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ERIC Number: EJ1365878
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0790-8318
EISSN: EISSN-1747-7573
The Effects of Foreign Language Programmes in Early Childhood Education and Care: A Systematic Review
Thieme, Anne-Mieke M. M.; Hanekamp, Kyra; Andringa, Sible; Verhagen, Josje; Kuiken, Folkert
Language, Culture and Curriculum, v35 n3 p334-351 2022
This systematic review investigates the effects of foreign language programmes in early childhood education and care (ECEC), which are increasingly popular. Foreign language ECEC centres familiarise very young children with a foreign language, and in general also expose them to the majority language. This review synthesises research on the effects of foreign language ECEC on children's development of the foreign language, majority language, first language, and wellbeing, as well as programme-related and child-related factors that influence language development and wellbeing. The reviewed studies indicate that foreign language ECEC fosters foreign language development, without negatively impacting the majority and first language. Children can experience positive wellbeing in these programmes, but only if programmes are play-based and if the language policy is not too strict. Some studies report that programme characteristics, such as input quantity, language policy, and teacher strategies, modulate the effects of foreign language ECEC on language development and wellbeing. Few of the reviewed studies examined child characteristics, but the available findings indicate that children's age, as well as their temperament and in-class behaviour, are related to foreign language learning. However, these findings need to be interpreted with caution, because research into foreign language ECEC is still in its infancy.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A