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Teaching EFL to young learners

Author: Azcaray Garay, Agurtzane,Oliver, Rhonda
Publisher: Routledge, Taylor & Francis
Year: 2018
DOI: 10.4324/9781315149813-5
Source: https://addi.ehu.eus/bitstream/10810/64866/4/Azkarai%20y%20Oliver%20%282018%29%20ROUTLEDGE.pdf
1
Chap e 5
TEACHING EFL TO YOUNG LEARNERS
Agu zane Azka ai
Rhonda Oli e
In oduc ion
Wo ldwide he e a e mo e and mo e people om non-English speaking backg ound coun ies
wishing o lea n English as a Fo eign Language (EFL). This is due o globalisa ion whe e he e is
an inc easing and widesp ead demand o English o be used as he main o eign language o
communica ion, pa icula ly in business, bu also o educa ional pu poses. In esponse o his,
many public and p i a e in e na ional educa ion ins i u ions and schools a ound he wo ld ha e
begun o ocus hei a en ion on eaching English. As a esul many eache s om coun ies whe e
English is he na ional language, such as Aus alia, a e being employed as EFL eache s. Al hough
eache s om English speaking coun ies may be amilia wi h eaching English as a Second
Language o as an addi ional language o dialec (ESL/EALD) (a p ocess ha has been desc ibed
in Chap e s 2 and 3), EFL eaching hough simila , is also di e en in some ways. In EFL se ings
lea ne s only ecei e a ew hou s o ins uc ion in English, while in mos ESL se ings he whole
ins uc ion is in English. Mo eo e , EFL lea ne s ha e li le oppo uni ies o p ac ice English
ou side he class oom, while ESL lea ne s a e exposed o English on a daily basis and ou side he
class oom. These di e ences a e one ocus o his chap e . The e a e also pa icula needs o be
add essed when he lea ne s a e child en. These a e he o he ocuses o his chap e which ou lines
eaching young lea ne s in EFL se ings.
In his chap e we begin by explo ing some o he di e ences be ween EFL se ings and o he
language lea ning con ex s. We ollow his wi h an explana ion abou young lea ne s, and we
con inue by ocusing on he ole and main conce ns o EFL eache s. In his chap e , because o
hei u ili y in EFL class ooms, we also ocus on collabo a i e asks, p o iding a numbe o
examples o hese and o he on-line esou ces ha EFL eache s can use. Gi en he con ex o EFL
eaching we also desc ibe he po en ial ole o he L1 in he class oom. In addi ion, we look a
young lea ne s' pe spec i es abou EFL lea ning. Finally, we discuss assessmen p ac ices and
esou ces ela ed o his pa o ou eaching.
EFL se ings
One o he key di e ences be ween lea ning English in a second (o addi ional) language se ing
and lea ning i in a o eign language con ex is ha he lea ne s do no ha e he same oppo uni y
"This is an Accep ed Manusc ip o a book chap e published by Rou ledge in Teaching Young Second Language Lea ne s: P ac ices in Di e en Class oom
Con ex s (ISBN: 9781315149813) eBook Published 13 June 2018, a ailable online h ps://doi.o g/10.4324/9781315149813.”
“I is deposi ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial-NoDe i a i es License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/),
which pe mi s non-comme cial e-use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed, and is no al e ed, ans o med, o
buil upon in any way.”
2
o encoun e and o in e ac in English, especially ou side he class oom. Wha his means is ha
EFL lea ne s canno p ac ice English in he same ways o o he same ex en as do EAL/D lea ne s.
Howe e , we need o acknowledge ha he e is now a g ea e le el o access o English inpu ia
TV shows, ideos, podcas s and books, many o which a e a ailable on he In e ne . These a e
esou ces ha EFL eache s should use and we also discuss his la e in his chap e . Howe e , e en
hough such exposu e o a o eign language can assis young language lea ne s (Ene e , 2011), i
is s ill no he same as being able o egula ly in e ac in he a ge language (No e: we use he wo d
in e ac because as we discussed in Chap e 1 we belie e jus being exposed o inpu – hea ing i
spoken o seeing i w i en - is no su icien on i s own).
