TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS
AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE
Richard Johnstone
Hefei, October 2008
PERSPECTIVE & STRUCTURE OF TODAY’S TALK

Perspective
Mainly from published international research
 Policy contacts at national and international levels
 Also from visits to many countries


Structure
The context of ML at school
 Processes of ML Teaching & Learning
 Conclusion: What is successful ML teaching & learning?

A POLICY EXAMPLE: EC ACTION PLAN
Action Plan for the promotion of language learning
and linguistic diversity (2003) :

strongly recommends the teaching of modern languages to
young children from an early age, with a second AL introduced
by the end of PS education.
The Action Plan aims:
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to develop their proficiency in languages
to help them acquire a wider sense of belonging, citizenship
and community, and
to develop a clearer understanding of their opportunities,
rights and responsibilities as mobile citizens of a multilingual
Europe.
FACTORS & OUTCOMES
Societal
Personal
Desirable
Outcomes
Provision
Learner
Process
Group
Early Language Learning: DESIRABLE OUTCOMES?
For society
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Openness
Competitiveness
Mobility
Revitalising a threatened
language
….. Other?
For the child
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Multilingual proficiency
Development of the self

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Social / Personal /
Cognitive / Linguistic …..
Career /Higher Education
Global citizenship &
mobility ……
Other? …..
THREE MODELS
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Bilingual Education
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MLPS / FLES – Dominant model across the world
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Early total or partial immersion
High in ‘time’ & ‘intensity’
Teachers have to be highly proficient in AL
Drip-feed, i.e. much smaller time allocation
May be separate subject or ‘embedded’
A number of possible starting-ages
Language Awareness

Introduce children to a variety of languages & cultures
MLPS / FLES: RESEARCH EVIDENCE ON OUTCOMES

Evidence comes in part from two European
Commission reviews, covering 200+ research
reports
Can promote very favourable attitudes
 Can promote some degree of language awareness
 Only limited evidence of development of spontaneous
creative proficiency in the Additional Language
 Much evidence of prefabricated chunks, whether phrases or
learnt-by-heart stories
 If ‘continuity’ into secondary not established, benefits may
seem to disappear
 Importance of ‘sustainability’ over time, beyond favourable
initial pilot stage

What JHS teacher may find in pupils coming from PS
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Substantial differences
in
ML capabilities as
developed at primary
school
motivation for ML learning
self-perception and selfconfidence
degree of literacy in
Chinese
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general cognitive abilities
parental support
their socio-economic
background
the quality of what has
been provided at PS
their first-language
background
perceived value of learning
a ML in the part of China
where they live
PUPIL TRANSITION PRIMARY TO SECONDARY

It works well when between teachers across the
two sectors (PS-SS) there is:
exchange of information and support
 reciprocal visits
 collaborative planning
 mutual esteem


Large-scale project in NSW Australia: Chesterton et al
(2004)
 Joint planning by teachers covering 3 years at PS and 2
years at SS
CONDITIONS FOR MOVING ML AT SCHOOL FORWARD (LARGE SCALE)
Societal factors

Political will for legitimisation,
funding & sustainability
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Parental involvement
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Local community involvement
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Exploiting the new
technologies
Provision factors
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CPD support for practising
teachers
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Technology & materials
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Funding for research
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Attitudes to AL learning
Attitudes to particular
languages & cultural groups
Supply of teachers
Strong links between PS and
SS
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‘Time’ and ‘Intensity’
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Supportive school ethos
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Links with schools (abroad)
CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS - EXAMPLE

Djigunovich and Vilke (2000) identify key
conditions for success in their project:
 Children
beginning early (aged 6)
 45 minutes per day for five days per week
 class size of 15 for languages
 early incorporation of grammatical concepts after
these are firmly established in first language
(Croatian)
 emotional warmth, intellectual challenge
 all four skills introduced early
 teachers who possessed a fluent command of the
language and a good pronunciation and intonation.
2/B

CROATIA: OUTCOMES
In Years 1 & 2:
 much
active learning through the target language
 children systematically introduced to concepts about
language through their first language (Croatian)

From Year 3 onwards:
 these
concepts systematically transferred into their
learning of F, G, I or E, this achieved through the target
language

