Kindergarten Children and Language Learning: Missing Pillars for Language Acquisition

Abstract

This study examines the perceptions of the Kuwaiti kindergarten school teachers and parents as well as the English curriculum in an attempt to identify areas that need to be improved in the kindergarten teachers' program at the CBE (College of Basic Education). In addition, the paper looks closely into the delivery of information and sequence of interaction in relation to the learning process of English as a foreign language in kindergarten stage in Kuwait. The participants were 12 kindergarten teachers who speak Arabic as their first language and have no experience or knowledge in teaching or speaking the target language, English. The data was collected through the school year 2010/2011 by using observation, interviews and artifacts. The present study implication is that the kindergarten teacher who is teaching the English language without any educational training needs to know English language curriculum, real communication skills and innovation in the classroom, and be competent in teaching English language to kindergarten students.

Preschool Teachers’ Issues and Beliefs in English Language Teaching: A Systematic Review (2012-2022)

“…Apart from English proficiency, there are also fourteen articles that discuss training issues in preschools ELT (Al-Darwish, 2012;Alvira & González, 2018;Bernstein et al, 2021;Biricik & Özkan, 2012;Ehri & Flugman, 2018;Goh, 2019;Hegde et al, 2018;Huang et al, 2019;Milton et al, 2020;Ng, 2015;Pink et al, 2013;Pollard-Durodola et al, 2012;Wang & Hou, 2021;Wong & Russak, 2020;Qin & Md Nor, 2018). Preschool teachers is still awaiting to undergo formal training for ELT in the preschool context, which affects their ability to develop children in ELL (Qin & Md Nor, 2018).…”

“…In terms of curriculum, even with the implementation of a curricular intervention with enhanced instructional and supportive professional development training, preschool teachers tend to generalise their practices beyond the intervention. They need more support with their professional development training (Al-Darwish, 2012). They also need more focused training such as BE and how to teach culturally diverse children (Goh, 2019;Hegde et al, 2018).…”

“…In literacy lessons, preschool teachers ELT mostly use repetition and imitation approaches (Huang, 2014). Furthermore, curriculum is the fourth important issue identified when discussing preschool ELT as found in those eleven articles (Al-Darwish, 2012;Chu, 2014;Jacoby & Lesaux, 2019;Jawaid, 2014;Lalani & Rodrigues, 2012;Milton et al, 2020;Prosic-Santovac, 2017;Slapac & Dorner, 2013;Wang & Hou, 2021;Qin & Md Nor, 2018;Zucker et al, 2021). The highly prescribed curriculum in preschool English that emphasises academics negatively influences the principles of developmentally appropriate practice (Jawaid, 2014;Qin & Md Nor, 2018).…”

“…Socio-cultural is the eighth or final issue identified, with six articles discussing it (Al-Darwish, 2012;Goh, 2019;Hegde et al, 2018;Leung et al, 2013;Mustafa et al, 2019;Nafissi & Shafiee, 2020). In a study by Al-Darwish (2012), young children's motivation to learn English is critical, and it may occur as some parents refuse their children to learn any foreign language at all.…”

The Early Childhood Education Teachers’ Needs of Being Able to Teach English Well

“…They also did not model native speaker pronunciation, and the audio cassettes of songs that accompanied the textbooks were poorly recorded and hard to understand. (Al-Darwish, 2012). The following figures are information data describing ECET expectation on training of teaching strategies.…”