Because o his lack o oppo uni y o in e ac ion you will ind many EFL lea ne s who, despi e a
long e m exposu e o English, do no necessa ily ha e high le els o p o iciency in ha language.
I is o his eason ha many schola s now a gue ha i is no jus he amoun o English ins uc ion
ha is impo an , i is he quali y o he inpu and in e ac ion ha de e mines language lea ning
achie emen (Ga cía Mayo & Ga cía Lecumbe i, 2003; Muñoz, 2007; Nikolo & Mihalje ić
Djiguno ić, 2011). Fo example, whe e child en ha e pa en s who know and use an addi ional
language – such as English – his will ha e a posi i e impac on hei language lea ning. Also, by
using he a ge language wi h amily membe s, child en will gain con idence in in e ac ing wi h
o he s. They may also be be e equipped o no ice when ha language is being used in hei wide
communi y (Ene e , 2011). Howe e , no all child en a e in such a o una e posi ion and so he
ask o suppo ing hei s uden s la gely es s wi h EFL eache s. Gi en how impo an his is, i is
clea ha hese eache s ha e a key ole o play. They need o c ea e si ua ions o lea ne s o hea ,
see, ead and w i e English, and o p o ide he ype o model o English ha will suppo hei
lea ne s' English acquisi ion. This is some hing we will e u n o la e in his chap e .
One o he main di icul ies o EFL eache s o young lea ne s is ha in many coun ies English
is no he language o ins uc ion in schools. English is jus one o he subjec in an o en c owded
cu iculum. This means ha hei lea ne s will ecei e only a ew hou s o ins uc ion in English –
somewhe e be ween h ee and i e hou s pe week, depending on he school and p og am (Nikolo
& Mihalje ić Djiguno ić, 2011; Edelenbos, Johns one, & Kubanek, 2007). This p esen s
conside able challenges o eache s and lea ne s alike. In his chap e we will examine some ways
o bes u ilise his ime and also o maximise he bene i s o he eaching and lea ning ha does
occu in EFL con ex s.
3
Case s udy
Sophie is 6 yea s old and has ecen ly s a ed p ima y school in F ance. When she was in p e-
school English was no pa o he o mal cu iculum, bu he eache augh he class some songs
in English, and she enjoyed his e y much.
This yea , howe e , Sophie's English language ins uc ion is mo e o mal. She pa icipa es in an
English class e e y week and will do so o he whole school yea . Ini ially Sophie was exci ed
abou he oppo uni y o lea n new English songs, bu she has been disappoin ed because he
English eache mos ly ocuses on eaching he class g amma and ocabula y, and like mos o
he pee s, Sophie does do no eally enjoy his. Fo una ely, he eache knows how much hey
enjoy singing and playing di e en games so some imes she complemen s he mo e o mal
eaching app oach wi h some un in e ac ional ac i i ies. These ac i i ies include singing, and
doing simple ba ie -games. (No e: We desc ibe di e en ypes o ba ie games la e in his
chap e ).
Young EFL lea ne s
I is no uncommon o hea people say hings like “child en do so well lea ning ano he language”
and, as we indica ed in Chap e 1 o his book, young L2 lea ne s do ha e some ad an ages. They
ha e pa icula cha ac e is ics, such as he plas ici y o hei b ains, and ways o doing hings –
such as lea ning h ough play and lea ning implici ly - ha can con ibu e o hei success ul L2
lea ning (Ab ahamsson & Hyl ens am, 2008; Bialys ok & Mille , 1999; Bi dsong, 2005; Jia &
Aa onson, 2003). P e ious esea ch ac ually sugges s ha he ea lie we begin lea ning ano he
language, he be e (e.g., Long, 1990, 2013). This ecommenda ion has been aken up in places
such as Eu ope and pa s o Asia whe e many child en ha e begun lea ning a o eign language,
usually English, by he age o nine. In ac , in some schools o eign languages a e e en being
in oduced o p e-school lea ne s (Ene e , 2011).
