Teaching Languages to Young Learners

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.

Preface

xi

Acknowledgements

xvi

Children learning a foreign language

1

(20)

Taking a learning-centered perspective

1

(1)

Piaget

2

(3)

Vygotsky

5

(3)

Bruner

8

(3)

From learning to language learning

11

(5)

Advantages to starting young with foreign languages

16

(1)

The foreign language: describing the indivisible

17

(2)

Summary of key learning principles

19

(2)

Learning language through tasks and activities

21

(15)

The task as an environment for learning

21

(1)

Task demands

22

(3)

Task support

25

(1)

Balancing demands and support

26

(2)

The importance of language learning goals

28

(1)

Defining `task' for young learner classrooms

29

(2)

Stages in a classroom task

31

(1)

Hani's Weekend: Possible preparation and follow-up activities

32

(3)

Task-as-plan and task-in-action

35

(1)

Learning the spoken language

36

(36)

Learning the spoken language: guiding principles

36

(1)

Discourse and discourse events

37

(1)

Meaning first

38

(4)

Analysis of a task-in-action

42

(9)

Discourse skills development in childhood

51

(7)

Effective support for children's foreign language discourse skills

58

(2)

Short activities for learning the spoken language

60

(6)

Supporting the spoken language with written language

66

(2)

Using dialogues

68

(2)

Summary

70

(2)

Learning words

72

(24)

Introduction

72

(1)

Vocabulary development in children's language learning

73

(8)

Organisation of words in a language

81

(2)

Learning and teaching vocabulary

83

(9)

Children's vocabulary learning strategies

92

(2)

Summary

94

(2)

Learning grammar

96

(27)

A place for grammar?

96

(2)

Different meanings of `grammar'

98

(3)

Development of the internal grammar

101

(4)

A learning-centered approach to teaching grammar: background

105

(5)

Principles for learning-centred grammar teaching

110

(1)

Teaching techniques for supporting grammar learning

111

(10)

Summary

121

(2)

Learning literacy skills

123

(36)

Introduction

123

(1)

Literacy skills in English

124

(10)

Factors affecting learning to read in English as a foreign language

134

(5)

Starting to read and write in English as a foreign language

139

(11)

Continuing to learn to read

150

(4)

Developing reading and writing as discourse skills

154

(3)

Summary and conclusion

157

(2)

Learning through stories

159

(21)

Stories and themes as holistic approaches to language teaching and learning

159

(1)

The discourse organisation of stories

160

(3)

Language use in stories

163

(3)

Quality in stories

166

(1)

Choosing stories to promote language learning

167

(2)

Ways of using a story

169

(6)

Developing tasks around a story

175

(4)

Summary

179

(1)

Theme-based teaching and learning

180

(19)

Issues around theme-based teaching

180

(1)

Theme-based teaching of a foreign language

181

(3)

Planning theme-based teaching

184

(7)

Learning language through theme-based teaching

191

(4)

Increasing target language use in theme-based teaching

195

(2)

Summary

197

(2)

Language choice and language learning

199

(15)

Introduction

199

(1)

Patterns of first language use in foreign language classrooms

200

(5)

Dynamics of language choice and use

205

(4)

Taking responsibility, making choices

209

(4)

Summary

213

(1)

Assessment and language learning

214

(27)

Issues in assessing children's language learning

214

(4)

Principles for assessing children's language learning

218

(4)

Key concepts in assessment

222

(6)

Teacher assessment of language learning

228

(5)

Self-assessment and learner autonomy

233

(5)

Use of assessment information

238

(2)

Messages from assessment

240

(1)

Issues around teaching children a foreign language

241

(6)

Review of ideas

241

(1)

The need for research

242

(1)

The need to develop pedagogy

243

(3)

Teaching foreign languages to children

246

(1)

References

247

(9)

Index

256

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Teaching Languages to Young Learners

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials