Teaching EFL to young learners

1 Chapter 5 TEACHING EFL TO YOUNG LEARNERS Agurtzane Azkarai Rhonda Oliver Introduction Worldwide there are more and more people from non-English speaking background countries wishing to learn English as a Foreign Language (EFL). This is due to globalisation where there is an increasing and widespread demand for English to be used as the main foreign language for communication, particularly in business, but also for educational purposes. In response to this, many public and private international education institutions and schools around the world have begun to focus their attention on teaching English. As a result many teachers from countries where English is the national language, such as Australia, are being employed as EFL teachers. Although teachers from English speaking countries may be familiar with teaching English as a Second Language or as an additional language or dialect (ESL/EALD) (a process that has been described in Chapters 2 and 3), EFL teaching though similar, is also different in some ways. In EFL settings learners only receive a few hours of instruction in English, while in most ESL settings the whole instruction is in English. Moreover, EFL learners have little opportunities to practice English outside the classroom, while ESL learners are exposed to English on a daily basis and outside the classroom. These differences are one focus of this chapter. There are also particular needs to be addressed when the learners are children. These are the other focuses of this chapter which outlines teaching young learners in EFL settings. In this chapter we begin by exploring some of the differences between EFL settings and other language learning contexts. We follow this with an explanation about young learners, and we continue by focusing on the role and main concerns for EFL teachers. In this chapter, because of their utility in EFL classrooms, we also focus on collaborative tasks, providing a number of examples of these and other on-line resources that EFL teachers can use. Given the context of EFL teaching we also describe the potential role of the L1 in the classroom. In addition, we look at young learners' perspectives about EFL learning. Finally, we discuss assessment practices and resources related to this part of our teaching. EFL settings One of the key differences between learning English in a second (or additional) language setting and learning it in a foreign language context is that the learners do not have the same opportunity "This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in Teaching Young Second Language Learners: Practices in Different Classroom Contexts (ISBN: 9781315149813) eBook Published 13 June 2018, available online https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315149813.” “It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.” 2 to encounter and to interact in English, especially outside the classroom. What this means is that EFL learners cannot practice English in the same ways or to the same extent as do EAL/D learners. However, we need to acknowledge that there is now a greater level of access to English input via TV shows, videos, podcasts and books, many of which are available on the Internet. These are resources that EFL teachers should use and we also discuss this later in this chapter. However, even though such exposure to a foreign language can assist young language learners (Enever, 2011), it is still not the same as being able to regularly interact in the target language (Note: we use the word interact because as we discussed in Chapter 1 we believe just being exposed to input – hearing it spoken or seeing it written - is not sufficient on its own). Because of this lack of opportunity for interaction you will find many EFL learners who, despite a long term exposure to English, do not necessarily have high levels of proficiency in that language. It is for this reason that many scholars now argue that it is not just the amount of English instruction that is important, it is the quality of the input and interaction that determines language learning achievement (García Mayo & García Lecumberri, 2003; Muñoz, 2007; Nikolov & Mihaljević Djigunović, 2011). For example, where children have parents who know and use an additional language – such as English – this will have a positive impact on their language learning. Also, by using the target language with family members, children will gain confidence in interacting with others. They may also be better equipped to notice when that language is being used in their wider community (Enever, 2011). However, not all children are in such a fortunate position and so the task of supporting their students largely rests with EFL teachers. Given how important this is, it is clear that these teachers have a key role to play. They need to create situations for learners to hear, see, read and write English, and to provide the type of model of English that will support their learners' English acquisition. This is something we will return to later in this chapter. One of the main difficulties for EFL teachers of young learners is that in many countries English is not the language of instruction in schools. English is just one other subject in an often crowded curriculum. This means that their learners will receive only a few hours of instruction in English – somewhere between three and five hours per week, depending on the school and program (Nikolov & Mihaljević Djigunović, 2011; Edelenbos, Johnstone, & Kubanek, 2007). This presents considerable challenges for teachers and learners alike. In this chapter we will examine some ways to best utilise this time and also to maximise the benefits of the teaching and learning that does occur in EFL contexts. 