Howe e , whils age is one impo an ac o o language lea ning success, he eaching p ac ices
and he lea ning p og ams ha a e used a e also c ucial ac o s (Nikolo , 2000; Single on, 2014).
In he case s udy abo e we can see how Sophie’s enjoymen o English language lea ning
diminishes because o he o mal app oach ha is used once she commences p ima y school.
Al hough he eache a emp s o make he classes mo e mo i a ing by using mo e engaging
ac i i ies, hese a e supplemen a y a he han being he co e app oach. I is impo an ha EFL
eache s need o ca e ully conside wha hey do and how bes o sui he needs o hei young
lea ne s.
4
Focus ques ion
Gi en ha he e a e only a ew hou s a ailable o eaching English in he EFL class oom, and
aking in o accoun wha you ha e ead in he p e ious chap e s, wha aspec s o he language
do you hink a e he mos impo an o young EFL s uden s o lea n i s ?
The EFL eache
As we ha e indica ed, eache s play a c ucial ole in he p ocess o lea ning. This is ue in all
subjec a eas, bu i is pa icula ly he case in EFL se ings as hey a e he main sou ce o inpu o
he lea ne s and also c ea e hose ci cums ances ha we know acili a e language lea ning (i.e.,
oppo uni ies o in e ac , o p oduce ou pu , and o ge eedback on hei a emp s). The EFL con ex
means ha he quali y o he eaching signi ican ly impac s on he lea ning ha occu s in he
class oom. Conside o he ollowing case s udies as an example o his:
Case s udies o wo eache s' esul s
A a Spanish school he e a e wo di e en g oups o English lea ne s. All began lea ning English
a he same age (5 yea s old). G oup A is olde – hey a e in g ade 6 (11-12 yea s old), whe eas
G oup B is in g ade 3 (8-9 yea s old). Bo h g oups o s uden s ha e ecei ed 3 hou s o ins uc ion
in English pe week since hey we e aged 5, bu o cou se G oup A has ecei ed 3 yea s mo e
ins uc ion.
The eache o g oup A ob ained his deg ee in English S udies om a Spanish Uni e si y wen y-
wo yea s ago. Du ing his inal yea o uni e si y he s udied in he UK, bu he has ne e wo ked in
any English speaking coun y e e again as he ob ained a pe manen posi ion a he school sho ly
a e he g adua ed. O e he yea s he has holidayed b ie ly o a ew imes in se e al English-
speaking coun ies wi h his Spanish speaking wi e. His colleagues desc ibe him as being
‘unmo i a ed’ as he does no pa icipa e in any p o essional de elopmen ela ed o eaching, no
does he make any o mal a emp s o wo k on his English p o iciency. Fu he mo e, his eaching
p ac ices ha e emained unchanged o e he yea s.
The eache o G oup B has no augh o as long as Teache A. She ecei ed a deg ee in English
S udies om a uni e si y in Spain 5 yea s ago, and wo ked in he USA as a eache o a yea a e
g adua ing. Since he beginning o he uni e si y s udies, she has been a elling e e y summe o
he UK and I eland as a coo dina o o s udy ab oad p og ammes o child en aged be ween 12 o
18 yea s. A he momen , as well as eaching, she is also wo king on he M.A. in T ansla ion
S udies. She is cons an ly wo king o imp o e he English p o iciency, making use o any o mal
5
and in o mal oppo uni ies o p ac ice. She also wo ks ha d o selec o o design eaching ac i i ies
ha engage he s uden s p oduc i ely in using English class.
A he end o he academic yea he school ca ied ou an English assessmen es o hese wo
g oups. Despi e G oup A ha ing h ee mo e yea s o exposu e in English han G oup B, he esul
was ha he p o iciency le el o he wo g oups was he same: low-in e media e.
Why do you hink ha hey ha e achie ed he same le el o p o iciency in English despi e he
di e en amoun o ins uc ion hey had ecei ed? Do you hink i is only he impac o he eache s
o a e he e o he ac o s ha migh ha e in luenced his esul ?
