that learning from involvement in extramural English activities tends to be incidental and is currently underutilized in classroom work. A distinctive strength is that this volume is grounded in theory, builds on results from empirical studies, and manages to link theory and research with practice in a reader-friendly way. Teacher-educators, teachers and researchers of English as a foreign language and teachers of English as a second language across the globe will find this book useful in developing their use of extramural English activities as tools for language learning.
We live in a world that is increasingly multilingual, where people and the accompanying languages that they speak are no longer confined to a specific geographical context or even a single family. This has occurred as a result of increased mobility and contact between peoples in the 21st century. The result is that many children today are fortunate to have access to, and are often in the process of acquiring proficiency in, more than one language (Cummins 2001; Wang 2008). That is, in developing plurilingual competence, a composite competence comprised of the development of evolving language proficiency in two or more languages (Coste et al. 2009). Bourdieu (1993) invoked the term linguistic capital to describe being in possession of the language proficiency and competencies required to successfully meet particular societal demands. In the 21st century, plurilinguistic competence is increasingly recognized as advantageous as it provides individuals with a valuable form of capital in light of the complex linguistic demands placed on individuals in an increasingly multilingual globalized world (Canagarajah and Liynage 2012).
Motivation is widely recognised as a significant factor influencing success in second or foreign language (L2) learning, and is perhaps one of the key variables that distinguishes first language acquisition from second language acquisition. After all, while motivation is not really an issue in the case of infants acquiring their mother tongues, being motivated (or not) can make all the difference to how willingly and successfully people learn other languages later in life (Ushioda, 2010: 5). The study of language learning motivation has a long history, dating back to the early pioneering work of Gardner and Lambert (1959) in Canada, and has generated a large body of literature. On the whole, this literature has been driven by the pursuit of explanatory theoretical models of motivation and their empirical exploration in a variety of formal and informal learning contexts. This is reflected in the current push towards new analyses of L2 motivation in terms of concepts of self and identity and of complexity theory (see, for example, the collections of conceptual and empirical papers in Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2009; Murray, Gao & Lamb, 2011). Since the 1990s, it is true to say that the research literature has increasingly concerned itself with motivation issues and practices of relevance to teachers, leading to the development of pedagogical recommendations in areas such as motivational strategies (Dörnyei, 2001), group dynamics (Dörnyei & Murphey, 2003), or teachers’ communicative style (Noels et al., 1999).
This chapter focuses on motivation and self-concept and their role in oral production in early learning of English as a foreign language. A review of major research findings considering the relationship of these individual learner differences and oral performance by young foreign language learners is followed by presentation and discussion of the study the author carried our with Croatian learners of English as a foreign language. The participants, aged 11 at the start and 14 at the end of the study, were followed for 4 years. Each year their motivation and self-concept were measured by means of smiley questionnaires and oral interviews, while their oral production was elicited each year through picture description tasks and personal oral interviews. The study offers interesting evidence of the dynamics of young learners’ motivation and self-concept and their relationship with their developing oral performance. Implications of the findings are considered as well.
Following the global trend in primary English language instruction, the Ministry of Education in Mexico has recently included
English as an additional language as part of the national curriculum for primary grades. Some have questioned whether early
EFL programmes can work, given the few instructional hours per week and limited exposure to the target language in non-English
speaking environments. However, this article reveals that children in EFL settings often use English more than is commonly
thought, and in surprising ways. It examines the types of engagements that primary school students in Mexico have with English
when the teacher is not around. These engagements, especially through music, movies, and video games, illustrate the creative
ways children draw on their emerging linguistic resources and employ a variety of tools to accomplish a range of communicative
functions in English. The results of the study outlined in this article suggest that they can be sources from which teachers
can draw pedagogical inspiration.
The present study focuses on the influence of starting age and input on foreign language learning. In relation to starting
age, the study investigates whether early starters in instructional settings achieve the same kind of long-term advantage
as learners in naturalistic settings and it complements previous research by using data from oral performance. In relation
to input, this study examines and compares the relative impact on learners’ oral performance of different input measures:
number of years of instruction, number of hours of curricular and extracurricular lessons, number of hours spent abroad in
an English-speaking setting, and current contact with the target language. Film-retelling oral narratives from 160 learners
of English are analysed in terms of fluency, lexical diversity, and syntactic complexity. Correlational and regression analyses
show that input has a stronger association with measures of oral performance than starting age, and that cumulative exposure
and, above all, contact with high-quality input are good predictors of learners’ oral performance in the foreign language.
This study explores the long-term effects of starting age and the effects of input in an instructed language learning setting. First, with respect to the effects of starting age, the findings suggest that in the long term and after similar amounts of input, starting age is not a predictor of language outcomes. Second, the study examines the effects of input using multiple measures derived from responses to an extended questionnaire. The analysis reveals modest but significant effects of input on participants' proficiency, confirming that input never ceases to play a role in an instructed language learning setting, in contrast with opposite claims from studies of naturalistic language learning.
This study examines the effects of learning context and age on second language development by comparing the language gains, measured in terms of oral and written fluency, lexical and syntactic complexity, and accuracy, experienced by four groups of learners of English: children in a study abroad setting, children in their at‐home school, adults in a study abroad setting, and adults in their at‐home university. Results show that the study abroad context was superior to the at‐home context, and more advantageous for children than for adults in comparative gains, although adults outscored children in absolute gains. The interaction between learning context and age suggests that studying abroad was particularly beneficial for children, who also had more opportunities for oral language practice.
This book provides a detailed exploration of L2 language learning in the early years, examining past and present research evidence on bilingualism, second language, and foreign language learning in childhood, and providing a broad overview of research findings across a range of different contexts. The discussion focuses on learning contexts that intersect with educational provision in the early school years and a comparison of L2 outcomes across those contexts.
The LL<monograph series publishes monographs as weil as edited volumes on applied and methodological issues in the field of language pedagogy. The focus of the series is on subjects such as classroom discourse and interaction; language diversity in educational settings; bilingual education; language testing and language assessment; teaching methods and teaching performance; learning trajectories in second language acquisition; and written language learning in educational settings. In a very large number of studies, James E. Flege and his colleagues have examined the influence of different subject variables on immigrants' success in learning an 12. In this chapter, possible implications ofFlege's research for the foreign language classroom are discussed. Tue results obtained by Flege in studies examining the acquisition of 12 speech sounds and L2 morphosyntax suggest that four factors should particularly help students in a foreign language classroom to develop a high level of second language proficiency. These four factors are a) an early starting age, b) intensive use of the foreign language over a period of many years, c) exposure to a substantial amount ofhigh-quality input, and d) training in the perception and production ofL2 sounds.
The project Early Language Learning in Europe (ELLiE) has studied the longitudinal effects of an early foreign language (FL) start in seven European contexts. This article presents a sub-study of ELLiE that investigates the impact of out-of-school factors on learners' listening and reading skills in year four of formal FL instruction. More specifically, we include Parents' educational level, parents' use of the FL professionally, exposure, interaction and cognate linguistic distance. Data were collected by means of listening and reading tests and a parents' questionnaire. Results of the statistical analyses show that cognate linguistic distance was the strongest predictor of both listening and reading scores, followed closely by exposure, and parents' FL use at work and international interaction at some distance. Parents' educational levels only impacted on reading scores, and domestic interaction did not have any effect on listening or reading. Furthermore, the results confirm previous research on young learners’ incidental FL acquisition through watching subtitled films, as watching films was the most powerful exposure type for both listening and reading. Parents' use of FL at work correlated significantly with exposure, indicating that the influence of parents would have an effect on the opportunities for their children's FL exposure.