3 Case study Sophie is 6 years old and has recently started primary school in France. When she was in preschool English was not part of the formal curriculum, but her teacher taught the class some songs in English, and she enjoyed this very much. This year, however, Sophie's English language instruction is more formal. She participates in an English class every week and will do so for the whole school year. Initially Sophie was excited about the opportunity to learn new English songs, but she has been disappointed because her English teacher mostly focuses on teaching the class grammar and vocabulary, and like most of her peers, Sophie does do not really enjoy this. Fortunately, the teacher knows how much they enjoy singing and playing different games so sometimes she complements her more formal teaching approach with some fun interactional activities. These activities include singing, and doing simple barrier-games. (Note: We describe different types of barrier games later in this chapter). Young EFL learners It is not uncommon to hear people say things like “children do so well learning another language” and, as we indicated in Chapter 1 of this book, young L2 learners do have some advantages. They have particular characteristics, such as the plasticity of their brains, and ways of doing things – such as learning through play and learning implicitly - that can contribute to their successful L2 learning (Abrahamsson & Hyltenstam, 2008; Bialystok & Miller, 1999; Birdsong, 2005; Jia & Aaronson, 2003). Previous research actually suggests that the earlier we begin learning another language, the better (e.g., Long, 1990, 2013). This recommendation has been taken up in places such as Europe and parts of Asia where many children have begun learning a foreign language, usually English, by the age of nine. In fact, in some schools foreign languages are even being introduced to pre-school learners (Enever, 2011). However, whilst age is one important factor for language learning success, the teaching practices and the learning programs that are used are also crucial factors (Nikolov, 2000; Singleton, 2014). In the case study above we can see how Sophie’s enjoyment for English language learning diminishes because of the formal approach that is used once she commences primary school. Although the teacher attempts to make the classes more motivating by using more engaging activities, these are supplementary rather than being the core approach. It is important that EFL teachers need to carefully consider what they do and how best to suit the needs of their young learners. 4 Focus question Given that there are only a few hours available for teaching English in the EFL classroom, and taking into account what you have read in the previous chapters, what aspects of the language do you think are the most important for young EFL students to learn first? The EFL teacher As we have indicated, teachers play a crucial role in the process of learning. This is true in all subject areas, but it is particularly the case in EFL settings as they are the main source of input for the learners and also create those circumstances that we know facilitate language learning (i.e., opportunities to interact, to produce output, and to get feedback on their attempts). The EFL context means that the quality of the teaching significantly impacts on the learning that occurs in the classroom. Consider for the following case studies as an example of this: Case studies of two teachers' results At a Spanish school there are two different groups of English learners. All began learning English at the same age (5 years old). Group A is older – they are in grade 6 (11-12 years old), whereas Group B is in grade 3 (8-9 years old). Both groups of students have received 3 hours of instruction in English per week since they were aged 5, but of course Group A has received 3 years more instruction. The teacher of group A obtained his degree in English Studies from a Spanish University twentytwo years ago. During his final year of university he studied in the UK, but he has never worked in any English speaking country ever again as he obtained a permanent position at the school shortly after he graduated. Over the years he has holidayed briefly for a few times in several Englishspeaking countries with his Spanish speaking wife. His colleagues describe him as being ‘unmotivated’ as he does not participate in any professional development related to teaching, nor does he make any formal attempts to work on this English proficiency. Furthermore, his teaching practices have remained unchanged over the years. The teacher of Group B has not taught for as long as Teacher A. She received a degree in English Studies from a university in Spain 5 years ago, and worked in the USA as a teacher for a year after graduating. Since the beginning of her university studies, she has been travelling every summer to the UK and Ireland as a coordinator of study abroad programmes for children aged between 12 to 18 years. At the moment, as well as teaching, she is also working on her M.A. in Translation Studies. She is constantly working to improve her English proficiency, making use of any formal 5 