Clea ly eache s' expe ience and pe sonal language p o iciency can b ing a lo o he ask o
eaching EFL because o e all hey a e esponsible o wha happens in he class oom (Bu le ,
2004). Also he way hey c ea e lea ning oppo uni ies will help (o sadly some imes hinde ) hei
lea ne s o main ain a posi i e a i ude owa ds he language hey a e lea ning. Wha hey do in
class may also suppo EFL child en’s willingness o communica e and o keep hei mo i a ion
high. This is achie ed by c ea ing lessons ha a e enjoyable and challenging, bu also ones ha
main ain he child en's in e es . I is no su p ising ha some see EFL eache s as being mo e like
ca e ake s han educa o s (Nikolo , 2008; Nikolo & Milhalje ić Djiguno ić, 2011). Howe e , i
is impo an o acknowledge ha eaching expec a ions and me hods di e acco ding o he con ex .
Fo example, in some coun ies wha happens in public p ima y schools will be e y di e en om
wha is done in p i a e language cen es. In some con ex s EFL eache s will need o s ic ly ollow
he na ional cu iculum, hey may also be expec ed o each in pa icula ways and o ocus on
pa icula aspec s. In some se ings eache s may ha e o deal wi h child en whose beha iou is
e y dis up i e. In some schools he majo i y o English eache s a e na i e speake s, whe eas in
o he con ex s he p o iciency o he English eache s may be qui e low. In addi ion, wha he
lea ne s b ing o he con ex may also di e qui e signi ican ly and oge he all hese ac o s will
a ec he ou comes.
Rega dless o con ex , o eign language lea ning (like all lea ning), is socially cons uc ed. EFL
lea ne s need o in e ac wi h o he mo e able language use s in o de o de elop hei language
p o iciency. Because o he con ex o EFL lea ning whe e he e is a diminished oppo uni y o
in e ac ion wi h o he s ou side he class oom, he eache akes he ole o being he mo e expe
language use . The eache also has he main esponsibili y o sca olding he child en's language
use (as we desc ibed in Chap e 1) al hough, as we will show la e in his chap e , pee in e ac ion
is also a use ul con ex o sca olding and o o he aspec s o in e ac ion ha suppo language
lea ning.

6
As we ha e indica ed, howe e , in mos EFL con ex s eaching and lea ning need o occu in jus
a ew sho hou s. I is o his eason ha some schools ha e u ned o al e na i e app oaches o
ins uc ion, such as bilingual, imme sion o Con en and Language In eg a ed Lea ning (CLIL)
app oaches (see Chap e 7 o a desc ip ion o he la e app oach). Ye , using al e na i e
app oaches o adi ional EFL eaching is no always possible, no suppo ed o a ious easons.
One issue ela ed o his and one ha has been iden i ied in a ious se ings is ha no all EFL
eache s ha e an adequa e le el o English p o iciency (Ene e , 2011; Inba -Lou ie, 2010;
Johns one, 2009). As we men ioned ea lie his has led o he g owing demand o o e seas eache s
who ha e English as hei L1. A u he p oblem is he lack o aining in language educa ion many
eache s ecei e. Toge he his means ha he e a e insu icien well- ained and highly p o icien
language p o essionals o all he schools wishing o each English o hei s uden s (Ene e , 2011).
E en he egula ions used o he selec ion o EFL eache s (i.e., acco ding o hei English
p o iciency) is somewha inconsis en . In some schools eache s a e equi ed o ha e p o iciency
a an app op ia e le el (C1) as encompassed wi hin he Common Eu opean F amewo k o
Re e ence o Languages (CEFR) (Council o Eu ope, 2001). Howe e , e en his is changeable
and o he schools accep a lowe le el (e.g., a B1 le el). In o he coun ies o he measu es a e used
o de e mine i someone is sui able o eaching English (e.g., comple ing a deg ee wi h an English
majo – ega dless o p o iciency le el).
