17. Mixed Methods in Early Language Learning Research

Enever, Janet; Lindgren, Eva

doi:10.21832/9781783098323-019

Cited by 20 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…Formal instruction in English only starts in the first or second year of secondary school when children are 12 or 13 years old. This is in sharp contrast with most other European countries where English lessons start at age 10 at the latest, but often much earlier and sometimes as early as age four (Enever, 2011).…”

Section: Educational and Cultural Context Of The Present Studycontrasting

confidence: 58%

Learning English through out-of-school exposure. Which levels of language proficiency are attained and which types of input are important?

2019

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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.

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Section: Educational and Cultural Context Of The Present Studycontrasting

confidence: 58%

Learning English through out-of-school exposure. Which levels of language proficiency are attained and which types of input are important?

2019

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“…L2 education is beginning at ever younger ages in many global contexts, and one of the main rationales for its introduction into the primary school curriculum is motivational – the belief that teachers can foster positive attitudes towards L2 learning which will pay dividends later (Enever 2011; Heinzmann 2013). But most of the research reviewed here has been concerned with motivating older learners.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A priority for future L2 motivation research is therefore to analyse the classroom experiences of young L2 learners and teachers, and this is likely to require innovative methods such as metaphor analysis (Jin et al 2014) and the use of system logs to track learners’ online game playing (Bodnar et al 2014). There are suggestions that the initial positive effect generated in early years classrooms may be undermined as L2 learning becomes more challenging (Enever 2011), so longitudinal studies would be especially valuable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The motivational dimension of language teaching

2017

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Motivation is recognized as a vital component in successful second language learning, and has been the subject of intensive research in recent decades. This review focuses on a growing branch of this research effort, that which examines the motivational effects of language teaching. This is pertinent because, despite enhanced mobility and expanding access to foreign languages online, most learners' early encounters with the second language (L2) still take place in classrooms, and these encounters may shape attitudes and determine students' willingness to invest further in the L2. Four main types of research are reviewed: first, that which deliberately seeks to identify and evaluate strategies to motivate L2 learners; second, that which has tested the validity of psychological theories of motivation by applying their precepts in L2 classrooms; third, that which assesses the motivational effects of a pedagogical innovation or intervention; fourth, research on what has been too often the unintended outcome of language education, namely learner demotivation. The review highlights the complexity of the relationship between teaching and learner motivation but an attempt is made to articulate some emerging verities and to point towards the most promising avenues for future research.

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“…They were followed from the first grade of primary education (age 6) to the last grade of compulsory secondary education (age 16). They were a subsample of the participants in a larger research project that was initiated as part of the ELLiE (Early Language Learning in Europe) project (Enever, 2011). When the ELLiE project finished after 4 years, at the end of fourth grade, the Spanish sample was followed for 6 more years until the end of compulsory secondary education.…”

Section: The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracing Trajectories of Young Learners: Ten Years of School English Learning

Muñoz

2017

Ann Rev Appl Linguist

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An early start of foreign language (FL) teaching has been encouraged on the basis that the main gains in this period lie in the development of positive attitudes and motivation. But the view that those positive effects will remain unchanged over learners’ language-learning trajectories is at odds with the currently prevailing notion that motivation is a complex and evolutionary process that fluctuates over time. In fact, research has shown that the positive attitudes attested in the first years of primary school wane after a while. But we still know very little about young learners’ motivational development, and longitudinal studies are very scarce. This 10-year longitudinal study looked at the trajectories of a group of young learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from age 6 to age 16 using a mixed-methods design. It examined their outcomes in relation to their language-learning aptitude and motivation, and it observed the ways in which their levels of motivation rise and fall over time. The triangulation of data from different sources, and principally from yearly individual interviews, provided us with insights to better understand the role played by internal and external factors in those trajectories and some of the challenges for FL teaching to young learners.

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17. Mixed Methods in Early Language Learning Research

Cited by 20 publications

References 0 publications

Learning English through out-of-school exposure. Which levels of language proficiency are attained and which types of input are important?

Learning English through out-of-school exposure. Which levels of language proficiency are attained and which types of input are important?

The motivational dimension of language teaching

Tracing Trajectories of Young Learners: Ten Years of School English Learning

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