and informal opportunities to practice. She also works hard to select or to design teaching activities that engage her students productively in using English class. At the end of the academic year the school carried out an English assessment test for these two groups. Despite Group A having three more years of exposure in English than Group B, the result was that the proficiency level of the two groups was the same: low-intermediate. Why do you think that they have achieved the same level of proficiency in English despite the different amount of instruction they had received? Do you think it is only the impact of the teachers or are there other factors that might have influenced this result? Clearly teachers' experience and personal language proficiency can bring a lot to the task of teaching EFL because overall they are responsible for what happens in the classroom (Butler, 2004). Also the way they create learning opportunities will help (or sadly sometimes hinder) their learners to maintain a positive attitude towards the language they are learning. What they do in class may also support EFL children’s willingness to communicate and to keep their motivation high. This is achieved by creating lessons that are enjoyable and challenging, but also ones that maintain the children's interest. It is not surprising that some see EFL teachers as being more like caretakers than educators (Nikolov, 2008; Nikolov & Milhaljević Djigunović, 2011). However, it is important to acknowledge that teaching expectations and methods differ according to the context. For example, in some countries what happens in public primary schools will be very different from what is done in private language centres. In some contexts EFL teachers will need to strictly follow the national curriculum, they may also be expected to teach in particular ways and to focus on particular aspects. In some settings teachers may have to deal with children whose behaviour is very disruptive. In some schools the majority of English teachers are native speakers, whereas in other contexts the proficiency of the English teachers may be quite low. In addition, what the learners bring to the context may also differ quite significantly and together all these factors will affect the outcomes. Regardless of context, foreign language learning (like all learning), is socially constructed. EFL learners need to interact with other more able language users in order to develop their language proficiency. Because of the context of EFL learning where there is a diminished opportunity for interaction with others outside the classroom, the teacher takes the role of being the more expert language user. The teacher also has the main responsibility for scaffolding the children's language use (as we described in Chapter 1) although, as we will show later in this chapter, peer interaction is also a useful context for scaffolding and for other aspects of interaction that support language learning. 6 As we have indicated, however, in most EFL contexts teaching and learning need to occur in just a few short hours. It is for this reason that some schools have turned to alternative approaches to instruction, such as bilingual, immersion or Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approaches (see Chapter 7 for a description of the latter approach). Yet, using alternative approaches to traditional EFL teaching is not always possible, nor supported for various reasons. One issue related to this and one that has been identified in various settings is that not all EFL teachers have an adequate level of English proficiency (Enever, 2011; Inbar-Lourie, 2010; Johnstone, 2009). As we mentioned earlier this has led to the growing demand for overseas teachers who have English as their L1. A further problem is the lack of training in language education many teachers receive. Together this means that there are insufficient well-trained and highly proficient language professionals for all the schools wishing to teach English to their students (Enever, 2011). Even the regulations used for the selection of EFL teachers (i.e., according to their English proficiency) is somewhat inconsistent. In some schools teachers are required to have proficiency at an appropriate level (C1) as encompassed within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe, 2001). However, even this is changeable and other schools accept a lower level (e.g., a B1 level). In other countries other measures are used to determine if someone is suitable for teaching English (e.g., completing a degree with an English major – regardless of proficiency level). The challenge for EFL teachers is that they should not only be proficient in the language they are teaching, but also in the students' L1 (Nikolov & Milhaljević Djigunović, 2011). To ensure their program is relevant and at a cognitive level appropriate for their students, EFL teachers also need to be familiar with the content and methodology of the general teaching program, as well as being expert in language teaching methodology (Nikolov & Milhaljević Djigunović, 2011). EFL teachers face additional challenges, too, such as limited resources, especially in regional and remote areas (Enever, 2011). This requires teachers to be somewhat creative in the activities they design for their learners. Despite these obstacles, recent research suggests there is the potential in EFL classes to employ the type of collaborative tasks that are known to promote language