By the end of Year 4:
 the
children could ‘talk about language’ in the Target
Language and were accurate and creative in their
writing.
CROATIA: MOTIVATION
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A longitudinal study of the same children’s
motivation
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showed it was equally high in Years 1 and 3
but its nature had changed considerably
from ‘motivation by fun’
to ‘motivation because I’m a successful language
learner’
BECOMING CREATIVE AND ACCURATE
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o
o
o
o
How to help learners become both creative and
accurate in their spontaneous spoken output?
Lyster (2004) studied ‘form-focused instruction’ (FFI) and
‘corrective feedback’ (CF) with Grade 5 children.
FFI and CF were found to be more successful than an
approach based on no-FFI and no-CF.
He also found it useful to encourage pupils in ‘noticing’
particular formal features of the target language
This helped them develop an awareness of language
and to refine their internalised language systems as
they progressed
EARLY READING

Mertens (2003) found that children in Grade 1
learning French
 benefited
from being introduced to written French
immediately
 showed results superior to those in purely oral
approaches

Vickov (2007) claims that children at Grade 1 in
Croatia were
 not
disadvantaged in their writing in Croatian by being
introduced to writing in English.
EARLY READING

Dlugosz (2000) found that the introduction of
reading in the foreign language at kindergarten
 even
when reading in the first language was also only
just starting
 helped speed the process of understanding and
speaking the foreign language.
KEEPING A PORTFOLIO
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Short statements of what learners think they can do
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I can explain … a game, a recipe, how to make
something
I can narrate/tell … an experience, a story, a film
I can say … what I like/dislike, and explain why
I can speak/talk about … my friends, family
I can read … an illustrated children’s book
I can find … in a text what I am looking for
Personal diary of occasions outside school when the learner
used the target language
Brief discussion of language-learning problems
encountered, and of solutions which the learner has found
….. Other?
PROCESSES: PEER-TUTORING

Xu, Gelper & Perkins (2005) studied class-wide
peer-tutoring (CWPT)
 Children
at elementary school Grade 2 in the United
States
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Regular instances of:
 cooperative
play
 reciprocal initiation & response.
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The researchers concluded that:
 CWPT
had significantly helped the children in their
social behaviour.
BRIEF DISCUSSION TASK

With 1-3 colleagues who are sitting beside you,
please discuss:
In what ways do young learners have an advantage over
older learners in learning a modern language?
 In what ways do older learners have an advantage over
younger learners?

YOUNGER & OLDER LEARNERS COMPARED
Younger learners
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Sound system
Less ‘language anxious’
More time available overall
Productive links between first and
additional languages
Range of acquisition and
learning processes over time, can
complement each other
Positive influence on children’s
general development: cognitive,
linguistic and literacy, emotional,
cultural.
Older learners
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Make use of existing conceptual
map of the world
Experienced in discourse, e.g.
manage conversations and
obtain feedback
Wider range of strategies, e.g.
note-taking; summarising;
reference materials;
Sense of WHY, WHAT and
HOW, to guide their learning
CHILDREN’S MOTIVATION: ACTIVITIES

Wu (2003) studied children aged 5 learning English
primary school in Hong Kong, monolingual Cantonese
 classroom activities which fostered intrinsic motivation
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These included
a predictable learning environment,
 moderately challenging tasks,
 necessary instructional support,
 evaluation that emphasises self-Improvement
 attribution of success or failure to variables that the
learner can do something about.
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CHILDREN’S INTRINSIC MOTIVATION: DEVELOPMENT
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Nikolov (1999) followed three cohorts of children
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It was found that
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for eight years, taught by the same teacher.
learners’ motivation could be maintained by intrinsically
interesting and cognitively challenging tasks
Intrinsic motivation
Initially associated with ‘fun’ activity
 Then becomes linked to ‘curiosity’ and ‘challenge’
 Then becomes associated with perception of self as
successful language learner
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PROGRESSION: UPS & DOWNS
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Mitchell (2003) claims that second language learning is
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not like climbing a ladder; but is
a complex and recursive process with multiple interconnections
and backslidings, and
complex trade-offs between advances in fluency, accuracy and
complexity.
Pelzer-Karpf & Zangl (1997) found that children’s
utterances seemed impressive in Years 1&2
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but then in Year 3 went through a phase of ‘Systemturbulenz’ in
which their grammar control seemed to fall apart
but eventually by Year 4 it sorted itself out.
PROCESSES: COMPUTER-MEDIATED
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Nutta et al (2002) compared
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The computer-enhanced group:
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a conventional text-based approach with a computer-enhanced
multimedia approach, pupils Grades 2-5 in a USA elementary
school.
more interactive
greater access to immediate feedback
more precise in pronunciation
smoother flow of reading
produced larger chunks of language.
Concluded that:
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ICT can help younger learners in integrating their languages skills
and in developing important strategies of monitoring.
CREATING A REAL + VIRTUAL COMMUNITY
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Partners in Excellence project
Scotland: 29 secondary schools
 Government scheme: special funding to develop excellence
 Ran for six years
 Funding also for independent evaluation
 Report will be published by the end of 2008 (Scottish CILT
web-site)
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PARTNERS IN EXCELLENCE: KEY DATA
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Main activities included
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Residential weekends where pupils made up their own dramas and
also learned how to make digitised films of the dramas they had
written and acted out (full costume)
Project web-site which included special evening surgery sessions at
which student from and of the 29 schools could ask questions which
would be answered by an ‘on duty’ teacher from one of the 29 schools.
Real visits and regular electronic links to schools in France, German
and Spain
Annual special dinner attended by 200+ students, parents, local and
national politicians, education officials and the press, at which the
students’ video-dramas were shown on-screen and ‘Oscar’ awards were
presented.
PARTNERS IN EXCELLENCE: OUTCOMES
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Higher level of performance in national examinations
Higher uptake of foreign language learning in final years of
secondary education
Stronger motivation for maintaining study and use of their
foreign language
New sense of identity as a member of three interlocking
communities:
Students
The
student’s
school
in 29 PiE
schools
Partner
schools
abroad
DISCUSSION TASK