The challenge o EFL eache s is ha hey should no only be p o icien in he language hey a e
eaching, bu also in he s uden s' L1 (Nikolo & Milhalje ić Djiguno ić, 2011). To ensu e hei
p og am is ele an and a a cogni i e le el app op ia e o hei s uden s, EFL eache s also need
o be amilia wi h he con en and me hodology o he gene al eaching p og am, as well as being
expe in language eaching me hodology (Nikolo & Milhalje ić Djiguno ić, 2011). EFL eache s
ace addi ional challenges, oo, such as limi ed esou ces, especially in egional and emo e a eas
(Ene e , 2011). This equi es eache s o be somewha c ea i e in he ac i i ies hey design o hei
lea ne s. Despi e hese obs acles, ecen esea ch sugges s he e is he po en ial in EFL classes o
employ he ype o collabo a i e asks ha a e known o p omo e language lea ning, e en when
he lea ne s a e young. We discuss hese nex .
Collabo a i e asks o EFL eaching
In Chap e 2 we saw how, o e he las 20 yea s o so, language eaching has mo ed om a
communica i e app oach o one ha is ask-based (i.e., TBLT). TBLT is a meaning- ocused
me hodology in which s uden s a e mean o p oduce language while engaging in eal-wo ld
ac i i ies o asks (Skehan, 1998). A key pa o his me hodology in ol es he use o collabo a i e
7
asks which a e hose pedagogical ac i i ies equi ing lea ne s o use language meaning ully o
achie e a pa icula goal (Byga e e al., 2001, p.11). Al hough he up ake o his app oach in many
EFL con ex s has lagged behind wha has happened in EAL/D classes, because asks p o ide
lea ne s wi h many oppo uni ies o language lea ning (e.g., Azka ai & Imaz Agi e, 2016; Bu le
& Zeng, 2014, 2015; Ga cía Mayo & Láza o Iba ola, 2015; Pin e , 2006) his is beginning o
change. Today many eache s a e coming o ecognise ha collabo a i e asks a e especially
bene icial in EFL class ooms.
As examples o collabo a i e asks ha e al eady been desc ibed in Chap e 2, in his chap e we
will ocus on how hese asks can help EFL lea ne s and wha hings eache s should conside i
hey a e o use hem o hei eaching. To begin he e is a lis o i e di e en ypes o asks ha
ha e been classi ied acco ding o who holds and who seeks he in o ma ion du ing he in e ac ional
exchanges (Pica, Kanagy, & Falodun, 1993, pp. 20-23).
Types o collabo a i e asks
Jigsaw ask
Each pa icipan has pa o he in o ma ion necessa y o comple e he ask. In
o de o comple e he ask, he wo pa icipan s ha e o
exchange his
in o ma ion, and hey ha e o each a single ou come.
In o ma ion-
gap ask
In his ask only one pa icipan holds he in o ma ion necessa y o comple e
he ask, and he o he pa icipan eques s he in o ma i
on om he
in o ma ion holde . This ask also equi es a single ou come.
P oblem-
sol ing ask
I is o ien ed owa ds a single ou come, bu in o ma ion does no need o be
exchanged o comple e he ask.
Decision-
making ask
Al hough his ask is o ien ed owa ds a single ou come, di e en solu ions
a e also accep able, bu again an exchange o in o ma ion is no necessa y in
o de o comple e he ask.
Opinion-
exchange ask
Lea ne s should engage in discussion and he exchange o ideas, bu once
mo e an exchange o in o ma ion is no necessa y and he e is no one single
ou come.
Gene ally jigsaw and in o ma ion-gap asks (o ba ie games) ha e been claimed o be mo e use ul
o L2 lea ning. This is because hey encou age lea ne s o engage in meaning ul communica ion,
p o iding mo e oppo uni ies o lea ne s o p o ide and o ecei e inpu , ou pu and eedback.
8
Example o an in o ma ion-gap ask
This ac i i y is aken om Azka ai and Imaz Agi e (2016) whe e child en wo k in pai s on a
guessing game. This ac i i y is a one-way epea ed in o ma ion-gap ask because he ole o he
‘in o ma ion seeke ’ and ‘in o ma ion holde ’ changes. Fi s , one membe o he pai is he
‘in o ma ion holde ’ and ecei es a ca d wi h he pic u e o an objec on i and he o he lea ne has
o guess wha he objec is. Once he ‘in o ma ion seeke ’ has co ec ly guessed he i em on he
ca d he oles a e e e sed.