learning, even when the learners are young. We discuss these next. Collaborative tasks for EFL teaching In Chapter 2 we saw how, over the last 20 years or so, language teaching has moved from a communicative approach to one that is task-based (i.e., TBLT). TBLT is a meaning-focused methodology in which students are meant to produce language while engaging in real-world activities or tasks (Skehan, 1998). A key part of this methodology involves the use of collaborative 7 tasks which are those pedagogical activities requiring learners to use language meaningfully to achieve a particular goal (Bygate et al., 2001, p.11). Although the uptake of this approach in many EFL contexts has lagged behind what has happened in EAL/D classes, because tasks provide learners with many opportunities for language learning (e.g., Azkarai & Imaz Agirre, 2016; Butler & Zeng, 2014, 2015; García Mayo & Lázaro Ibarrola, 2015; Pinter, 2006) this is beginning to change. Today many teachers are coming to recognise that collaborative tasks are especially beneficial in EFL classrooms. As examples of collaborative tasks have already been described in Chapter 2, in this chapter we will focus on how these tasks can help EFL learners and what things teachers should consider if they are to use them for their teaching. To begin here is a list of five different types of tasks that have been classified according to who holds and who seeks the information during the interactional exchanges (Pica, Kanagy, & Falodun, 1993, pp. 20-23). Types of collaborative tasks Jigsaw task Each participant has part of the information necessary to complete the task. In order to complete the task, the two participants have to exchange this information, and they have to reach a single outcome. Informationgap task In this task only one participant holds the information necessary to complete the task, and the other participant requests the informati on from the information holder. This task also requires a single outcome. Problemsolving task It is oriented towards a single outcome, but information does not need to be exchanged to complete the task. Decisionmaking task Although this task is oriented towards a single outcome, different solutions are also acceptable, but again an exchange of information is not necessary in order to complete the task. Opinionexchange task Learners should engage in discussion and the exchange of ideas, but once more an exchange of information is not necessary and there is not one single outcome. Generally jigsaw and information-gap tasks (or barrier games) have been claimed to be more useful for L2 learning. This is because they encourage learners to engage in meaningful communication, providing more opportunities for learners to provide and to receive input, output and feedback. 8 Example of an information-gap task This activity is taken from Azkarai and Imaz Agirre (2016) where children work in pairs on a guessing game. This activity is a one-way repeated information-gap task because the role of the ‘information seeker’ and ‘information holder’ changes. First, one member of the pair is the ‘information holder’ and receives a card with the picture of an object on it and the other learner has to guess what the object is. Once the ‘information seeker’ has correctly guessed the item on the card the roles are reversed. This activity is ideal for young EFL learners - they consider it a game rather than a task and have fun playing it with friends. In this sense, the guessing game keeps learners' motivation high and provides them with a wide array of opportunities to focus on language. Here there is an example of the type of language that EFL learners aged 9-10 produced as they completed this task (example taken from Azkarai and Imaz Agirre's (2016) database). Student A Student B 1 It does have-it does an animal? 2 Yes, is an animal. 3 Eh… eh… what he has? 4 Eh… A tail. He has a tail. But the tail is redonda, con giros [round, curly]. 5 Ah… eh... is-what color is? 6 Eh… pink. 7 Pink? 8 Yes. 9 Who… 10 Pero tienes que preguntar todas. ¡Corre, pregunta todas, si la sabes! ¡Pregunta! [But you have to ask all of them. Come on, ask all of them, you already know them! Ask!] 11 What… how many patas [legs] he has? 12 Four. 13 Eh… eh… how many, eh… where he lives? 14 In farmer. 15 In a farm? 16 Yes. 17 Eh… eh… why? Why he lives in there? 18 What? 19 Why he lives in there? 20 Because the farmer eh… there alimented [feed] and there eh… matar [kill]. 21 Ok. 22 Matar [Kill] to… 23 Kill. 24 ...to have-to has ham. 25 When... 9 26 ¿Me has preguntado todas? [Did you ask me all of them?] 27 No. 28 ¡Pues pregunta! Que creo que ya lo sabrás, seguramente. [Then ask! Although I bet you already know it.] 29 How it can-it has-it has, eh… lana [wool]? 30 What? 31 Lan [wool]? 32 ¿Qué? ¿Lana? [What? Wool?] 33 Yes. 34 No. 35 What-what animal die to have ham. Ham. Ham. 36 Ham. Eh… pavo [turkey]. 37 What? 38 Pavo [turkey]. 