Working with 1-3 colleagues sitting beside you,
please briefly discuss what seem to be key qualities
of:
A
successful modern language teacher
 A successful modern language learner.
SUCCESSFUL ML TEACHING
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Seeking to develop not only ML proficiency but also broader aims,
e.g. citizenship, intercultural learning, social skills
Planning long-term for sustainability, as well as short-term for
immediate success
Consulting colleagues, parents and pupils
Helping pupils understand the rich diversity of human language and
the immense potential that each of us possesses
Providing a clear example to pupils of oneself as an enthusiastic,
though by no means perfect, ML learner and user
Encouraging learners to be strategic and reflective, to engage in
self-assessment and self-monitoring
SUCCESSFUL ML TEACHING
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Providing encouragement, sustained and varied input, interaction,
feedback, a supportive learning environment and guidance
U
• nderstanding that true progression in a language is not based on
the ‘ladder’ model but is a more complex and recursive process.
Building on children’s first language, whatever that may, be and
promoting ‘one plurilingual competence’
P• roviding open-ended questions and stimuli, encouraging children to
be free and creative.
Encouraging learners to derive motivation from feelings of pleasure
and success in what they are attempting to do
CONCLUSION: SUCCESSFUL TEACHER
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• elping learners understand the structure of different kinds of
H
discourse, e.g. conversations, stories, reports, essays, letters …
Helping learners develop skills of predicting, guessing and making
inferences
Providing a challenge which stimulates pupils’ interest and curiosity
•
E• nsuring corrective as well as positive feedback, while ensuring that
this does not undermine confidence or self-esteem
Collaborating and joint planning with other colleagues in the school
and with teachers from the other sector
Adopting an inclusive approach, bringing encouragement, emotional
warmth appropriate support to all pupils
….. Other?
CONCLUSION: SUCCESSFUL LEARNER
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Plans, practices, revises
Reviews, Self-assesses
Processes input, e.g. notices,
guesses, infers, predicts
Seeks opportunities to use the TL
‘for real’
Seeks feedback: - as well as +
Relates learning & use of ML to
learning of other things
Uses reference material
appropriately
Engages in positive attributions
Interacts and negotiates
meaning, e.g. probes, seeks
clarification
Offers help, seeks help
Takes personal responsibility
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Is aware of and manages
different types of discourse
Produces spontaneous as well as
non-spontaneous output
Focuses on form as well as on
meaning, at different times
Controls anxiety and uses this
productively
Feels confident, self-efficacious
Seeks underlying pattern
Pays attention, focuses attention,
sustains attention
Develops strategies, uses these
and reflects on / revises them
Self-motivates, self-rewards, is
curious and seeks challenges
…… Other?
REFERENCES:
All references in this PP are to be found in:
Chesterton, P., Steigler-Peters, S., Moran, W. & Piccioli, M. T. (2004). Developing sustainable
language learning pathways: an Australian initiative. Language, Culture & Curriculum, 17, 1,
48-57
Edelenbos, P., Johnstone R. M. & Kubanek, A. (2006). The main pedagogical principles underlying
the teaching of languages to very young learners. Languages for the children of Europe:
Published Research, Good Practice & Main Principles. Brussels, European Commission.
http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/doc/young_en.pdf
Johnstone, R. M. (2001) Addressing 'the age factor': some implications for languages policy. Guide
for the development of Language Education Policies in Europe - From Linguistic Diversity to
Plurilingual Education. Strasbourg, Council of Europe Reference Study
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/JohnstoneEN.pdf
And finally:
謝謝!