The effects of foreign language programmes in early childhood education and care: a systematic review

Thieme, A.M.M.; Hanekamp, Kyra; Andringa, Sible; Verhagen, Josje; Kuiken, Folkert

doi:10.1080/07908318.2021.1984498

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…In general, children learn languages most effectively in a pre-school group, where they are provided with the most natural, fun and playful learning environment possible. Research shows (Thieme, Hanekamp, Andringa, Verhagen, & Kuiken, 2021) that children can experience positive wellbeing in foreign language programmes in early childhood education and care, only if these programmes are play-based and if the language policy is not too strict. In a group of peers, a child, regardless of his/her native language, enjoys a learning process that takes place on the basis of songs, games, reading books, dialogues and video assignments.…”

Section: The Significance Of Early Foreign Language Teaching/learning...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multilingualism in Lithuanian pre-school education institutions: Situation, issues, prospects

Lenkauskaitė

Malinauskienė

2023

HERJ

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The growing manifestation of multiculturalism in Lithuania has been prompting the educational community and education policy makers to pay more attention to the issues related to quality education for bilingual and multilingual children. Due to the lack of experience in analyzing this phenomenon, certain previous studies on multilingualism have created a basis that leads to underestimation of the importance of multilingualism at an early age. In recent years attitudes towards multilingual education have been changing. More effective language learning is becoming one of the priority areas of education. Building on the analysis of scientific and methodological literature, the article presents the situation, issues and prospects of multilingualism in Lithuanian pre-school education institutions. A multilingual environment and properly selected methods enable the child of pre-school age to naturally learn several languages. Therefore, early learning of a foreign language is gaining popularity in Lithuania, and in terms of children with other nationalities, it is aimed at creation of favorable conditions for them to learn the official Lithuanian language. The article also reviews the organizational models and methods of multilingual education, best practice of multilingual and multicultural kindergartens in Lithuania, challenges faced by the pre-school education institutions in terms of multilingualism, emphasizes the necessity and possibilities for development of teachers' multicultural competence.

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Section: The Significance Of Early Foreign Language Teaching/learning...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multilingualism in Lithuanian pre-school education institutions: Situation, issues, prospects

Lenkauskaitė

Malinauskienė

2023

HERJ

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“…Thus, there are important lessons learnt from how children develop in their L1 (e.g., Rowe & Snow, 2020) and English as L2 (e.g., Buysse et al, 2014; Washington-Nortey et al, 2020), as well as from recent reviews on early preschool FL programs (e.g., Garton & Copland, 2019; Nikolov & Lugossy, 2022; Thieme et al, 2021) and how children are assessed (Nikolov & Timpe-Laughlin, 2021; Prošić-Santovac & Rixon, 2019). Publications for teachers on how to implement good practice in pre-primary classrooms are also widely available (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2016; Bland, 2015; Ghosn, 2015; Mourão, 2015a; Mourão & Ellis, 2020; Mourão & Lourenço, 2015; Murphy, 2014; Murphy & Evangelou, 2016; Pinter, 2006, 2011; Rokita-Jaśkow & Ellis, 2019; Schwartz, 2018, 2022; Widlok et al, 2011).…”

Section: Theories On How Children Learn Languages In Bilingual and Fl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Teacher studies have mostly relied on questionnaires, interviews, observations, and teacher logs. Qualitative research and longitudinal studies could offer a deeper understanding of FL teachers’ roles in preschool FL learning (Nikolov & Lugossy, 2022; Thieme et al, 2021).…”

Section: Approaches To Research Into Preschool Fl Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pre-primary FL learning and teaching are clearly transdisciplinary (e.g., Alstad & Mourão, 2021; Thieme et al, 2021), integrating expertise in ECEC and language pedagogy (Cortina-Pérez & Andúgar, 2021). However, most publications use a narrow linguistic lens rather than focusing on the whole learner and teacher with all their competences and characteristics.…”

Section: Concluding Remarks Future Research and Questions Arisingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies involving children as co-researchers (Pinter 2019) and growing awareness of ethical issues involved in researching children (Pinter, 2019; Pinter & Kuchah, 2021), coupled with a focus on children's wellbeing as a prominent variable in understanding their FL learning and interpreting the findings (Thieme et al, 2021), signify novel approaches and new focal points to research in the field. However, as has been documented, teachers are not equal partners in most studies, and none was conducted by practicing pre-primary FL or ECEC teachers.…”

Section: Concluding Remarks Future Research and Questions Arisingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Studies on pre-primary learners of foreign languages, their teachers, and parents: A critical overview of publications between 2000 and 2022

Nikolov

Djigunović

2023

Lang. Teach.

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This article offers insights into trends found in 74 empirical studies on teaching and learning a foreign language (FL) in pre-primary schools in 25 countries. The emerging picture is like that of primary-school programs: most are implemented in English, mostly owing to parents’ enthusiasm rather than evidence on long term FL benefits. Researchers focus on measurable outcomes in the FL rather than embedding studies in what early childhood education and language policies aim for: developing children not only in a FL, but also in their first language and emotional, cognitive, and social domains. A short literature review on how children learn languages and what necessary conditions include, is followed by the evidence empirical studies offer along themes found in them. Research has revealed encouraging results as well as weaknesses, whereas most authors frame their findings in positive terms. Overall, the younger the children the slower their rate of FL development. The field is dominated by FL experts; it would benefit from early childhood expertise to shift it towards the whole child. Although the increase in research is significant, more is necessary to build a model of pre-primary FL programs. A table available online complements the text.

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“I want children to see that their languages are respected”

Timpe-Laughlin,

Sova,

Kim

2024

LTYL

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Demand for an understanding and appreciation of linguistic and cultural diversity in educational contexts has intensified, given increasing levels of globalization. Moreover, guidelines from educational agencies (e.g., United Nations, 2015b; U.S. Department of Education, 2017) as well as state-level preschool teaching standards call for raising awareness of languages, cultures, and diversity beginning in early childhood. However, limited research in that area suggests most U.S. pre-primary teachers are monolingual English speakers (Espinosa & Crandell, 2021). Additionally, professional development and instructional programs on language and cultural awareness in pre-primary classrooms are rare (Kearney & Barbour, 2015). These observations raise the question as to how pre-primary educators promote linguistic and cultural diversity in their classrooms. This study explores world language learning practices in state-licensed, Northeastern U.S. pre-primary schools. We administered an online survey about world language learning resources, pedagogical approaches, and classroom practices to 138 pre-primary educators and conducted individual, semi-structured interviews with 15 of the teachers. We calculated frequency distributions for survey items to determine consensus or discrepancy among teachers and applied the procedure of initial, axial, and selective coding (Friedman, 2012) to open-ended survey responses and interview transcripts to identify trends and refine themes. Findings show that teachers recognized the benefits of building language and cultural awareness. Despite limited time, training, and resources to implement such pedagogy, they included different languages and cultures in instruction. We present their practices, focusing in particular on three distinct approaches, and discuss implications for promoting pre-primary plurilingual and (inter)cultural education.

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The effects of foreign language programmes in early childhood education and care: a systematic review

Cited by 5 publications

References 54 publications

Multilingualism in Lithuanian pre-school education institutions: Situation, issues, prospects

Multilingualism in Lithuanian pre-school education institutions: Situation, issues, prospects

Studies on pre-primary learners of foreign languages, their teachers, and parents: A critical overview of publications between 2000 and 2022

“I want children to see that their languages are respected”

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