39 No! 40 Pig! A pig! 41 Yes! You can see from this transcript how this information-gap task promotes meaningful use of language: it allowed the learners to get input from each other (e.g., lines 14-15), to push their own output (e.g., lines 35-40) and to provide and to receive feedback. The task also provided opportunities for scaffolding (e.g., lines 17-23) allowing learners to be able to achieve more together than could on their own. Clearly collaborative tasks are very beneficial. Whilst there are now lots of commercial products available, EFL teachers can also use practical resources -tasks based in everyday activitiesto create their own. For example, menus or recipes can be used for information-gap tasks. Matrix activities (shown below) can be easily constructed as either information-gap or jigsaw tasks and be used by learners to explore a variety of concepts (e.g., animals and their characteristics, numbers and colours, rooms and furniture, people and their clothing, etc.). Picture placement tasks can be used for mathematics or science concepts (e.g., shapes and angles, living and non-living things). In fact, almost all skills and content from different subject areas can be modified as collaboration tasks (e.g., measuring and graphing activities from mathematics, mapping and timeline activities from social sciences, arranging pictures showing the life cycle of different plants and animals from science). How this might be done with a matrix activity and science concepts is demonstrated below: 16 In addition, portfolios can be used both as a beneficial assessment practice (Nikolov, 2016), and also as a way to provide information to students and their parents about what has been achieved. Although collating the material for these requires some extra work (Little, 2007), it is a concrete way to demonstrate learner progress (Venn, 2000). Portfolio-assessment can be combined with the self-evaluation method outlined above, and in this way helps them to reflect on their own learning process. As Butler and Lee (2010, p. 25) suggest doing this can “help students understand the goals of tasks, reflect on what they have achieved with reference to such goals, and figure out what it will take to finally reach their goals". As well as these teacher developed and class based assessments, there are also several online resources that can be used: • Cambridge Young Learners English Tests: www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/young-learners • City & Guilds ESOL for Young Learners: www.cityandguilds.com • Pearson Test of English Young Learners: www.pearsonpte.com/PTEYoungLearners • TOEFL Primary: www.ets.org/toefl_primary The levels covered in the majority of these tests are A1 and A2 of the CEFR (Council of Europe, 2001). These tests encompass aural, oral and literacy skills and offer a general overview of learners' capability in EFL overall. However, there is little research on the potential benefits of these tests for the classroom and how they may help (or not!) to develop learner language proficiency (see Beningno & de Jong, 2016; Hsieh, 2016; Papp & Walczak, 2016). Conclusion As we indicated, one of the main difficulties for EFL programs is the learners' low exposure to the target language and the limited time devoted to teaching the language. As we suggested at the beginning of this chapter, to address this CLIL programs are increasingly being used (again see Chapter 7). EFL teachers in some contexts may also struggle because of their limited access to necessary materials and resources. When available, technology does provide some useful resources to overcome these practical issues and, as we described at length, using collaborative tasks is perhaps one of the more effective ways to address the needs of young EFL learners. However, it is recommendable to seek up to date materials, as resources are rapidly developing. There are also various international projects and exchange programs that provide additional opportunities for EFL teachers and their learners (Enever, 2011). Finally, the following resources may also be helpful to EFL teachers: 17 Useful handbooks for EFL teachers This is a short selection of handbooks for teachers of foreign languages to young learners. • Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. In this book Cameron presents theoretical and practical principles about teaching languages to young learners. • Enever, J. (Ed.). (2011). ELLiE. Early language learning in Europe. London, UK: British Council. This is a project carried out by several researchers in Europe in different countries where English is taught as a foreign language. The project presents experimental data and resources for teachers, as well as young learners' attitudes towards foreign language learning. • Nikolov, M., Mihaljević Djigunović, J., Mattheoudakis, M., Lundberg, G., & Flanagan, T. (Eds.). (2007). Teaching modern languages to young learners: Teachers, curricula and materials. Strasbourg, France: Council of Europe. This edited book is a collection of studies that focuses on language teachers of primary schools, on curricula and syllabi and on teaching materials and different teaching methodologies. • Rich, S. (2014). International perspectives on teaching English to young learners. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. This edited volume presents a collection of studies that focus on research and practice of teaching English to young learners. References Abrahamsson, N., & Hyltenstam, K. (2008). The robustness of aptitude effects in near-native second language acquisition, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30(4), 481-509. doi: 10.1017/S027226310808073X Alley, D.C. (2005). A study of Spanish II high school students’ discourse during group work. Foreign Language Annals, 38(2), 250-257. doi: 10.1111/j.1944-9720.2005.tb02489.x Antón, M., & DiCamilla, F.J. (1998). Socio-cognitive functions of L1 collaborative interaction in the L2 classroom. 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