This ac i i y is ideal o young EFL lea ne s - hey conside i a game a he han a ask and ha e
un playing i wi h iends. In his sense, he guessing game keeps lea ne s' mo i a ion high and
p o ides hem wi h a wide a ay o oppo uni ies o ocus on language. He e he e is an example
o he ype o language ha EFL lea ne s aged 9-10 p oduced as hey comple ed his ask (example
aken om Azka ai and Imaz Agi e's (2016) da abase).
S uden A
S uden B
1
I does ha e-i does an animal?
2
Yes, is an animal.
3
Eh… eh… wha he has?
4
Eh… A ail. He has a ail. Bu he ail is edonda,
con gi os [ ound, cu ly].
5
Ah… eh... is-wha colo is?
6
Eh… pink.
7
Pink?
8
Yes.
9
Who…
10
Pe o ienes que p egun a odas. ¡Co e,
p egun a odas, si la sabes! ¡P egun a! [Bu you
ha e o ask all o hem. Come on, ask all o hem,
you al eady know hem! Ask!]
11
Wha … how many pa as [legs] he has?
12
Fou .
13
Eh… eh… how many, eh… whe e he
li es?
14
In a me .
15
In a a m?
16
Yes.
17
Eh… eh… why? Why he li es in he e?
18
Wha ?
19
Why he li es in he e?
20
Because he a me eh… he e alimen ed [ eed]
and he e eh… ma a [kill].
21
Ok.
22
Ma a [Kill] o…
23
Kill.
24
... o ha e- o has ham.
25
When...
9
26
¿Me has p egun ado odas? [Did you ask me all
o hem?]
27
No.
28
¡Pues p egun a! Que c eo que ya lo sab ás,
segu amen e.
[Then ask! Al hough I be you
al eady know i .]
29
How i can-i has-i has, eh… lana [wool]?
30
Wha ?
31
Lan [wool]?
32
¿Qué? ¿Lana? [Wha ? Wool?]
33
Yes.
34
No.
35
Wha -wha animal die o ha e ham. Ham.
Ham.
36
Ham. Eh… pa o [ u key].
37
Wha ?
38
Pa o [ u key].
39
No!
40
Pig! A pig!
41
Yes!
You can see om his ansc ip how his in o ma ion-gap ask p omo es meaning ul use o
language: i allowed he lea ne s o ge inpu om each o he (e.g., lines 14-15), o push hei own
ou pu (e.g., lines 35-40) and o p o ide and o ecei e eedback. The ask also p o ided
oppo uni ies o sca olding (e.g., lines 17-23) allowing lea ne s o be able o achie e mo e
oge he han could on hei own.
Clea ly collabo a i e asks a e e y bene icial. Whils he e a e now lo s o comme cial p oduc s
a ailable, EFL eache s can also use p ac ical esou ces - asks based in e e yday ac i i ies- o
c ea e hei own. Fo example, menus o ecipes can be used o in o ma ion-gap asks. Ma ix
ac i i ies (shown below) can be easily cons uc ed as ei he in o ma ion-gap o jigsaw asks and be
used by lea ne s o explo e a a ie y o concep s (e.g., animals and hei cha ac e is ics, numbe s
and colou s, ooms and u ni u e, people and hei clo hing, e c.). Pic u e placemen asks can be
used o ma hema ics o science concep s (e.g., shapes and angles, li ing and non-li ing hings).
In ac , almos all skills and con en om di e en subjec a eas can be modi ied as collabo a ion
asks (e.g., measu ing and g aphing ac i i ies om ma hema ics, mapping and imeline ac i i ies
om social sciences, a anging pic u es showing he li e cycle o di e en plan s and animals om
science). How his migh be done wi h a ma ix ac i i y and science concep s is demons a ed
below:
16
In addi ion, po olios can be used bo h as a bene icial assessmen p ac ice (Nikolo , 2016), and
also as a way o p o ide in o ma ion o s uden s and hei pa en s abou wha has been achie ed.
