DEVELOPING FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH METHODS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEM Vol. 3 No. 6 (2025) 90 DEVELOPING FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH METHODS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Nazarova Gulbaxor Azimjon qizi UzSWLU, Associate Professor,PhD Allanazarova Gulperi UzSWLU,Student Annotation This article examines the importance of effective methods and approaches in teaching English to young learners in the context of globalization and the growing demand for foreign language proficiency in Uzbekistan. It emphasizes that children aged 5–7 possess strong memory and natural language acquisition abilities, which require age-appropriate, engaging, and interactive teaching strategies rather than traditional grammar-based instruction. The study highlights the crucial role of the teacher not only as a language instructor but also as a facilitator of creativity, critical thinking. Drawing on the views of foreign scholars such as Janice Bland and Dwi Warry Octaviana, the article underscores the value of children’s literature, storytelling, games, songs, and real-life contexts in language learning. It also references national educational reforms aimed at promoting foreign language learning in Uzbekistan. The article concludes that playful, student-centered, and innovative teaching methods significantly enhance children’s motivation, interest, and success in acquiring a second language. Key words: young learners, teaching English, foreign language learning, children’s literature, games and activities, teacher’s role, interactive methods, early language acquisition, Uzbekistan education reforms. Introduction In the current era of globalization, language is considered the most important means of communication. The earlier the language is taught to young learners, the stronger their learning skills become. In young people, the tendency to learn languages is SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEM Vol. 3 No. 6 (2025) 91 significantly higher than in adults. One of the main reasons for this is that children have a lot of time and a strong ability to memorize. Also, children aged 5-7 are not limited to simple understanding of words, but memorize them mechanically by deep assimilation. In this regard, there are their own methods and approaches to teaching children a foreign language. It should be noted that the teacher's role plays an important role in this. Its task is also to discover complex and interesting approaches that form a second language in the student, effectively influencing its development. In recent years, the demand for foreign languages has been growing day by day. Forming a foreign language as a second language in a child is, of course, more difficult than teaching their native language. Therefore, the teacher must take a special approach to this. In the current technological era, all conveniences are being created. In paragraph 1 of the Law of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated May 19, 2021 No. PP-5117 "On Measures to Raise the Activities on Popularizing the Study of Foreign Languages in the Republic of Uzbekistan to a Qualitatively New Level," it is stated: "Creating the necessary conditions for popularizing the study of foreign languages among the population and their perfect mastery, coordinating the implementation of internationally recognized programs and textbooks for teaching foreign languages at all levels of education, as well as developing modern teaching skills for teachers..." It was also instructed to create a special structure - the Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Language Learning - to conduct a unified state policy in this area. As can be seen from this, the importance of learning English in Uzbekistan is currently increasing compared to before. Many English language specialists are implementing the methods and manuals necessary for teaching English. Because through the use of traditional methods, one can see a decrease in the student's desire to learn the language. Taking this into account, a large number of private and specialized schools are being created recently. If we compare them with ordinary schools, they pay special attention to each student and approach them according to their level.If young children are given videos and stories containing words that are much more difficult SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEM Vol. 3 No. 6 (2025) 92 for their age and approached more easily compared to students in grades 7-8, of course, the child's interest will begin to weaken and it may lead to teachers losing respect in front of the students. Therefore, materials prepared according to the learner's age, interests, abilities, and how well they master the lessons will certainly be effective. Let's consider the opinions of foreign writers on this topic. Janice Bland, a British scholar and methodologist, a well-known specialist in the field of teaching English to young learners, put forward the following ideas in her scientific article "Teaching English to young learners: More teacher education and more children's Literature!":"The role of the teacher in educating young people is important. Teachers are not only language instructors, but also assistants in multiliteracy and critical thinking. Through carefully planned stories and interactive activities, teachers can offer young learners a meaningful learning experience beyond just language skills. Unfortunately, many teachers around the world do not have sufficient educational and institutional support. In some countries, teacher education is outdated or insufficient, and school culture sometimes undervalues English lessons, which further complicates the teacher's work.The article also describes the lack of attention to children's literature and the limited time allocated for studying it. If they are not supplemented by extracurricular activities such as watching movies or playing video games in English, this can hinder their language development."[2] Let's take another article on the same topic. From the article of Indonesian scientist Dwi Warry Octaviana on this topic, we can understand the following: "The article provides detailed information that effective teaching of English to children should be based not on individual grammatical exercises, but on real-life contexts and familiar experiences. Children benefit from methods that make language learning both natural and memorable, such as storytelling, role-playing games, visual aids, songs, and games. These methods help not only to focus their attention, but also to form basic skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. He also strongly supports the idea that young learners acquire language indirectly, that is, they learn language patterns and SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEM Vol. 3 No. 6 (2025) 93 grammatical structures through repetitive influence, not through precise instruction. Teachers are encouraged to be flexible with children's interests and needs. Combining language learning with physical development through play and movement helps develop rough and subtle motor skills, which are also important for early literacy."[3] We can more agree with the first of the above statements.The reason is that the writer described several methods and skills about what are the negative aspects of continuing with grammar without using literature, about the role of the teacher in the life of the student, about offering children not only language skills, but also the joy of stories, intercultural understanding, and broad literacy. Basically, the common idea of these two people comes down to the use of active games during language learning. Games, in fact, are the product of fantasy. Teachers are to be very careful about choosing games if they want to make them profitable for the learning process. If games are to bring desirable results, they must correspond to either the student's level, age, or the material that is to be introduced or practiced. Not all games are appropriate for all children, irrespective of their age. Different age groups require various topics, materials, and models of games.For example, children benefit most from games which require moving around,imitating a model, competing between groups, and so on.[4] In conclusion, learning a second language is an interesting activity for children. Before teaching them, the teacher should know the characteristics of the students and the needs of the student. Only then can they develop teaching methods and techniques. Teaching them should be interesting and fun. If the teacher uses more colorful pictures, songs, and games, it will definitely be suitable for children. Then every teacher should be creative and always cheerful because they teach children, teach them new things. References: 1.O‘zbekiston Respublikasi Prezidenti. (2021, 19 may). O‘zbekiston Respublikasida xorijiy tillarni o‘rganishni ommalashtirish faoliyatini sifat jihatdan yangi bosqichga olib chiqish chora-tadbirlari to‘g‘risida [PQ-5117-sonli qaror]. Toshkent, SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEM Vol. 3 No. 6 (2025) 94 O‘zbekiston: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi Prezidenti huzuridagi Strategik va mintaqaviy tadqiqotlar markazi. https://tsuos.uz/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/PQ5117-Xorijiy-tillar.pdf 2.Bland J. (2015). Teaching English to Young Learners: Critical Issues in Language Teaching with 3-12 Year Olds. London: Bloomsbury Academic. 3.Octaviana, D. W. (2017). Teaching English to Young Learners. English Education: Journal of English Teaching and Research, 2(2), 124-133. https://doi.org/10.29407/jetar.v2i2.808 4. Khadjieva D., Djumamuratov K. Teaching Language skills through games. Manual. 2019, 22 p. 5. Fajarina, M. (2017). Mastering Teaching English for Young Learners. Wacana Didaktika, 5(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.31102/wacanadidaktika.5.01.1-11