Teaching English to Young Learners: Critical Issues in Language Teaching with 3-12 Year Olds

Description

Aimed at student teachers, educators and practitioners, Teaching English Language to Young Learners outlines and explains the crucial issues, themes and scenarios relating to this area of teaching. Each chapter by a leading international scholar offers a thorough introduction to a central theme of English as a foreign language (EFL) with preteens, with clear presentation of the theoretical background and detailed references for further reading, providing access to the most recent scholarship. Exploring the essential issues critically and in-depth, including the disadvantages as well as advantages of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) with young learners, topics include: - task-based learning in the primary school; - storytelling; - drama; - technology; - vocabulary development; - intercultural understanding; - Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) scenarios; - assessment. Innovative and rapidly emerging topics are covered, such as immersion teaching, picturebooks in the EFL classroom and English with pre-primary children.

Janice Bland is Professor of English Education at Nord University, Norway. She is co-editor of the peer-reviewed, open-access journal, Children's Literature in English Language Education.

A text that brings together all the best bits of older topics and adds value with new research and findings. * British Journal of Educational Studies * [An] undeniable value of the book lies in its multifaceted approach to the issues discussed. Academics and researchers alike will find rich and profound information about the scientific background, while teachers and teacher trainers are given the opportunity to develop their knowledge about potential teaching practices in the classroom ... As a result the book has significantly enriched the still new and yet rapidly expanding field of teaching English to young learners. * International Research Society for Children's Literature journal * A must-read for researchers and teachers looking to expand their knowledge of young learner language education. What sets this book apart from other books on the subject is the examples provided of real classroom practice, which may make it more accessible to teachers of young learners. This volume offers readers a useful summary of current theories, research, and classroom practices. * Asian EFL Journal * This authoritative work ... provides research-based analyses of the particular methodologies and issues most relevant to primary and pre-primary English language teaching contexts. No overview of this field would be complete without some discussion of Clil, technology and assessment, and these topics are all represented ... Importantly, the volume also reflects the trend towards lowering the starting age for English language teaching by including an excellent chapter by Sandie Mourao on the specific needs of the pre-primary age group (3-6 years). * EL Gazette * A significant contribution to an area that is of increasing interest to ELT scholars and practitioners ... Janice Bland has assembled some of the most interesting researchers working on European contexts ... [Her book is] destined to become required reading for trainee teachers. * System * The majority of contributions also describe a variety of useful teaching techniques, and provide practical suggestions for creative and stimulating activities, described clearly and in great detail ... The editor should especially be commended for the skilful way in which the book is organised ... The accessible language, clear and comprehensible argumentation, tackling of timely subjects, and inclusion of numerous practical suggestions are likely to ensure a wide readership for this edited volume, one that will include students, future and current teachers, scholars, parents, and anyone interested in the latest developments in EYL. * Libri & Liberi: Journal of Research on Children's Literature and Culture * Very useful for teachers as well as teacher trainees since it offers a wide overview of current theoretical and practical topics related with teaching English to young learners. * Pulso: Revista de Educacion * This volume presents a fascinating and important collection of chapters which lay a valuable foundation for anyone interested in learning more about the unique and growing context of language learning and teaching in young learners. While the specific focus of the volume is on the learning of English, many of the chapters are relevant to the learning of any foreign language in children between the ages of three and twelve. The volume provides a much needed international perspective, including different contexts of learning and different types of teaching approaches and tasks. Each chapter presents current thinking and research on central themes within English as a foreign language for young learners and consequently provides a rich resource for anyone involved in foreign language education. I will be recommending it to my students. * Victoria A. Murphy, Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of Education, University of Oxford, UK * This is an excellent collection of research on teaching English to young learners. The studies presented herein cover a wide range of critical issues - both theoretical and practical - in a highly comprehensive and accessible manner. I strongly recommend this book to educators, researchers, and students who are interested in working with young English learners. * Yuko Goto Butler, Associate Professor and Director of TESOL Program, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, USA * In her introduction to this volume, Janice Bland, defines language learning as a major opportunity for the widening of children's horizons. The rich collection of informative chapters also provides a major opportunity for the widening of the reader's horizons by reflecting a diversity of teaching contexts and drawing on research which addresses key themes and issues in language teaching to children in the 3 - 12 years age range. An important focus throughout the book is on the holistic development of the child and that, in addition to linguistic outcomes; language learning brings important emotional, cognitive, social, affective and social gains as well as the development of intercultural understanding. Another focus is the importance of the multifaceted role the teacher plays and the linguistic and methodological competencies they require to create optimum conditions for language learning. A third focus is how different modes of input - oral storytelling, poetry, picturebooks, technology, drama and play, can engage and motivate children in their ever-longer language learning journeys at school. This volume adds to the substantial body of authoritative literature on language teaching to children, and raises the professional status of an increasingly growing and important field to which, previously, little attention was given. I highly recommend this title to all involved in language teaching with children who want to widen their own horizons. * Gail Ellis, Adviser Young Learners and Quality, British Council, France * As the need for research-based publications in teaching English to young learners (EYL) becomes ever stronger, this book could not be more timely. With its focus on school settings and its multi-disciplinary approach, it offers insights into aspects of EYL that are fundamental but often neglected such as intercultural learning, pre-primary English, the role of formulaic language and holistic learning. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in EYL in Europe and beyond. * Sue Garton, Director of Postgraduate Programmes in English School of Languages and Social Sciences, Aston University, UK * Teaching English to Young Learners is a very well-researched and highly readable book. This comprehensive collection of articles fosters international collaboration among leading academics and researchers involved in key fields of teaching English as a foreign language to young learners, which makes the publication attractive to a large readership worldwide. On the basis of current theories and empirical research, the authors discuss purposes, practices, competences, participants and contexts of foreign language teaching, learning and use. Key scholars with different areas of expertise provide latest ideas and innovative concepts on the topics. The focus is on linking theory and practice to transmit profound knowledge and introduce important teaching approaches to university students, university lecturers, experienced teachers and career starters. It is extraordinary useful for exam preparation on central young-learner topics such as task-based learning in the primary school, storytelling, vocabulary development, intercultural understanding in the primary school, CLIL scenarios with young learners, drama with children in the English language classroom and assessment. * Maria Eisenmann, Professor of English Foreign Language Teaching, Institute of Anglophone Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany * This is a wide-ranging and informative book which balances background research with practical ideas and teachers' experiences well. The excerpts from classroom interaction help provide a useful picture of classroom practice and illustrate the points made. * Ben Beaumont, Trinity College London, UK *