Al hough colla ing he ma e ial o hese equi es some ex a wo k (Li le, 2007), i is a conc e e
way o demons a e lea ne p og ess (Venn, 2000). Po olio-assessmen can be combined wi h he
sel -e alua ion me hod ou lined abo e, and in his way helps hem o e lec on hei own lea ning
p ocess. As Bu le and Lee (2010, p. 25) sugges doing his can “help s uden s unde s and he goals
o asks, e lec on wha hey ha e achie ed wi h e e ence o such goals, and igu e ou wha i
will ake o inally each hei goals".
As well as hese eache de eloped and class based assessmen s, he e a e also se e al online
esou ces ha can be used:
• Camb idge Young Lea ne s English Tes s: www.camb idgeesol.o g/exams/young-lea ne s
• Ci y & Guilds ESOL o Young Lea ne s: www.ci yandguilds.com
• Pea son Tes o English Young Lea ne s: www.pea sonp e.com/PTEYoungLea ne s
• TOEFL P ima y: www.e s.o g/ oe l_p ima y
The le els co e ed in he majo i y o hese es s a e A1 and A2 o he CEFR (Council o Eu ope,
2001). These es s encompass au al, o al and li e acy skills and o e a gene al o e iew o lea ne s'
capabili y in EFL o e all. Howe e , he e is li le esea ch on he po en ial bene i s o hese es s
o he class oom and how hey may help (o no !) o de elop lea ne language p o iciency (see
Beningno & de Jong, 2016; Hsieh, 2016; Papp & Walczak, 2016).
Conclusion
As we indica ed, one o he main di icul ies o EFL p og ams is he lea ne s' low exposu e o he
a ge language and he limi ed ime de o ed o eaching he language. As we sugges ed a he
beginning o his chap e , o add ess his CLIL p og ams a e inc easingly being used (again see
Chap e 7). EFL eache s in some con ex s may also s uggle because o hei limi ed access o
necessa y ma e ials and esou ces. When a ailable, echnology does p o ide some use ul esou ces
o o e come hese p ac ical issues and, as we desc ibed a leng h, using collabo a i e asks is
pe haps one o he mo e e ec i e ways o add ess he needs o young EFL lea ne s. Howe e , i is
ecommendable o seek up o da e ma e ials, as esou ces a e apidly de eloping. The e a e also
a ious in e na ional p ojec s and exchange p og ams ha p o ide addi ional oppo uni ies o EFL
eache s and hei lea ne s (Ene e , 2011). Finally, he ollowing esou ces may also be help ul o
EFL eache s:

17
Use ul handbooks o EFL eache s
This is a sho selec ion o handbooks o eache s o o eign languages o young lea ne s.
• Came on, L. (2001). Teaching languages o young lea ne s. Camb idge, UK: Camb idge
Uni e si y P ess.
In his book Came on p esen s heo e ical and p ac ical p inciples abou eaching languages
o young lea ne s.
• Ene e , J. (Ed.). (2011). ELLiE. Ea ly language lea ning in Eu ope. London, UK: B i ish
Council.
This is a p ojec ca ied ou by se e al esea che s in Eu ope in di e en coun ies whe e
English is augh as a o eign language. The p ojec p esen s expe imen al da a and esou ces
o eache s, as well as young lea ne s' a i udes owa ds o eign language lea ning.
• Nikolo , M., Mihalje ić Djiguno ić, J., Ma heoudakis, M., Lundbe g, G., & Flanagan, T.
(Eds.). (2007).
Teaching mode n languages o young lea ne s: Teache s, cu icula and
ma e ials. S asbou g, F ance: Council o Eu ope.
This edi ed book is a collec ion o s udies ha ocuses on language eache s o p ima y
schools, on cu icula and syllabi and on eaching ma e ials and di e en eaching
me hodologies.
• Rich, S. (2014). In e na ional pe spec i es on eaching English o young lea ne s.
Basings oke, UK: Palg a e Macmillan.
This edi ed olume p esen s a collec ion o s udies ha ocus on esea ch and p ac ice o
eaching English o young lea ne s.
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